Keys To A Successful Lawn

What You Need To Know To Ensure Healthy Turf:

1. MOWING

Timely mowing will have a big impact on health, weed control and thickness of your lawn. The general rule of thumb to go by is to remove not more than one-third of the leaf blade at any one time. For some turf grass varieties, this could actually mean mowing every 3-5 days during summer when growth is most active.

2. WATERING

Water as deeply and infrequently as possible during dry spells, ideally 1 to 1-1/2 inches per week, depending on soil type. Watering every 3 to 5 days, even in the hottest days of summer, should be sufficient if you water deeply.

3. AERATING

Aerating is a mechanical method that pulls cores of soil from the lawn to allow better penetration of air and water. The best time of year to aerate is from mid-May through June, although July and August are also acceptable months as well.

4. VERTICUTTING

Also known as vertical mowing, this process thins and rejuvenates the lawn. When used on warm-season turf grasses, verticutting functions as a different form of aeration. Verticutting is used with cool-season turf grasses when overseeding in the fall. It thins the turf and allows the seed to fall through the grass and make contact with the soil. Thus improving your seed germination.

5. FERTILIZING

Most of our lawns in North Texas are best fertilized using a 3-1-2-ratio fertilizer. An example would be 15-5-10 or 24-8-16. The first number on the bag is Nitrogen. You can apply the fertilizer every 6 to 8 weeks. To prolong the greening between applications, use a fertilizer product that has its nitrogen in a slow release form. An organic method is to apply ½ inch of well-decomposed compost evenly across the lawn twice a year.

6. PRE-EMERGENT WEED CONTROL

Pre-emergents disrupt seeding development, so the timing of your treatments is crucial. Spring applications of Balan, Betasan, Team or other labeled products should be applied around March 1^st and again around June 1^st for summer annual grassy weeds. Your fall treatments should be applied around September 10^th using two different pre-emergent products on the same day. The first is for grassy winter annual weeds, using any of the previously named products. The second is to apply Portrait or Gallery next to prevent winter annual broadleaf weeds.

7. POST-EMERGENT WEED CONTROL

Broadleaf weeds are controlled with an herbicide containing 2,4-d. Use a dedicated sprayer and apply at the labeled rate according to turf type when temperatures are between 55 and 85 F. In Bermuda grass lawns only, grassy weeds are controlled with DSMA or MSMA between May and September. Nutgrass can be reduced over several seasons by applying Image or Manage between May and mid-September.

8. TREATING DISEASES

For brown patch in St. Augustine, treat the area around affected patches with Terraclor or Bayleton in late spring and especially early fall. Leaf spot diseases in turf grasses are controlled with Daconil, Banner, or Mancozeb. Avoid fertilizing when a disease is present in your yard.

9. CONTROLLING INSECTS

Generally found in hot, sunny areas of St. Augustine lawns, chinch bugs have an irregular feeding pattern from June through August. Water before and after treatment with a granular Talstar or synthetic pyrethroid product. Grub worm activity usually starts in early August and continues until early November. If discolored areas of turf pull up easily and 4 to 6 grub worms are present in a 1-square-foot area, treat with a granular Mach II, Merit or a pyrethroid product and water into soil.

Prior to making any pesticide application to your lawn, please be responsible by correctly identifying the problem you have. Pesticide labels are frequently amended, added or deleted for specific crops or pests. Therefore carefully examine the actual label of the pesticide product before use. Please read and follow all label directions. Until next time…happy gardening!!

Jimmie

When to Re-Seed or Re-Sod Your Lawn

Lawns, a major part of the American tradition. If you look into the history of lawns, you will see that the traditional lawn has not been around that long. America has really started to take a real pride in maintaining a beautifully landscaped yard. If you really want to put a perspective on landscaping, you could consider your lawn as the back drop or canvas of your property. Everything stems from your lawn. You house is an extension of your lawn. Your trees, shrubs, bushes and flowers are all extensions too.

Now with that in mind, you must have a good background to bring out all the embellishments that have been added to your background. Walk around your yard and really look at your lawn. Are there some dead spots, thin spots, mis-colored spots?

If you do notice any of these types of issues you should go through the process of elimination to find out if your lawn is infected with some kind of insect, worms or fungus. You might also want to have your soil tested to make sure all the proper mineral contents are within the best recommended specifications. This can save you a lot of time in the long run if one of the above is the issue. You can re-seed or re-sod the bad spots but they will just die off again, so to save a lot of hassle it is recommended that you do a thorough investigation of the perceived problem.

Some of the determining factors that will help you figure out if your lawn needs a tune-up are:

• Approximately 40% to 50% of your lawn is dead.

• When walking across the lawn if feels soft and spongy.

• Your lawn getting taken over by weeds.

There are many determining factors, but these three are the major factors. Sometimes just making simple modifications to basic lawn care practices or improving site conditions is all you need to revive your lawn.

So if you have determined that your lawn needs a little pick me up or a little bit more, the best time to re-seed is in late summer between August 15th to September 20th . The next best time would be in April or May. Re-sodding can be done pretty much year round with proper soil prep. Late summer is the preferred time for re-seeding for the following reasons:

• The soil is warmer which is better for germination.

• There are fewer problems with weeds.

• The cooler season encourages grass growth.

• There is less chance of water evaporation as this process requires a lot of water.

If you are planning to do just some small patch repair (8’ or less) it is recommended that you use 1 part seed with 4 parts of a natural organic fertilizer. This way you can accomplish two tasks at the same time. Try working up the soil just a little bit to give the lawn seed just a little more to adhere to. The seeds are very, very light and will blow away easily. You can also use straw or fine netting available at your local home improvement store. After you have spread the grass seed another recommendation is pressing the seed into the ground, just a light pressing will do. You can use just any tool you can think of to press the seeds down. You can also install a very thin layer of topsoil over it to help keep the birds from eating all of it!

Then comes the hardest part. The daily watering and then getting down on your hands and knees looking for the little green sprouts. Depending on the type of grass you decided on planting, germination can take anywhere from 5-28 days. You should do your best to keep the soil moist at all times, this keeps the germination time to a minimum.

When you have finished this tedious process, the payoff will be worth the work and effort. Remember this is the backdrop for everything on your property. You want it to look the best it can. Once all this is completed the lawn is ready for your enjoyment and the neighbors will be in awe! Until next time…Happy Gardening!!

Jimmie