Where do you live? Do you have irrigation? If not, how do you plan to water?

Hello,

We are in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

I
have figured out how to easily water (already have two areas taken care
of that is a very long divided privacy screen) a good distance from the
hose faucet close to the property line. I will add additional
sprinklers as needed for future landscaping.

For me, that's the easy part.

Thanks,

Mike

Here is some U of Delaware info on turfgrassselection for Delaware. Here are some other factsheets, a number of which are urging people to reduce turfgrass area. Didn't see one on lawn establishment, but Maryland has a publication on it. I guess your first decision would be whether you want a cool season grass or warm season grass. Do some reading on the various kinds of grass and their pros and cons. If you use sod, that can be put down most anytime the ground isn't frozen. If you seed, that has to be done at particular times of the year (late summer/early fall for cool season grasses is best) and the seed has to be kept moist during the germination period. That means a light watering several times a day. I don't think it would be practical to move hoses around several times a day over 1/2-3/4 acre. You would need hoses and sprinklers that can stay in place during establishment and probably a timer with water going to various hoses. One inch of water over one acre is 27,154 gallons. Grass in the summer generally needs one inch of water a week. If it doesn't rain, are you prepared for the water costs?

There really is nothing wrong with mowed weeds. You might try for a small "nice lawn" section and let the remainder be whatever happens to grow. Just keep it mowed.

Thanks for the info!

I completely agree that turf grass should be reduced. I have done a fair amount of that already and have very large plans for future reduction.

As for irrigation, I buy black industrial hose at a discount (I have 500 ft. that I have already used and will probably need at least 1000 more) and hide or bury it and leave it out all season (I drain it as best I can in the fall, sprinklers come inside). After I figure out where sprinklers need to go, I elevate them on metal posts so they cover a larger area. Then I cut additional hose to length for hook up to the sprinklers. I like to hide the sprinklers in shrubs. The whole thing is controlled by inexpensive valves easily turned on and off from one hose faucet.

I've done this for many years and lots of people think I had a professional sprinkler company install everything. The cost is a small fraction of having a professional do it and I think it works just as well if not better.

Thanks again,

Mike

A couple more suggestions: (1) get a soil test (U of Delaware or a private lab). If you have a low cation exchange capacity (CEC), which is common in sandy soils, you should know so you can deal with it. A low CEC means the soil doesn't hold onto nutrients well. If your soil needs amendments, it's good to amend the soil well in advance of planting. (2) Talk to neighbors with lawns you'd like to replicate. Ask them what kind of grass, how they take care of it, any problems they have, etc. If they sodded, ask whether they'd recommend the company they used.

Thanks for the great ideas, especially talking to neighbors (which I am starting to do about other things).

I have been noticing that a number of people (not all) hire a professional company that takes care of everything including mowing. This includes using pesticides that I really would like to stay away from.

Thanks again!

Mike