Lawn Care Guide

Bruce Knight asked:


Natural Lawn Care - Get your lawn off Drugs!

By Bruce Knight

GreenTerraFirma.com

Your Soil

Similar to Greening Your Garden, the basics of lawn care start with your soil. If you haven’t had a soil sample taken in the past 5 years, this is where you need to start. Many local Garden Centers carry soil kits. The do-it-yourself kits will provide you with a bare minimum of information. You should really send a soil sample away to a lab for an “organic” analysis. An organic analysis will tell you exactly how much of each “amendment” you need to add to your soil to bring it up to par. A “regular” soil analysis tends to include only the PH level and the three main nutrient levels you can correct with fertilizers - nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Ideally, you should take your soil sample in the spring.

PH of Soil

Most grasses like a ph level of 6.5 which is slightly acidic. A ph of 7.0 is neutral. Dandelions on the other hand, like soil with a ph level of 7.5, slightly alkaline. Thus a proper ph level will support the growth of your grass and at the same time retard the growth of dandelions. Dolomitic lime is used to increase the alkalinity of the soil, where magnesium and calcium are also needed. Hi-cal lime increases the alkalinity where the soil has adequate magnesium. Flowers of sulphur is used to increase the acidity of the soil.

Organic Fertilizers

Fertilizers list the percentage of Nitrogen, Phosphorous & Potassium on the bag, such as 7-7-7. Soil also requires other macro-nutrients including sulphur, calcium and magnesium and trace elements such as iron, boron and zinc.

Organic Nitrogen Sources:

Canola seed meal: (6-2-1) maximum of 5 kilograms/10 sq meters (10lb/100 sq ft). Lasts 5 months.

Fish meal: (10.5-6-0) max 2.5 kg/10 sq mtr (5lb/100 sq ft). Lasts 6-8 months.

Blood meal: (12.5-1-3) max 1.5kg/10 sq mtr (3lb/100 sq ft). Lasts 4 months.

Organic Phosphorous Sources:

Bone meal: (3-20-0) plus 20-30% calcium. Max 2.5 kg/10 sq mtr ( 5lb/100 sq ft). Lasts more than 12 months.

SingleSuperPhosphate: (0-20-0) plus 20% calcium & 12% sulphur. Max 2.5kg/10 sq mtr (5lb/100 sq ft). Starts to release in 2-3 months.

Organic Potassium Sources:

Kelp meal: (1-0-1.2) plus 33% trace minerals. Max 0.5kg/10 sq mtr (1lb/100 sq ft). Lasts 6-12 months.

Wood ashes: (0-0-1 to 0-0-10) Raises PH level also. Max 1 kg/10 sq mtr (2lb/100 sq ft). Lasts more than 12 months.

Compost - that old black magic

All soils benefit from nutrient rich applications of compost at any time. Compost from rotted organic matter is the best all round soil conditioner.It improves drainage, provides plant nutrients and provides beneficial micro-organisms.Aply any time of the year and often.

Watering

Most people water their lawns to much. Lawns need about one inch or water per week. If you haven’t received enough rain in the past week to make up a full inch then you can add your own rain water from your rain barrels. One deep watering is much better then short spurts of water. Soaking the soil once a week will encourage deep root growth which will withstand the dry periods better.

Water early in the morning before it gets to hot and the water evaporates. Don’t water at dusk as this leaves the grass wet at night which can encourage disease.

Cutting

Don’t cut your grass shorter than 3 inches. Longer grass crowds out the weeds and can withstand pest attacks better. Leave nitrogen rich grass clippings on the lawn to feed it.

Aeration

A major cause of weed problems is compact soil. The compact soil stresses and kills the roots of your grasses, allowing weeds to move in and take their place. Aerating the soil allows oxygen to penetrate and restores proper drainage. Most lawns should be aerated at least twice a year, once early in the spring and once in the fall.

After the spring aeration, top-dress with screen compost and pest-resistant grass seed. Immediately after aerating in the fall, apply organic fertilizers as needed. A mid-season aeration is recommended for lawns with heavy thatch.

Use an aerator that leaves a “plug” of dirt on your lawn. By removing some of the soil you are sure to get air and water down into the soil. aerators that just use “spines” to make a hole could compact your ground further and the holes can quickly fill back in.

De-thatching

Thatch is a dense layer of dead grass stems and roots compacted on the surface of the soil. It is resistant to decay. A thick layer of thatch tends to prevent water from soaking into the soil.

Thatch, thicker than a half inch encourages insects and disease. De-thatch in the FALL. If you discover in the spring that you have a thick layer of thatch, aerate and wait for fall. De-thatching will create some stress for your lawn. It will help if you add a layer of compost afterwards.

Insects

Ants

Ants are attracted to nutritionally poor, dry soils, low in organic matter. Generally, if you increase the organic matter in your soil by top-dressing with compost, your soil will retain more moisture and the ant problem will take care of itself. You can apply sand, borax or bone meal to the mounds also.

Chinch Bugs

Chinch bugs like lots of thatch, dry grass roots and soil low in nitrogen. Aerate in spring and summer and de-thatch in fall. If you have hordes of chinch bugs and they are killing patches of your lawn, put a capful of dishwashing soap in a sprinkling can filled with water and drench the problem area. Then lay a piece of white flannel over the problem area. The chinch bugs will cling to the flannel as they try to escape the soap. In 15 to 20 minutes, vacuum the flannel or rinse in a bucket of insecticidal soap. Sounds crazy but it works.

Sod Webworm Moths

If you notice small whitish moths darting about, you likely have sod webworms. Best action is to aerate and top-dress with endophytic grass and de-thatch in the fall. If you need more help that this, you can try introducing beneficial nematodes as a “natural” control.

White Grubs

These grubs are soft and white, with a C-shaped body. They can be from a quarter inch to 3 inches long. And they can cause patches of your lawn to turn brown and die. The best defense is a dense healthy lawn. De-thatch, aerate and keep surface moisture to a minimum by watering deeply and infrequently.

Milky Spore Disease - a naturally occurring bacterium will control white grubs for years once well established in your soil. You can also try introducing beneficial nematodes.

Beneficial Nematodes

Beneficial nematodes are nature’s way of effectively controlling the larvae stage (white grubs) of the Common Chafer, European Chafer, Japanese Beetle, Asiatic Garden Beetle, Black Vine Weevil, Strawberry Root Weevil, plus May & June Beetles.

They are a safe and sensible way to reduce white grubs infestations and other pest insects while not harming your grass or beneficial insects.

How to apply: normally you just add them to water and spray onto the lawn. Follow the instructions from your supplier. A package of 50 million nematodes will cover 2500 sq. ft. or 250 sq. metres.

Weeds

Most weed problems can be attributed to poor soil conditions. Look after the soil and you also look after the weeks. Aerate, de-thatch, check PH levels, add compost.

Chickweed

This annual plant sends out tangled stems that root rapidly in acidic, moist soil. Check your ph level and adjust for acidity. Hand pull the weeds and your problem will soon disappear.

Clover

All clovers are extremely beneficial to lawns. The fix nitrogen in the soil and are often planted as “green manure”. Clovers attract beneficial nectar feeding insects. Think twice before you decide to do away with this “weed”. If you are determined to get rid of the clover, make a solution of one part vinegar and one part liquid fertilizer (fish fertilizer is best). Squirt the patch of clover with this mixture. The clover and grass will turn brown, but the fertilizer will bring back the grass.

Crabgrass

This is a sign of close mowing and poor aeration. Improve your soil to get rid of the crabgrass and pull by hand.

Creeping Charlie

Creeping charlie likes mostly shady areas. To get rid of it, increase drainage by aerating, de-thatching and adding screened compost. Allow soil to dry in affected areas between watering.

Dandelions

Dandelions attract the parasitic wasp that helps to keep down caterpillar, fly maggot and earwig populations.

You can control dandelions by pulling by hand, checking the ph levels of the soil and mowing the lawn before the dandelions go to seed.

Thistle

Thistle has a deep root that cannot be destroyed easily. It must be dug out completely as any little pieces left in the ground will grow anew. Fill holes with topsoil and sprinkle with ryegrass.

For more articles like this, please visit: GreenTerraFirma



Patrick

Johnny A asked:


I am wanting to start a lawn care business next spring. I plan on starting off residential and growing fast to Commercial and HOA’s. I am just wondering if it is a good business to get into. What is a normal day like and how much money do you make?

Tina

nalv420 asked:


For all those businesses that are licsenced, insured and bonded, how do you go about starting that process for a lawn care business in Florida? Is it neccessary if you are dealing mainly with residential and non-commercial locations?

Warren

Warren Wong asked:


In spring, your lawn may look vastly different from what it did when you give it the last mowing in the fall. During the winter season, debris can accumulate on the lawn and there may be dead leaves remaining that you missed and there may be animal droppings that have started to rot. All of these can do damage to your lawn if you don’t remove them when you start preparing it in spring. This is why spring lawn care is just as essential as the care you give it all summer long.

Carefully examine the grass on the lawn to see if there are any weeds. These can grow rather quickly in the spring and need to be eradicated immediately. Remove the weeds, making sure you get the roots because if you don’t they will only grow back. For areas with patches or clumps of weeds, remove the roots and then aerate the soil. This means to poke small holes in the soil so that the oxygen can get to the roots of the grasses or plants. Water the soil and then plant new seedlings. You should do this with all of the lawn and not just in the places where you remove the weeds.

Raking the grass is and essential part of lawn care in the spring. This helps to bring up the dead clippings and rejuvenate the grass so that it will start to grow again. It is also an excellent way to remove thatch cover that may be present. Thatch cover of less than 50% is not a big deal for any lawn, but if there is more than that you do have to take steps to remove it and raking is the best method.

All lawns need water in the spring. You should not think that the soil has received enough water from any snow or rain because most of this moisture evaporates rather than sink into the soil. Experts recommend that you should give your lawn at least 5 inches of water in the spring. Thereafter you should give it at least an inch or water once a week and during the hot summer weather, the lawn needs an inch of water every three days.

The water will help moisten the soil to ensure that any new seedlings have the fertility they need to start growing. You should also check the drainage system to make sure that any excess water does drain away and does not saturate the lawn. In areas where there is a lot of ice and snow during the winter months, watering the lawn early in spring serves another purpose. If you use salt to de-ice walkways or the driveway or if you live close to the street where the city regularly spreads salt to keep it from becoming slippery, water will help desalinate the lawn. Even though you don’t spread these chemicals on the lawn, the wind and the spray from the wheels of vehicles on the street will carry them to the lawn.



Kenneth

fuzzycolombo asked:


Me and my friend wanna start a lawn mowing company together, we are both 14 and want to know the best approach at going at it. What we were thinking is to post fliers all over our neighborhood, and charge 20$ a lawn as a flat rate. If it is a large lawn should we charge more or should we charge by the hour or wat? Also, is all you need a lawn mower, gas, and a little practice?(Neither of us have any practice at mowing lawns) If there is any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated.

Leo

Lee Dobbins asked:


Looking after a garden is a year round job for some. If you get a brief break because there is snow on the ground, then there maybe some things you might want to research before Spring.

Spring isn’t the only nor always the best time to do prep work. If you need to re-seed patches where the lawn looks bare, just before the snow comes is a good time of the year to start. The seeds will get worked into the soil as the snow falls and lay dormant during the winter months.

Once spring and the first melt arrive then the seeds will be in good mud and the early stages of germination will begin. Once they start getting the sun then good, fresh grass should follown in a couple of weeks.

Crabgrass and its relatives don’t thrive in the Fall or Winter and this means that you have a head start on that kind of weed control. As the new lawn grass starts to spread, it has a good chance of stopping the crabgrass, and with any luck it won’t develop at all.

Start applying the Spring fertilizer at the earliest possible time. This will help give the young shoots a good start and, if you use fertilizer that also controls weeds, you may solve two problems in one go.

As that snow continues to melt off there will be areas where the grass has become thatched - this is a condition in which the blades get lain over one another, then compressed from the snow pack on top. Some of these may die over the winter and this can leave you with a kind of straw-like covering, hence the name ‘thatch’.

Doing something about this is easy. Just cut the grass a little later in Fall than you need to so that the length is controlled. This restricts the height and helps keep thatching to a minimum.

In Spring give the grass a good raking. Of course, if you raked in the Fall, there won’t be any leaves to get rid of but the extra raking helps pull up thatched areas and allows air to get to the soil.

If the ground has become hard, or the soil is easily compacted, you can follow that up with an aeration. This can be done either by using a special attachment on a riding lawnmower and running it over the grass, or using special large-drum rollers with spikes poking out.

An inexpensive way is to use special shoes which are like golf shoes with spikes on the bottom. You just put them on then walk around the area you want to aerate. The tiny holes made by the shoes allow air to penetrate the soil more easily. At the same time, it makes channels for solid fertilizer pellets to fall into.

After de-thatching and aerating, your lawn will be ready for you to carry out any weed control and to start seeding, fertilizer application and regular mowing.

Lawn care may not be easy but it is worthwhile.



Alice