Lawn Care – Page 3

How to Care for Your Lawn

A luxuriant lawn makes a perfect foil for flower borders and creates an emerald focal point in winter when color is in short supply. There are different types of turf for different situations but all lawns benefit from regular mowing, and care and attention in the spring and autumn.

Mowing

Mow grass whenever it is growing, provided the ground isn’t too wet or icy to walk on. In spring, mow once a week with the blades at their highest setting, and gradually lower them as growth accelerates. Use a box to collect the clippings, which can be composted, or use a “mulching mower” which doesn’t remove the grass but chops it into fine pieces, returning nutrients to the lawn. Rake off thick patches of clippings, which will damage the turf. In summer, a high-quality lawn may need cutting three times a week, but in autumn, as growth slows, once or twice a week should suffice.

Watering

In dry stages, water newly laid turf, freshly sown areas, and high-quality lawns. Leave established lawns unwatered, but stop mowing because longer grass helps protect the roots. The grass may turn brown, but will recover once it rains.

Water a new lawn every week in dry spells, until it is established. You can tell when fine lawns need watering because they lose their spring when walked on. Reduce water evaporation by using sprinklers early in the morning or at night. Move seep hoses by 8 inches every half hour.

Feeding

In dry periods, water newly laid turf, freshly sown areas, and high-quality lawns. Leave established lawns unwatered, but stop mowing because longer grass helps protect the roots. The grass may turn brown, but will recover once it rains.

Weeding Option

Acidic lawns are prone to moss and weed growth. Check soil pH in winter, and raise it by applying ground chalk or limestone at a rate of 2 ounces per 10 square foot. Apply a lawn weedkiller in spring or summer, and repeat in early autumn. Organic gardeners can grub out creeping buttercups, daisies, and tap-rooted weeds, like dandelions, using an old knife.

No Sweat Lawn Care

Seasonal yard work, for most of us, it’s a love-hate rapport. We take pride in our manicured lawns, but often resent the time it takes away from living our lives

Early To Rise
Starting your lawn care routine as early in the day to safeguard working in extreme temperatures. The early times also leaves time for other activities to enjoy!

Let The Mower Do the Work
With a battery-powered mower, you’ll hardly break a sweat while cutting the grass. These lightweight tools are easier to move than gas-powered mowers, and don’t put off those foul fumes. Before you begin, make sure your mower blade is adjusted to the right height for your grass.

Usually, spring seasons are rainy and grass grows quickly, so you’ll be able to set your blade lower than you would in the height of summer or during a deficiency. Regardless of environmental factors, you never want to cut more than 1/3 of the total grass height as that can leave your lawn susceptible to weeds and breakdown.

To Edge or Not To Edge?
Edging is a personal preference and gives the perfect seal of professionally, well-manicured lawns. We recommend edging along sidewalks, driveways, patios and garden areas to add a finishing touch to your landscape. Depending on the design, the use of landscape edging, or look to the multi-use offered by a strong trimmer can cut back on some of the edging work.

Lawn Projects
It is awesome and rewarding to change out designs however, space them out or complete in phases to deter from being overwhelmed.

Summer Lawn Care Tips

Summer is almost here after a different kind of winter, a late spring warm-up and a good bit of spring rainfall in some areas of the state. LasTop Lawn Maintenance and Landscaping, Inc. (LasTop) care practices of fertilization and weed control should have already been done to set the lawn up for a good summer. Let’s consider the areas of summer mowing, weed control and watering and some of the “dos and don’ts” of each practice!

Mow a Little Bit Higher

Mowing lawns at a mowing height 3 inches or more helps the lawn cope with summer heat stress and shades the soil surface to reduce weed germination.
Mow frequently enough to not remove any more than 1/3 the total leaf area in any single mowing. If your mower is set to a 3 inch cutting height try to mow before the lawn reaches 4 1/2 inches.
If you are gone from home for a while and the lawn is much higher than normal upon your return, it is best to adjust the cutting height a notch or two higher so as to not try and remove all the accumulated growth in one mowing. Cut it at the higher height for a week or two then drop the height a notch the next time you mow until you reach the desired summer cutting height.
Frequent mowing also helps grass clippings to filter back into the lawn and recycle fertilizer nutrients.

Controlling Weeds in Established Lawns

Summer is not the best time to control perennial broadleaf weeds.

Many broadleaf herbicide product labels state to not apply if the day temperatures are 85° or higher as a precaution against injuring the lawn.
Weeds also need to be actively growing to have the greatest likelihood for good weed control from herbicide applications. Weeds in non-irrigated lawns during dry periods are less likely to be controlled by herbicides.
From mid-June on is also the time when crabgrass makes a good bit of growth and becomes much more noticeable. This time of year it may be difficult to control actively growing crabgrass with a single herbicide application. It may take two applications two or three weeks apart to get decent control. (You have to use a post-emergence crabgrass herbicide to control growing plants, crabgrass preventers will not kill already growing plants.)
Precautionary statements will be spelled out on herbicide product labels. It is the responsibility of the user to read and follow all label direction associated with any herbicide application.

Weeds in New Lawns

Lawns planted this spring are likely to have new weeds growing along with the new lawn grasses.

Most herbicide label directions have a recommended waiting period before it is safe to apply them without a risk of injuring the newly planted lawn, however, product label statements can vary greatly in this regard. Products will recommend to delay herbicide application until after the new lawn has matured. This waiting period is typically linked to the lawn having made enough growth to have been mowed 2, 3 or even 4 times.
Mowing the lawn can help keep the weeds in check if summer temperatures make it unsafe to try and control weeds until fall.
Hand weeding is always an option.

Water

Most communities have sent out watering guidelines for summer water conservation. The very simple guidelines are where watering is only allowed every other day and is based upon the odd or even home street address. Efficient use of water is good for the community, your lawn and your budget!

Homeowners vary significantly in lawn watering practices. Some will water to keep the lawn with a good green color while some will not water and allow their bluegrass lawns to go dormant, not watering much at all during extended dry periods.
When lawns are permitted to go dormant in summer a light 1/4 to 1/2 inch watering every 3 weeks (if not supplied by an occasional rain event) will help the growing points stay alive to regrow with the cooler and moist fall conditions.
If you do irrigate, the goal is to water deeply and infrequently.
In the absence of rainfall in July and August applying about 1 to 1 1/2 inches of water per week will maintain good lawn color and growth. This weekly total should be broken up into 2 or 3 watering days per week.
Soils vary greatly in how fast water can infiltrate into the soil. Water only as long as it takes for water to begin to runoff the lawn. Automatic sprinkler settings refer to this practice as “cycle and soak”. All zones are set for realistic, often shorter run times that avoid runoff. Then additional run times are repeated two or three times over the watering period that day to maximize the amount of water that moves into the soil.

The best time of day to water is early morning (less wind for better coverage and less evaporation, and the grass leaves dry quickly).