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Grass is dormant, and no maintenance is required.
Grass is dormant, and no maintenance is required.
Good time to collect soil samples for fertilizer recommendations.
Great time to install new or sharpen those old mower blades.
In early March, fertilize with nitrogen/phosphorus/potash (N-P-K) combination recommended by soil sample analysis as soon as grass begins to turn green.
Great time to spread Lime in accordance with your soil sample results.
If necessary, apply a second application of fertilizer in mid to late April. If soil sample was performed, refer to recommendations for rates of N-P-K. If crabgrass was a problem last year, apply crabgrass pre-emergent.
Resume mowing as grass begins to grow taller.
If weeds appear, either remove by hand or apply a broadleaf herbicide.
Water as required.
Mow to 3 to 4 inches when needed.
Mow to 3 to 4 inches when needed.
Water as required.
Mow to 3 to 4 inches when needed.
In early September, apply initial fall fertilizer application for color and to improve root growth in preparation for winter.
Overseed any thin areas with premium grass seed.
Water as required.
If not already done, overseed any thin areas with grass seed.
Remove fallen leaves promptly.
Apply second fall fertilizer treatment.
Apply Lime as needed.
Grass begins to turn dormant.
Grass is dormant, and no maintenance is required.
Watering established lawns should be performed on an as-needed basis. When Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, in-ground irrigation systems or hoses and sprinklers should be utilized to keep your turf healthy. Regardless of the method of application, water should be delivered to the lawn surface in a thorough, uniform manner.
When possible, we recommend watering in the earlier part of the day so moisture on the grass plant has time to evaporate. Watering in the evening can promote fungal growth in the heat of the year.
If bare spots appear in your lawn or sports field, overseeding can be performed to help repair the turf. Small areas can be seeded by manually distributing grass seed, but larger areas are more easily seeded using a spreader.
For cool season grasses such as fescue or bluegrass, overseeding can be successful when done in the spring (mid-March) or fall (early September). A few drawbacks to spring overseeding are the competition the seed will face from weeds and the water requirements of the seedlings as they enter the summer months. Another consideration to spring overseeding, pre-emergent grassy weed control will inhibit seed germination. Fall overseeding does not usually have the weed competition or drought stresses of spring overseeding. (Recent years have shown that droughts can happen in the fall, but fall usually brings precipitation.)
We usually recommend overseeding at a rate of 5 to 8 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet of lawn for tall fescue, and 1 to 2.5 pounds per 1,000 square feet of lawn for bluegrass. Currently, we sell our seed in 50 pound increments. If you do not require that much seed for your area, we always recommend purchasing a premium brand of seed from a local garden supplier. The certified seed blend that we use comes directly from the grower, so the turf blends at the garden supply may not be an exact match. In that case, look for varieties described as “turf type” for tall fescues, and Kentucky bluegrass if you have a bluegrass area to overseed.
For optimal seed-soil contact and seed germination, we recommend mechanically disturbing the soil in the area to be overseeded. This can be accomplished in small areas manually by going over the soil with a hard-tine rake 3 or 4 times. A walk-behind spreader can then be used to distribute the grass seed. Slit-seeders work well for larger areas. The slit-seeder will disturb the soil and distribute the seed simultaneously. We suggest overseeding with the slit-seeder by making two passes. Spread one half of the seed with the machine going in one direction, then making the second pass with the remainder of the seed at a 90º angle to the first pass. Plan to water the overseeded area roughly ½ inch every third day, for 3 to 5 weeks for best results.
Back to Top...The best defense is a good offense. With respect to lawns, a thick, vigorous turf helps weed control by out-competing undesirable, opportunistic plant species. Once you have installed sod, maintaining a weed-free yard can be accomplished by properly watering, fertilizing, and mowing the turf, as well as applying herbicides as needed.
If a few weeds are noticed, manual removal should suffice. If your weed problem is more widespread, herbicides can be applied that are specific to the invading plant(s). An excellent tool for identifying weeds is the Virginia Tech Weed Identification Guide. Proactive weed prevention for crabgrass, for example, can be applied in April (some crabgrass pre-emergent herbicides contain broadleaf weed control as well). ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW THE LABEL FOR HERBICIDE APPLICATION DIRECTIONS AND RATES! If you are not comfortable with weed identification or weed control application, you can hire a lawn maintenance provider to perform these services for your yard.
Aerating helps minimize the effects of soil compaction on a lawn. When lawns are under heavy use or experience poor drainage, the soil can become compacted and reduce the amount of space between soil particles. The air pockets between soil particles that normally occur provide the roots with oxygen and help the roots absorb water and nutrients in the soil. When the soil becomes compacted and the spaces between soil particles are lost, you may notice yellowing turf, decreased turf growth, and thinning of the turf or bare spots in the lawn. Aeration can help alleviate the problems associated with soil compaction by creating more air spaces in the soil. Aeration can be accomplished on a large scale by operating mechanized aerators that use tines to cut into the soil or hollow spears to remove small cores from the soil.
Opening the spaces in the soil allows increased oxygen, water and nutrient movement near the roots. Root and plant growth are enhanced with increased access to water and nutrients. For cool season grasses in our area, late August and September are good times to aerate as the plants are beginning to grow aggressively with the onset of cool weather, minimizing the recovery period for the aerated lawn.
Back to Top...We recommend waiting until the sod is completely rooted before you mow your sod for the first time. Depending on the weather and time of year, sod may be well-rooted within 3 weeks. Spring and fall installations may even be rooted before 10 days! We suggest testing the sod before mowing. Go into the yard and try to pull various pieces of sod from the ground. If the sod comes up easily, wait to mow it. If the sod throughout the yard is well-anchored and doesn’t come off the ground with a strong tug, go ahead and start your mower! We recommend that the first mowing is done at the highest blade height of your mower (and a walk-behind mower is best for this first mowing). Also, plan to lower the blade height gradually if you want to mow the lawn lower than the mower’s highest blade height. (Don’t scalp the grass at subsequent mowings!) We suggest never cutting off more than one quarter of the total plant’s blade height in one mowing.
All fertilizer labels have three bold numbers. The first number is the amount of nitrogen (N), the second number is the amount of phosphate (P2O5) and the third number is the amount of potash (K2O). These three numbers represent the primary nutrients nitrogen(N) - phosphorus(P) - potassium(K). A bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer contains 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphate and 10 percent potash. When in doubt always follow the manufacturers label for sreading and rate information.
To calculate the pounds of nitrogen in a 50-lb bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer, multiply 50 by 0.10. Do the same for calculating the amounts of phosphate and potash. A 50-lb bag of 10-10-10 contains a total of 15 lbs of nutrients: 5 lbs nitrogen, 5 lbs phosphate and 5 lbs potash. The remaining weight is filler, usually sand or granular limestone.
Another Example: 8-0-24, 50 pound bagA 50 pound bag of 8-0-24 fertilizer contains a total of 16 lbs of nutrients: 4 lbs nitrogen, 0 lbs phosphate, and 12 lbs potash. This would leave us with 34 lbs of filler.
The best way to select a fertilizer grade is to have your soil tested. It is always helpful to know what you are working with. Your local extension agent can provide a soil sample test kit, or you can hire a private service/lab to perform a soil analysis for you. After collecting soil samples, sending them for analysis, and receiving the results, you can amend the soil as recommended in the report. Soil samples can be taken Here or to your local Landscape Supply Office.
Have you ever seen a lawn that looked like it had different colored stripes? This was probably caused by spreading fertilizers the wrong way. To make sure that the color and growth of your plants are the same, fertilizers must be spread evenly. The most popular types of fertilizer spreaders are the drop spreader and the cyclone spreader. Cyclone spreaders generally provide the best results. Make sure when you spread the fertilizer that you overlap your spread pattern by applying half the material in one direction and the remainder in the opposite direction. Break up any clumps so that the fertilizer won't get clogged in the spreader. Always calculate your spreader before each use per the manufacturers recommendations.
Soil pH is one of the most important soil properties that affects the availability of nutrients.
Lime can be added to the soil to make it less sour (acid) and also supplies calcium and magnesium for plants to use. Lime also raises the pH to the desired range of 6.2 to 6.5.
In this pH range, nutrients are more readily available to plants, and microbial populations in the soil increase. Microbes convert nitrogen and sulfur to forms that plants can use. Lime also enhances the physical properties of the soil that promote water and air movement. It is a good idea to have your soil tested. If you do, you will get a report that explains how much lime and fertilizer your crop needs.
There are 13 main mineral nutrients, which come from the soil, are dissolved in water and absorbed through a plant's roots. There are not always enough of these nutrients in the soil for a plant to grow healthy. This is why we recommend the use of fertilizers to add the nutrients back into the soil. The mineral nutrients are divided into two groups: Macronutrients and Micronutrients.
The macronutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). These major nutrients usually are lacking from the soil first because plants use large amounts for their growth and survival. The secondary macronutrients are calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S). There are usually enough of these nutrients in the soil so fertilization is not always needed. Also, large amounts of Calcium and Magnesium are added when lime is applied to acidic soils. Sulfur is usually found in sufficient amounts from the slow decomposition of soil organic matter, an important reason for not throwing out grass clippings and leaves.
Micronutrients are those elements essential for plant growth which are needed in only very small (micro) quantities . These elements are sometimes called minor elements or trace elements, but use of the term micronutrient is encouraged by the American Society of Agronomy and the Soil Science Society of America. The micronutrients are boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), chloride (Cl), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn). Recycling organic matter such as grass clippings and tree leaves is an excellent way of providing micronutrients (as well as macronutrients) to growing plants.
