Lawn Care

The roots of plants need a constant supply of oxygen at all times. Overmulching kills the roots of shallow-rooted plants by suffocation.

Symptoms of too much mulch include chlorotic foliage (symptoms often resemble iron deficiency), abnormally small leaves, poor growth and dieback of older branches. Disease organisms that are active under conditions of low oxygen and excessive moisture can become active and attack the roots. Sometimes the old root system will be rotted as the plant tries to send out new roots into the mulch layer. Excessive amounts of mulch applied around tree trunks can lead to cankers on susceptible species

If installed during Summer: Water new sod daily for the first three weeks. Thereafter water twice weekly for a few weeks. Finally, water once a week with one full inch (1″) of water during the season. When the weather is very hot or very dry, return to the twice weekly schedule. If installed during Spring or Fall: Water daily but don’t let it remain soggy and soft. If cool and rainy, water two or three times weekly, until the grass is established, which takes about 2 to 3 weeks. Set the sprinkler to this schedule… do not water daily after the grass is established. Stop watering in early October.

Cyclone or rotary spreaders work best with fertilizers. Drop spreaders work best with lime.

Anything that was once alive will naturally decompose. However, some organic wastes should not be composted at home.

DO compost these items: grass clippings, leaves, plant stalks, hedge trimmings, old potting soil, twigs, annual weeds without seed heads, vegetable scraps, coffee filters, and tea bags.

Do NOT compost these items: diseased plants, weeds with seed heads, invasive weeds such a quack grass and moring glory, pet feces, dead animals, bread and grains, meat or fish parts, dairy products, grease, cooking oil, or oily foods.

Lawn edging should be performed at regular intervals to maintain a neat appearance. Power edgers can be adjusted to make either straight of bevel cuts.

Before you apply fertilizer and lime you should know your soil nutrient values. Soil tests can be done at most Land Grant Universities for little or no fee. Others avenues for testing are County Extension Agents and maybe some of the better garden nurseries. An easy way to take a soil sample is to take an old golf club. Keeping the grip in place cut the shaft at a 45 degree angle about 2′ down on the shaft. About 2″ up from the angled cut, cut out or notch 1/2 of the shaft circumference. By inserting this into the soil it will remove a 2″ core of soil. Take at least a dozen core samples from all over the lawn area. You will need about 1/3 -1/2 lb. of soil in total. You then remove the grass top from the core and place the remaining soil in a brown bag to be sent off for testing.

Using more fertilizer or pesticide than the label calls for wastes the product and doesn’t help the lawn. The extra fertilizer or pesticide will probably wash away into a storm drain and out to a nearby wetland, stream, or pond where it can harm aquatic plants and animals.

Here’s an option for reseeding your lawn. If you have a large lawn or yard area consider renting or having your landscaper use a power rake instead of a rototiller to prepare your soil. A power rake is much wider and larger than a rototiller and able to cover the area more quickly. You will save time and money preparing your lawn for new seed or sod.

Always buy “certified seed”. This is identified by a blue tag saying certified. By spending a few extra cents up front, you will save many hundreds of dollars along with the added aggravation of controlling unwanted weeds later. Choose the right grass seed, sod or sprigs for your situation.

When winter is over and it’s finally nice enough to venture out into your yard, the first thing you should do to ensure that your lawn will have a good head start for the growing season ahead is to clean up all the debris that built up over the last few months. A power blower will help you remove leaves, sticks and other materials.