With cold we
ather around the corner, Blade to Blade Lawn & Landscape has provided a few tips to prepare your lawn for the upcoming season.
The weather started off very warm this year (80’s in April!) and dry! The snow had disappeared off the peak in early June and we began mowing almost a month earlier than last year. High water bills and lawn fungus have almost become normal. Well, it will finally cool off shortly and help provide some much-needed relief to the landscapes and our pocketbooks. Please take a moment to read the following information is all help you enjoy true lawn success.
As this growing season seems to want to be a long one, this will afford us an opportunity to bring even an extremely distressed lawn back into great condition. We must review the basics briefly to ensure that we are on the same track. Remember, a healthy lawn is easier and more pleasurable to take care of, so let’s look at what it takes:
- Soil conditioning – Revive
- Irrigation (proper) – Schedule and importance
- Soil cultivation – Aeration and its principles
- Nutrition (fertilization) – NPK
- Weed control – The robbing of nutrients in your lawn
- Repair – Over Seeding
1. You can greatly improve the quality of your soil and its ability to accept water by using a soil conditioner/wetting Agent such as Revive. This product helps to push the water deep into the ground while using soil conditioners to help minimize lawn stress and improve turf health.
2. Proper irrigation is a must and watering a distressed lawn in an ordinary manner is frustrating and will not yield optimal turf health and will only waste energy and your patience. Under normal circumstances you should water at least 30 min. with stationary heads and 45 min. for heads that rotate. The intended goal is to drive the water down into the soil 5 to 6 inches so that it may be more efficiently used by the roots. Temperature will dictate the times per week you water, 40 to 60° water once per week, 60 to 80° water twice per week, for temperatures over 80° three times is usually adequate. For temperatures in excess of 90° you can water 4 to 5 times per week and barely be getting by. This of course is very frustrating when we don’t have any precipitation. Since water accounts for about 80% of grass physical makeup, most failures in turf are directly related to water. Improper watering will result in lawn stress and ultimately lawn failure.
3. Soil cultivation or aeration is one of the best things you can do for lawn. Their are five principles to aeration: #1, it fights soil compaction, #2 it manages thatch levels, #3 it improves air circulation to the roots, #4 it improves water penetration to the root zone, #5 it stimulates new root growth around the core holes.
4. N.P.K.-If you are familiar with chemistry you’ll recognize these symbols from the periodic table. (N) Nitrogen helps the growth of plants, (P) Phosphorus provides the hardiness or the ability for plants to endure stress from heat and from cold. (K) Potassium helps to develop healthy root structure. These macronutrients combined with other nutrients help the plant (grass) to be healthy and thrive. If you’re not on a regular fertilization schedule you are inviting failure into any plant.
5. Weeds steal nutrients from the soil and prevent those nutrients from being utilized by the turf. Proper weed control can be defined as being early and often. Weeds can be kept at a minimum by simply focusing on the basics of turf management.
6. If all else fails, remember the basics again. Now is a great time to over seed and fill in thin areas or areas that have completely become bare.
We are happy to serve you and solve your landscaping needs. We want to take the mystery out of the equation and bring you a great-looking landscape. Thank you for your business and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us.
Brian Beck with BLADE to BLADE Lawn & Landscape
719-380-0136
www.springslawns.com
BRIANB@SPRINGSLAWNS.COM