| Every gardener has a different opinion about how things should be done. An example is a favorite saying from one of my good gardening friends: "You get three gardeners in one room - fist fight!". While I don't completely agree with Gerry - I know that there is always more than one way to approach a subject. I hope that we can provide you with some useful information, and some ideas to get your creative juices flowing. |
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Lawn
Maintenance Choices - Part 3
By The Garden Commando In this section we will continue to address the Medium Maintenance Program, which spans March to November. Here we cover July - November. This schedule is geared toward our particular climatic zone which is 5B - 6. In your particular climatic zone the actions may take place in different months. |
Suggested Medium Maintenance Program - Continued....
| July/August
Re-apply crabgrass killer if needed. Re-apply weed killer as needed. Ease up on cutting, since this is the (usually) driest time of the year (although, from the past couple of years, you'd never know it). The end of July is a good time to apply grub killer if you see evidence of their presence. If you find suspicious brown patches - dig around the area, grub presence is possible. Dig small pieces up; if grubs are found, apply a good quality grub chemical (the label should tell you that the product contains Chlorpiferos), or a combination lawn food and grub control mixture. You will notice that on the granular product label, they suggest that you water the lawn thoroughly after application. This is to help carry the chemical down to the layer where the grubs are hiding. If broad leafed weeds are still present, apply a good quality broadleaf weed killer, or a combination weed killer and fertilizer mix. (If a granular product is used, wet the lawn, and apply the combination mixture. Do not cut the lawn for two days after the application. The herbicide clings to the wet leaves of the weeds and works more effectively that way. Cutting the grass after the application will waste the application, since you will be cutting off the leaves upon which the chemical is clinging.) If you are planning to renovate your lawn, the end of August is a very
good time to do so. Ideally, the grass should be de-thatched and
aerated. The de-thatching machine (which can be rented for half a day)
Re seeding can continue until about the third week in September, but hopefully not later than that. (Although there are some lawn experts who contend that you can put down the seed in late fall and allow it to sit there over winter, it will then germinate as the weather warms up.) If you are using a seed mix with a high proportion of blue grass, if you seed too late, germination may not take place until mid October...not beneficial to young grass, which would then be subject to frost kill. |
| September:
Now is the time to give your lawn it last feeding. If you have not been doing so up to now, get a slow release fertilizer for this application. If you are wondering about this last application, just consider the implications if you neglect to winterize your car! Well, in a way, your lawn (and all your garden plants) are similar. If you provide the lawn with that last nutritional boost, it will have the strength to withstand the onslaughts of our wonderful winter. So, although it is costly, it is a worthwhile investment. |
| October:
As the weather gets cooler, you can lower the mower blades. During the spring and summer I usually set my blades to cut at about 2 1/2 to 3 inches. In September I drop them to 2 inches, and in October to 1 and 1/2 inches. Note: If your lawn has a very bumpy surface, dropping the blades may end up creating "bald" patches. So in setting blade height, surface must be considered. Of course, if the lawn IS very bumpy, you may want to consider adding topsoil to it, in order to create a more even surface.Continue to mow your grass regularly until the first heavy frost, whenever that occurs. |
| November:
After the leaves have all fallen, rake the grass thoroughly and clean up leaves and debris. Try to get one last mowing in before the first heavy frost. If that last cut is given, I have found that the fall clean up of the lawn can kill two birds with one stone: The lawn benefits from the hard raking by loosening thatch and loosening the soil at the surface; the spring clean-up will be less work. (You benefit from the extra short grass which makes the raking much less tiresome!) Having a medium maintenance lawn does not imply that your lawn will be an eyesore. Far from it. In fact, your lawn will probably still be green when others have dried up. As well, if you have a good grass mix you can step up your maintenance program at any time to improve its looks. Lawn care continued...Lawns 4 |
| This page was updated December 29/99 |
An
unusually clear photo of The Garden Commando