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Major lawn renovation is best accomplished in late summer - early fall.
This is also the best time to establish a new lawn.
I suspect the weather is going to remain unseasonably cool and moist for
the rest of summer. There is record-setting heat in Europe and parts of
our west coast. Through the years, I have noticed that the weather we have
on the North American east coast is opposite to that of the Eurasian and
American west coast. Usually we don’t start lawn renovation until the
third
week of August; this year I think its best to start early.
If you are planning a total renovation, we will talk more about this next
week. Use Glyphosate on the entire lawn area now, because it will take 3
weeks for a total kill of wild bermuda grass and certain other weeds.
Incidentally, some glyphosate formulations can now be applied with a
hose-end sprayer. Total renovation involves killing the existing lawn and
tilling before reseeding.
Fertilizing
Unless you have had a fungus (brown patch) problem, I recommend Espoma
100% Organic Lawn Food, applied between now and the 15th of September. If
you have had a fungus problem, I recommend Turf Trust®, applied during the
same window.
A second application of fertilizer should be in mid-November. I recommend
Turf Trust to keep the lawn remarkably green right into the winter and for
early spring green-up. If you used Turf Trust in August, use Espoma’s Turf
Tone® for the late fall feeding. Really poor lawns will benefit from an
application of Super Bio® liquid microbes concurrent with the first
feeding.
Weed Control
For complete eradication, broadleaf weeds need two applications of a lawn
weed killer 4 to 5 weeks apart. Usually, you will achieve 60-80%
eradication with one application. If you have only easy-to-control weeds
like dandelions and plantain, use Tiger liquid lawn weed killer with a
spreader sticker. Difficult to control weeds like creeping Charlie and
clover will require Confront®. Use one or the other, not both
simultaneously.
Remember if you make two applications of either weed killer this fall, you
will not be able to seed this fall. If you need a second application and
you want to seed, make one application now, seed on September 15th-20th
(not before), and make the second application after the grass has been cut
3 times in the spring. If you choose this route, a third application may
possibly be needed in the mid-spring 5 weeks after the second one.
Crab Grass
True crab grass is an annual weed that will die in the frost. Before it
dies, it will set lots of seeds that will sprout next spring. Your best bet
is to kill the seeds as they germinate next spring. Use Dimension when the
forsythia blooms early next spring. I have had poor luck with the products
that supposedly kill crabgrass in the summer and early fall. This summer,
be sure you have true crabgrass. Lots of people misidentify Bermuda grass
as crabgrass and the control for wild Bermuda is entirely different.
Bermuda has long runners; crabgrass grows in clumps. Bermuda grass require
total kill of the area with glyphosate.
Thatching
Many lawns have built-up an extreme amount of thatch with the favorable
growing season. De-thatching with a power rake is ideal to remove this
build-up of debris and to make a good seed bed. If you de-thatch, you must
re-seed; but all you need to do is rake the seed into the bed that the
thatcher has prepared. Then apply the fertilizer. Never fertilize before
you thatch. For thatching small lawns and individual spots, Mantis makes a
wonderful de-thatching attachment for the Mantis Tiller. The Mantis de-thatcher
is the easiest way I know to prepare the lawn for spot seeding. Use it in
place of a rake or cultivator, punch in some holes with pitchfork, seed,
fertilize and cover with Chesapeake Green or LeafGro.
Seeding
The grass seed of choice for full to half sun areas is Black Beauty (a
featured item below), applied at the rate of 10-12 lbs. per 1,000 square
feet for bare areas and 5-7 lbs. per 1,000 for over seeding.
We recommend Shady Nook™ grass seed for shady areas at the rate of 1lb. for
every 750 square foot for over seeding and 1 lb. for every 375 square foot
for bare areas. Shady areas are usually subject to a lot of fall leaf
litter. We recommend seeding such shady areas immediately or waiting until
early spring. Leaf-littered shady areas are the one exception to the rule
that fall lawn renovation is better than spring lawn renovation.
The earlier the grass seed is planted, the better it will establish before
winter. Black Beauty, especially, benefits from early planting.
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Shady Nooks™
Grass Seed by
Jonathan Green
Turf Trust®
SuperBio®
Espoma 100%
Organic
Lawn Food
SeaMate™
Knockout shrub rose
(PPAF, AARS 00)
back in stock |
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In the mid-Atlantic region, October 10th is considered the last date for
successful seeding. However, this year -- based upon the summer weather -- fall
maybe cooler than normal and late September - early October seeding may
not achieve the usual performance. Throwing grass seed on hard, unprepared
ground is just a waste of good grass seed. The soil needs to be loosened
with a rake, fork, cultivator, or Mantis. (Hopefully you know someone who has a
wonderful old hand tool called a Gardevator, which is no longer made).
Poking holes, an inch or so deep, with a pitchfork also helps. Spread the
seed at the recommended rate, rake it lightly and cover it with Chesapeake
Green or LeafGro - just enough to cover the seed and keep it moist. We do
not recommend using either hay or straw - too many weed seeds. On
steep slopes subject to erosion, Curlex, burlap or "green mulch" may be
needed. Adding a bit of annual rye grass, for quick germination,
will help stabilize the soil.
For large areas, I recommend renting a slit seeder, which will bury the
grass seed right into your soil so that it will require no additional
cover. A slit seeder will put down 7-8 lbs. of Black Beauty per 1,000
square feet.
Aeration
A lot of people will disagree with me, but my experience has been that
earthworms provide sufficient lawn aeration. Lawns that have been fed
gently with organic and high quality slow release fertilizers, such as we
recommend, are usually loaded with earthworms. Lawns that have been
treated with high chemical, 4 step programs often have had their
earthworms killed.
If you decide that aeration is necessary, core aeration is preferred to
spike aeration. Incidentally, seeding and fertilizing before several
passes of a core aerator is not a bad way to over seed the lawn; it is
better than hand methods but not as good as a slit seeder.
Watering
To germinate, new grass seed must be kept moist. To start with,
it has no roots, so deep watering is not essential -- just five minutes,
morning and evening. On a really hot windy day, a third watering at
noon may be required. As the grass germinates and sends down roots,
deeper watering may be needed. When the new grass is one inch tall,
double the watering time to ten minutes and gradually increase to twenty
minutes to six to eight weeks after planting.
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Everlast Labels
These markers are a permanent, yet unobtrusive way to mark your
plants. Inconspicuous in photos, they avoid the "graveyard" appearance of
white plastic labels. They feature double wire stakes and
slip-through zinc nameplates, and are available in two sizes.
Click here to order large markers, or
click here to order small markers. |
Everlast Labels
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Every Saturday morning from 7:00 am to 9:00
am (Eastern time) you can listen to the highly acclaimed Garden Club Radio Show online
through WCBM's website.
Click here for more information about the radio
show, including how to listen online.
If you live in or will be
traveling in the Maryland or Washington DC area, you can also listen to
the show by tuning your radio to 680 AM. Any local listeners that may be
traveling out of the area can still tune in to the show online, as
mentioned above. Feel free to call in with your questions at 410-922-6680
or toll-free at
1-800-922-6680.
We are again in stock with the beautiful florescent fire-engine red shrub rose Knockout
(PPAF, AARS 00).
Click here for more information
or to place your order for Knockout.
Happy Gardening,
Alan Summers
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