General Info:
Wide Sky Turf Farm was established in 1960 when Joshua Sharpless Richie (better known as Sharp) sold his Burlington County fruit farm to developers and relocated in South Jersey. Once settled on the farm, Sharp's wife, Eleanor, chose to name Wide Sky Farm after its vast openness compared to the growing development that surrounded their previous farm. Sharp and his teenage son Larry began with five acres of sod as they ventured into this rare type of farming in addition to raising Shetland ponies. With one flatbed truck and a hand operated harvester they slowly increased their production for the next fourteen years.
Larry purchased the farm from his father in 1974 with thirty acres in sod production. The addition of the first automated Princeton Harvester caused Sharp to grow fearful that his son's zest for expansion would surely bankrupt him in the near future. However, the 1980's proved to be a time of growth in many areas. As the Wide Sky acreage increased with improved varieties of Bluegrass and Fescue sod, so did the Richie family tree of 3rd generation sod farmers and 5th generation farmers.
Larry and his wife, Jean, raised their children amidst the beauty of the crop and the struggle of the economy as their sons experienced farming to be a way of life.
Today, Mark and Josh, the grandsons of Sharp Richie continue to service the Tri-State area with quality sod and service instilled in the heritage that settled at Wide Sky years ago.
Tall Fescue Sod is a blend of Kentucky bluegrass with Tall Fescue seed incorporated into the soil. Fescue plants have an aggressive root system know to penetrate depths as far as ten feet, when uninhibited enabling the plant to draw from deepened ground moisture. The bluegrass is a rhizomanous plant sending off runners that thicken the grass and enable the harvested sod to be transplanted. The combination for these two varieties creates a highly durable, attractive lawn for a high traffic yard or sports field.
Fescue sod tends to have a lighter green color when compared to bluegrass and holds up better under shade, heat and drought conditions. We recommend mowing fescue sod 2.5 to 3 inches for a happy, healthy lawn. Regular checks on the blade of your lawn mower are recommended to ensure a sharp blade for a good clean cut. This will prevent the grass from being torn and leaving a white, shredded appearance from a dull blade. We have found over the years that a fescue lawn grows stronger and healthier with years of maturity.
Kentucky bluegrass has always been known for its brilliant color, creating a soft, plush lawn that will instantly beautify your landscape. Our bluegrass sod is a mixture of several varieties of the highest quality certified seed, produced specifically for the Delaware Valley and surrounding area.