The amount of time and money you spend maintaining your lawn depends a lot on your idea of what a lawn should be --not necessarily on what your lawn actually needs. Early lawns--those of the Middle Ages--did not require much maintenance. That's because they were inspired by glades or grassy openings in the forest, not by golf courses or pictures in magazines. These meadowlike lawns, made up of grasses and flowers, were planted among fruit trees, vines, flowers, and herbs and enclosed by fences or courtyards. There was no mowing. Grass was kept from growing too tall by trampling it into a soft, woven matlike surface.
- I've been told the importance of core aeration but have found it difficult to find someone who will come out and do it.
Homeowners face the dilemma of needing a relatively small job performed by a landscape crew that is typically looking to provide more services than just core aerifying — your call for service may not receive a response. The alternative is to rent a unit and do-it-yourself which is very easy and practical but typically requires an oversized vehicle to bring the unit home, two people to load and unload it and a fairly strong operator to keep up with a heavy machine. It can take you for a ride. Be sure to go across the lawn in both directions for better coverage. The benefits are well worth the effort. Air can reach the root zone, stimulating new roots for the grass blades. If thatch is a problem, the holes punched by the aerator allow water to penetrate that barrier, helping to decompose the thatch. Turf suffers when soil is compacted — aerifying keeps clay soils from packing down, affecting root development.
- What do I do in the heat of summer?
This is a chicken-or-egg dilemma. If you decide to water your lawn during hot weather, it will need one deep soaking a week of about an inch of moisture. Measure how much the turf has received by placing small cans at different points and turning off the water after it is an inch deep in most of the cans. Now you have a green lawn, which makes it a target for a type of beetle who lays its eggs in lawns. When the eggs hatch, the offspring chew their way through the turf roots, and eventually become c-shaped grubs that cause considerable damage. The other way to approach a lawn is to provide minimal moisture — a quarter-inch of water every two-to-three weeks will keep grass plants in a dormant state until cool weather and renewed moisture greens up the lawn in autumn.
- What do I do with my grass clippings?
It's completely a myth that using a mulching mower causes thatch buildup – nothing could be further than the truth. Using a mulching lawn mower is good for the grass and for the environment. To have a healthy lawn, and reduce waste at municipal facilities, consider using a mulching mower.
Keep Grass Healthy with a Mulching Mower
The way you mow your lawn makes a big difference in its health. A lot of people mistakenly think that leaving grass clippings on the lawn causes thatch problems. Thatch is not composed of grass clippings, but rather of living and dead pieces of stem between the soil and the green grass blades. Mowing grass with a mulching lawn mower can actually help decrease thatch problems by keeping turf healthy.
All types of grass are heavy feeders. One of the best ways to return nutrients to the soil is to leave the grass clippings on the lawn. Grass clippings are high in nitrogen, and thus make great compost; however, they also help restore the soil by adding nitrogen back to it, when left on the ground. As long as a regular mowing schedule is maintained, and you do not remove any more than 1/3 of the grass blade in any one mowing session, the amount of grass clippings left on the lawn, and the length of those clippings will not be prohibitive to breaking down quickly. (This means that you might have to adjust your mowing schedule if it rains frequently-to keep from removing too much grass blade at one time.)
If you collect your clippings, recycle them in a compost heap — they make an excellent "fuel" to combine with material such as leaves to start the decomposition process. Use them also to mulch flower beds or shrub borders. If you use them as mulch in the vegetable garden, do not do so if you are have used weed killers or insecticides on the lawn in the last 30 days..
- When should I pull mulch off flower beds?
Tender perennials should remain under mulch until spring weather seems to have settled — when the extended forecast shows night temperatures staying above, say, 25 degrees. Spring perennials can withstand occasional late blasts of winter and should have mulch removed early — by mid-March in most of the Midwest. Do not fret if a late cold snap arrives as tulips and daffodils have started emerging — in most instances the flower buds have not pushed through and will not be damaged.
- When is it safe to plant?
This depends entirely on the frost hardiness of the plant you are starting. Roses and many other perennials can go into the ground in early spring while frost sensitive transplants such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and herbs such as basil, need to wait until nearly all possibility of frost has passed.
- I have trouble with grass growing near trees — is it because the lawn is competing for nutrients?
You have answered your own question to a large degree. The root zone of a tree extends far wider than the drip line and the majority of its roots are in the top 3 inches of soil. So yes, those thirsty trees are going to absorb their share of water and fertilizer, depriving the turf. The lawn will also be deprived of light under most deciduous trees, dealing a second stress factor that may make it impossible to keep a dense stand of grass within several feet of a mature tree.
- How often do I need to water a container garden?
The simple answer is every day during the heat of the summer. Some questions you should ask yourself to determine your frequency: Is there sufficient soil mass to store enough water for the plants for more than one day? Is there drainage so water runs through the container? Is there lack of drainage which may cause a lake effect in the base of the pot, drowning the plants? Have you used polymers that help store water? Are the plants in full sun (more water) or dense shade (less water)?
- How soon can I take houseplants outdoors? When should I bring them in?
Houseplants are, typically, tropical plants we keep out of the cold in our homes. In the Upper Midwest, Memorial Day weekend can be a general date to target; in Zone 6 areas, Mother's Day or a week or so earlier can be used. If you are stretching the season, be ready to move them indoors temporarily if temperatures go below, say, 50. At the end of the season, think about it at Labor Day and play it by the weather changes.
- Should I repair my lawn with sod or seed?
Before you do either, work up the soil to give either method a decent chance to succeed. Use a starter fertilizer to help initiate growth. If you do sod, make sure to water every day for at least two weeks to make sure the roots reach the new soil profile. If you are seeding, cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil and then a light mulch — straw works well — and water lightly every day until the blades push through the mulch. Then begin the deep watering, less frequent routine of the rest of the lawn.
- What about bare patches in shade?
You will rarely find sod for shade. Sod farms grow sunny varieties of grasses. Most garden centers carry mixtures of grass seed for shade. If you are worried about your success with seed, look for products that are a combination of seeds and a paper-based, brightly colored mulch so you will remind yourself where you seeded and to water it. If the shade is too deep for turf, consider some of the many groundcovers that will do better than grass.
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