Mountain Sod Farm

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Pete Mountain

The company has been around for 49 years, and it started as a grass seed retailer rather then a sod farm. Currently the main component of their grass seed is Kentucky blue grass at 90% (consistent with most turf grass make up). Fescue is another good grass type they use. It requires less water and nutrients, fares better in drought, and is good for street areas with a salt problem.

The lines of sod

They are licensed to use water out of the river since 1970, but they must use meters to keep track of exactly how much they use (even though they are not being charged by usage yet). Due to this they only water when they need to and don't use pivots. There is always 250-300 acres in different stages of production, each plot with a sod crop (2 years or 16-20 months of growing time) or a cover crop (wheat or barley at least once every 3 years); results in 3 crops in a 10 year period. Before seeding the land has to be worked up- they take a big claw and go down 60cm to rotate the soil. Seeding happens from mid May to mid August, this year it was done mid June to late July. They seed 50 lbs an acre, once in a horizontal direction, then a vertical direction.

The sod making tractor

The truck that hauls the sod

Pete Mountain

Maintenance is a big job with so much sod. They mow every 2.5-3 days, most weeds cant take that (except dandelions which are a huge issue). The mowers they use are rotary, no old fashioned mowers that changed 20+ years ago. When they fertilize very little nitrogen is used, but they do use phosphate, pot ash, ans sulfur. Fertilization happens after the first couple of mowings. In terms of this year, they were only partially affected by the flooding with the heavy spring rain, and they can't do anything for the grass once there has been water sitting.

The sod cube

Sod is sold from Rocky Mountain House to Stetler in big rolls (4ft x 75ft) and small rolls. The large rolls much be laid by a machine because they are so heavy, and all sod should be laid within 24 hours (changes depending on weather). After the sod strips are cut they are rolled and stacked into large cubes 7 layers thick with 10 rolls in each layer (100ft to a layer), which is the standard. They use a palette-less fork system where the sod is laid right on the ground and the forks have a specific shape so they don't pierce the sod. Not using palettes is better, easier, and cheaper, but they switch to palettes when requested by the client. Many clients pick up the sod themselves, in May and summer there is an average of 15 a day. 

In order to keep the business strong they have to keep in mind a few things:

- Don't want to be sold out to the point that they have to sell young sod- which is why they seed as they harvest.

- Their waste factor is at less than 1% (it used to be at 10%, but new equipment means less waste)- waste at the very edges of field, sometimes when elk moose or cattle end up on the grass they leave footprints and that section can't be used, small lines between rows.

- If cattle come, they'll stay till you kick them off.

- Takes several years to get soil clean enough to grow turf on.

- The sod is mature if it can hold together when it's harvested.