As the heat of summer relents and cooler days and nights return, it is time for the fall gardening chores. With the fall coolness, it is a great time to replace that lawn or enjoy the money saving fall clearance prices that the nurseries offer.

1. Poor Performers: With the growing season still fresh in your mind, look at which plants delighted and which were disappointments. Remove the poor performers and replace with something new.
2. Bulbs: Fall is the time to plant tulip, daffodil, crocus and other so-called minor bulbs.
3. Perennials: Fall is an ideal time to plant shrubs, trees and perennials with the still warm soil temperatures that will promote good root growth.  Even small plants will show good growth over our mild winters.
4. Lawns: Replace or renovate your lawn as soon as the heat of summer is over. September coolness is an ideal time to sod your lawn to keep the winter mud from being tracked into your house.
5. Weeds: It’s easy to forget weeds at this time of year. Instead clean out your beds and prevent weeds from maturing and growing through the fall months.
6. Clean-up: Pull out the annuals when they are finished. Prune back the perennials after the first hard frost. Prune dead and damaged branches on shrubs or trees.
7. Divide: if grasses, hostas and day-lilies are getting too large, divide and transplant to other areas of your yard or give to friends.

Looking for quality Portland sod and nursery plants? Come visit us at Far west Turf farm and Nursery in Woodland, Washington.

The above photo was taken just outside the office of Far west Turf Farm and Nursery. Hosta are our specialty plant that we grow and sell along with our full line of nursery plants. more on Vancouver, WA hastas.

Hastas are known for their beautiful foliage and are easy to grow. They are a resilient perennial. They thrive in shade and will grow in partial and even full sun. They are a low maintenance plant that grows very well in the Pacific Northwest.

Best times to plant: When are the best times to plant? They can be planted anytime the ground can be worked. The best planting times are in early spring when they are actively making new roots and in the early fall just after the intense summer heat has let up. Late August and September are the perfect times for the hostas fall planting.

Dethatching is the removal of the excess matted dead grass that builds up over time. This can be done manually with a rake or with a power machine. You should dethatch a lawn when the thatch layer is more than ½ inch thick.

Dethatching encourages growth by allowing air, water and fertilizer to reach the roots.

The best time to dethatch a cool season lawn is from late August through early October. You want to do this while your lawn is still growing vigorously and while there is time for it to recover before going dormant for the winter.

Fall is an ideal time because weed seeds are not germinating. Your lawn then has time to thicken up before weed seeds can become a problem.

Early spring is another good time to dethatch before the lawn growth has really begun and it is sometimes easier to get at the thatch.

Brought to you by your Portland sod company, Far West Turf Farm and Nursery

Want to create a distinctive look to your lawn? You can use this method to add stripes while you mow to create a distinctive pattern like you see on the professional baseball fields on TV. Lawn striping is easy and doesn’t have to cost a lot.

The video below shows how you can turn your lawn mower into a lawn striper for around $10.You can also purchase a lawn striping system that can easily be attached to most walk behind mowers. Toro puts out a quality lawn striper that does an excellent job.

When it come to putting in your new lawn, use your local Portland sod farm, Far West Turf Farm and Nursery located near Vancouver, WA. Remember, we deliver.

This includes fertilizing too much, too often or at the wrong time. It can also mean using the wrong fertilizer such as one too high in Nitrogen. Lawns get their nutrition directly from the soil as a byproduct of soil organisms or added as a fertilizer. Healthy soil is full of organisms that work together with your grass benefiting each other.

Over fertilizing can either kill the grass directly or kill or injure your soils natural occurring organisms.

What do the 3 sets of numbers mean on a bag of fertilizer? When you see numbers such as 10-10-10, these three numbers refer to the percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium components in the fertilizer. It is important to use a balanced fertilizer that provides relatively equal amounts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium.

Nitrogen (N) is responsible for rich, lush growth and a healthy, dark, green color.

Phosphorus (P): is important in the development of roots and speeds plant maturity.

Potassium (K): helps promote strong roots and is involved in maintaining a proper water balance within the plant. It also aids in disease resistance.

Planning a new lawn? See your Vancouver, WA sod farm, Far West Turf Farm and Nursery.

Do you have dead spots in your lawn from pet damage? You can use pieces of sod to quickly and easily restore your lawn to a picture perfect condition. The repair will take about 5 minutes and only requires a fresh piece of sod and a hand shovel.

Obtain the sod from your local sod farm such as Far West Turf Farm and Nursery near Vancouver, WA. Sod should be of the same type as the rest of your lawn.

1. Lay a piece of fresh sod over the damaged area. Piece should be minimum 18″ x 18″
2. Cut around the edge of the sod with your shovel
3. Remove the cut-out damaged area to a depth of 1 “
4. Lay in the new piece of sod.
5. Water the new sod and keep moist until well rooted (3-6 weeks)

You decide. Make your decision preferences and budget. Here are the pros and cons of each.

Lawns from Seed

1. It usually takes up to 2 years for a seed lawn to mature to fully fill in and provide a uniform cover. Plan on reseeding areas that fail to germinate evenly and over seeding in the second season.
2. Physically it is much easier to spread seed than to lift and lay down sod.
3. Weed control is much more difficult as you wait for your lawn to fill in. Best to plant when weeds are at a minimum such as in the fall.
4. Lower initial cost. It takes more time to get an established lawn, but the costs are lower.

Lawns from Sod

1. You can enjoy an instant lawn that you can walk on immediately. It will generally be well rooted in about two weeks.
2. Physically much harder to haul and lay your sod lawn. If doing by hand, use 5 square foot pieces which are easier. For large areas use a tractor and bigger rolls.
3. Weed control is much easier because you start with a dense weed free lawn.
4. Higher initial cost, but you get your lawn right away.

Everyone wants a dense green lawn. A great looking lawn adds both curb appeal and to your home’s value. If you want the best, order your Vancouver, WA sodfrom Far West Turf Farm and Nursery.

Dandelions, crabgrass and even foreign grasses are the enemy that is always present waiting to infiltrate your lawn and take over. Weapons include chemical weed killers, weed and feed combo applications and manual weeding.

A healthy thick lawn is your best defense against weeds. Prevention and lawn care best practices are the best way to keep out weeds.

1. Mowing regularly to no more than 2-3 inches is by itself a good method of weed control.
2. Water and Fertilize regularly, but with moderation.
3. Mechanical aeration: Aerate and over seed your lawn annually to promote a thick health lawn.

Have weeds already taken over? Perhaps it is time to replace your weedy lawn with a new sod lawn using premium sod from your Portland sod farm, Far West turf Farm and Nursery.

Looking for a showpiece for your garden? Then look to the ‘Horstmann’s Silberlocke’ Korean fir. The needles are held in whorls so the silver underside is shown as is the darker top needle giving a glistening look to the tree. It is sometimes referred to as a “flocked” noble fir.

As with all true firs, the Hortsmann’s Silberlocke Fir bears upright cones near its tree top.

This dwarf conifer will grow to a height of approximately 15 feet with a width of about 5 feet. It is a slow grower that increases 3-6” per year until reaching its full height.

Does best in the full sun and regular watering. Watering can be reduced once it is established. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before growth begins in the spring.

Regularly available Vancouver, WA and Portland dwarf conifers from Far West Turf and Nursery.

By laying sod down, you can have an instant green lawn that will make you the envy of your neighborhood. It does take planning and preparation, but you can do it yourself and save money. It’s as easy as 1-2-3. Remember to use Far West Turf Farm and Nursery, best source for sod, Vancouver WA.

1. Prepare: by removing any old lawn, rototilling, smoothing and rolling the ground with a water roller to firm it up. Sprinkle with water to moisten and help compact. Keep moist until you are ready to install the ground. More on preparing for your new lawn.
2. Measure and Order: Measure the length times width to get the number of square feet and then add 10-15% to allow for trim and waste. More tips on measuring. Order sod – Vancouver WA from Far West Turf Farm and Nursery the day before you are going to install it.
3. Install: Just before installation, Apply 16-16-16 fertilizer (1 pound per 100 sf). Apply lime at 5-8 pounds per 100 sf. Lay your sod out keeping the edges firmly together. Roll the sod with a half full water roller to help the sod to take root. Water immediately after and then sit back and enjoy your new lawn. More  sod installation tips.