|
Healthy grass is weed and moss free
How to have a Healthy Lawn
Mow at 2 inches, no shorter.
Mow often enough that you never remove more then 30% of the grass blade.
Allow the mower to mulch the grass clippings back into your lawn.
These first tree steps will keep most lawns healthy which will keep diseases away and save you money.
Aerate a minimum 2 times per season; heavily if you have thatch build up (dead areas where nothing grows, like dead areas of grass). This will allow nutrients and air to get to roots. Leaving the plugs, will give the grass a nice top dress, basically producing the effect of rototilling something without ripping everything up.
Fertilize with high quality slow release fertilizers, staying away from creating fast growing turf, but striving to have consistently green healthy turf. Fast growing grass, grass that can't be maintained with weekly mowing, will stress the Grass.
Spread lime on your lawn, this creates a better environment for healthy turf and moss doesn't like it. Never apply moss killers, they are acidic and create a better environment for moss in the long run.
Never thatch- this stresses the turf and you can fix a thatch problem with the above methods, primarily aeration.
Happy, healthy turf
Dependable Yardcare
|
|
On Lime. No, not like the fruit.
A Dependable Yardcare Tidbit
The Northwest weather seems to be a little confused when it comes to the transition between winter and spring. We get this odd, slushy rain and it stays usually very cold until one day when it just warms up. But, *sigh* it's just warm rain.
With all this wetness, moss will start to grow in your lawn and while your first thought might be to get out the moss killer and deal with it now before it gets too bad, this isn't the best way to get rid of it. Putting down moss killer now will kill the moss but in so doing, it will increase the soil's acidity, which is what makes moss grow in the first place. In other words, moss killer creates a better environment for the moss to grow next year, so it is only a temperary solution for this season. A more permanent solution to this problem is lime, which should be applied 2-4 times with a couple rainy weeks of in between each application. The number of applications per season depends on how bad the soil acidity is--the heavier the moss the more acidic the soil.
Two rules of a green thumb with lime are: 1) never apply it with your fertilizer and 2) it's a process, so if you have moss, 2 applications--maybe 1 in February and March--is the minimum. The rate it should be applied is the minimum requirement on the bag. We recommend applying it like this to decrease that chance of over applying it while still dealing with that pesky moss. |
|
|
Holes and moles all under your lawn.
A Dependable Yard Care Tidbit! On moles.
This is an excerpt from an article on moles from pestproducts.com, we think it covers the topic well and provides a healthy amount of information on how to deal with "unlicensed excavators."
"Although there are many species of moles found world wide, there are at least 5 which can be found in the United States. The Eastern Mole is the most common mole pest in lawns and gardens. Moles have soft fur, a pointed nose or snout and broad, powerful, clawed feet; their front feet enable them to quickly maneuver through the soil, tunneling as they search for food. Even though they are considered beneficial to farmers and gardeners (feeding on insects and grubs) they can become quite a nuisance when they begin to destroy lawns or turf grasses in homes or golf courses. Many people will confuse mole infestations with molecricket infestations. While both tunnel, moles have larger and deeper runs and feed on young insects (including molecrickets), grubs, worms. Molecrickets tend to run more shallow (during peak turf damage season) and feed on tender plant growth beneath the soil's surface. Green June Beetles also damage by tunneling but the signs of their activity are not usually confused with the runs or tunnels associated with moles.
On their never ending quest for food, this animal's tunneling activity disrupts our lawns and gardens, separating the plant roots from the soil. Without root to soil contact, the grass or plant can obviously die where extensive tunneling is present The plants are not being eaten by the animal; the tunneling kills plants. These furry little creatures love areas where grub and insect populations are high.
Mole Elimination (mole control)
When the grubs and other immature stages of lawn pest insects are in high numbers, moles will be attracted to your lawn. Methods to rid your lawn of moles
To rid your property of the different pests these burrowing animals love to eat, treat the area with a turf insecticide such as Merit or Talstar.
Summary of Mole Control
Moles cause a great deal of damage to lawns and turf grasses, tunneling as they forage for food. Kill the mole's food by treating your lawn with a turf insecticide. Repel persistent moles by spraying Whole Control or broadcasting Mole Out.
Kill tunneling moles with Mole Patrol mole bait, Talpirid Mole Bait or Victor Mole Trap." |
|
|
|
|
|
Tidbits