Early Summer Turf Talk
Mother Nature has not been kind to us this Spring! This has been one of the coolest & driest springs in the past 115 years, even with our last measurable snowfall of 1” on April 19 th . But finally after a couple thunderstorms the first week of May, the lawns, trees & shrubbery started to green up & bloom. As your lawn greens up, damaged areas begin to stand out. These areas may be old disease scars, (those brown circles with the green center that may form during the summer), or old drought damage. If the damaged area is small, sometimes just raking that spot will be enough for recovery. Raking damaged areas removes old thatch and allows air and water movement that aids recovery. Larger damaged areas will need over seeding and top dressing with top soil. Good soil and seed contact is needed for seed germination. Don’t throw the seed on top of hard soil. You have to work the seed into the soil to a depth of ½ inch. Keeping the area moist until the seed sprouts is equally important. Remember, a bluegrass blend of seed for open sunny areas, and a mixture of rye, and fine fescue for shady areas.
Grub Worms:
Now is the time to be thinking about having a Grub Preventive application applied to your lawn. We apply this application starting in June until mid-August. Grubs are insects that feed on the roots of your lawn. The Grub Preventive application will apply a barrier of insecticide that will last until the time that the grubs are actively feeding on the roots of your lawn, which usually starts approximately late August – Early September. If you would like to add this application to your program, please call our office.
Mowing:
It is all right to mow your lawn after today’s application if you do not have a lot of weeds. If there are a lot of weeds in the lawn wait 24 hours before mowing. By now the lawn should be at 2 1/2” – 3” of cutting height for the summer. To check the cutting height, measure from the ground to the bottom edge of the mower on the side. During the warmer periods, it is advisable to cut late in the day to reduce the loss of water within the plant. If your lawn is dry, watering it a day or two before cutting will help reduce stress. Never cut midday. This can cause undue stress to the lawn and enhance possible disease problems or force the lawn to turn brown. If you mow your lawn when it is in stress or dried out, you can actually burn the lawn. We have seen several cases where you can see the brown lines from the wheels of the mower. If possible cut in different directions so you do not groove tracks from the mower and this will help the grass stand up. A reminder about mulching grass clippings. By keeping up good mowing habits, there is no need to bag clippings as it does feed nutrients back into the lawn. Do not be concerned with thatch buildup from mulching, approximately 98% of the clippings decompose. Don’t forget to keep your mower blade for sharp. A dull mower blade rips at the grass blades instead of cutting them cleanly, causing a white haze look to your lawn.
Watering:
There has always been a difference of opinion as to what time of day to water. The best time is early morning before 11:00 a.m. If you do not have the ability to do it then, the next best time is early evening. Now the next question is how much to put down and how often. Ideally try to water 1 -1 1/2 hours per area once every 4-6 days. Try not to water the whole lawn in a day, unless you have an underground sprinkler system. Moving hoses is time consuming and you don’t want to be a slave to your lawn. Try watering half the lawn one day, then the rest a
day or two later.
Disease Activities:
This is the time of year you will start to see different disease problems in the lawn. Proper watering and mowing are major factors on whether disease activity will start. There are going to be problems occasionally during the summer due to the high temperatures and humidity. If any activity does start, call us and
we will advise on what to do.
Office Hours:
Our office hours are Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please remember that our answering machine is on 24 hours, 7 days a week, so do not hang up. If we are not in, leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
