2010 April | Grass Stitcher

Looking For Low Maintenance Grasses For Warm Regions?

There are many different grass types with some being high maintenance while others are very low maintenance. If you’re a busy person who has little time for maintenance then there are a few grass types we could recommend. For warm areas in the south, one of the better grass types is the one known as Centipede grass.

Centipede grass is native to Asia and arrived in the US shortly during World War I. This grass variety doesn’t tolerate extreme cold and, unlike many other grasses, doesn’t have a dormant period. In the right conditions, it will grow well all year round. The downside to Centipede grass is that it is a much lighter green to most types, and that it can be intrusive to other areas of the garden.

The upside to Centipede grass is that it is slow growing so it requires much less mowing, is not as hungry as other grasses so it doesn’t require as much fertilizer (in fact, over fertilizing is the biggest killer of this grass) and is not as thirsty as some grasses. It handles full sun and light to moderate traffic. It will grow in dappled light but, being slow to grow, could take three or four seasons to gain a good hold. Centipede grass, once established is a fairly thick grass. It is normally grown by seed although you can also find plugs.

Over time your Centipede lawn will thin out, however, over seeding in early spring or mid fall can help to rejuvenate it. The Grass Stitcher is an ideal tool for those thin areas – use it lightly to penetrate the surface and cast your seed and water well. The existing grass will act as a blanket to provide an ideal germination environment.

Low maintenance lawns are possible in warmer regions. Just select the right grass types and give them a good start. Once established, a lawn comprised chiefly of Centipede grass will look great yet require the minimum of maintenance. This leaves you free to actually enjoy using the lawn.

Grass Stitcher
USA bryan@imaginegrafix.com

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Use Flowers To Turn A Bad Lawn Into A Native Garden

Are you struggling to get a decent lawn established? There are times when, no matter what you do, having a well established lawn seems to be impossible. There are many reasons for this and it’s not unusual. Often, it’s not the complete lawn, just a section of it. It could be lack of water (or too much), lack of sunshine, or that the soil is just too poor to enable a good lawn to take hold.

If this is happening to you then the time may be right to think laterally. Instead of trying to force a lawn to grow, turn the area into a native garden. This is easier than most people imagine. The emphasis here is on a native garden and what you should be looking at are the grasses and self seeding annuals that are native to your region. Self seeding flowers speak for themselves; at the end of the growing season they drop their seeds before dying back. Native plants will often grow in areas where imported plants won’t.

How do you establish this native garden? You could get a rotary hoe in to dig the area over, but that’s too much work. Since this will be a native grass garden, leave the old grass in place. Cut it as short as possible then use a tool such as the Grass Stitcher to break up the surface a little. This provides a perfect surface to spread a mix of native grasses and flowers. Water well to begin with then keep moist.

From that point on, apart from an occasional watering, leave it to look after itself. The only problem with a free growing native grass and flower garden is that seeds from these plants may find their way into your general garden beds. Catch them early and treat them like any other weed. Don’t stress over a lawn that won’t establish – turn it into a native garden bed with local flowers and grasses.

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When A Stitch In Time Really Does Save Nine

The old saying that a stitch in time saves nine really does ring true when it comes to lawn care. There are certainly parts of the country where, if you miss sowing grass seed in spring, you will be left with poor lawn through to the following spring – in other words, left with poor lawn for nine months.

If you’re in the north where the winters are very cold and snow and ice form in winter, patching and sowing in fall is almost pointless. The extreme cold weather will off any new growth before it has time to establish. These conditions can be extreme, but many grass varieties handle them well. Come the first rays of spring warmth and they suddenly come to life. In fact, come midsummer, you will most likely be cursing your lawn since you need to mow it every three or four days.

Although grass varieties handle the cold well, you will always find little patches that have died over winter. They may spring back to life but often the grass is weak and fairly thin. Your best option is to help it along a little. Cut it short, right back to the crown if possible. Scour the area well with a metal rake or fork then liberally spread seed across the area. Water well and keep moist without flooding it. Before you know it, that seed will germinate and you will have a perfect lawn, at least until the next winter chill sets in.

You can always make life easier on yourself. The Grass Stitcher is designed to handle these types of jobs. It will perforate the old grass leaving it in good condition. The perforations it leaves behind are perfect for grass seeds allowing for a good even covering of grass quite quickly. In fact, by using the Grass Stitcher, you really can say that a stitch in time saves nine – it gives you a great looking lawn anyway.

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Lawn Care Tips – Too Much Love Can Kill Your Lawn

As we endeavor to create that perfect lawn, sometimes our lawn care routine goes a little bit too far. The end result, rather than a ‘perfect’ lawn, we have a ‘perfectly dead’ lawn. Grass is just another plant. Like all plants, it has its basics needs – good soil, sunlight, water and food. Too much or too little and the problems begin.

Grass can be a strange beast. Of course, much depends on the type and variety of grass grown. Type, by-the-way, relates to the grass’s family. Is it a Buffalo or Rye, for example. Variety relates to the different grasses found in a family. An example of this is Fine Fescue, Tall Fescue and Red Fescue – all from the Fescue family.

Knowing your grass family and which variety it belongs to is important. When it comes to blends, we often just look at it as being ‘grass’ when in fact the blend will often have seeds from different families. These blends are generally designed to compliment each other in similar conditions. When it comes to lawn care, looking after the grasses in your blend is essential.

In droughts, more lawns die due to ‘love’ than those that die due to lack of water. Why? We tend to over water our lawns. This leads to root rot and other diseases. During drought times, many grasses will go dormant and wait until the spring rains. If you want to keep it green, don’t cut it too short and, when watering, more less often is best. In other words, a deep weekly watering early in the morning is much better than a smaller watering every day or two.

During drought times, don’t over fertilize. Grasses really only need feeding at the start of growing seasons, normally in the spring and fall. Outside those periods, keep fertilizer down to a bare minimum, if at all. Don’t kill your lawn by giving it too much love. Learn about your grass types and treat them based on that knowledge. All grasses are not the same, they are very different with different requirements – a little like us. Lawn care – it starts with lawn knowledge.

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Lawn Care – Repairing Insect Damage

We hear a lot about various insects and anyone that has tried to maintain a lush flower bed will attest to the damage that insects can do to their plants. When it comes to lawns, they too can be attacked by insects. However, it is actually quite rare to have large damaged areas caused by insects. Often the real problem is one of fungi and other diseases that gain a foothold in weakened grasses after an insect attack.

Because we blame the insects, our lawn care program then steps up a notch and tries to treat the ‘insect problem’. Of course, the insects in the main are long gone so the treatment is ineffectual and the problem worsens. Before jumping straight in and treating your lawns with all sorts of insecticides, just remember: The pest that most likely caused the problem has moved on so the only insects that you’re likely to kill are those that are beneficial to your garden.

If insects have damaged your lawns then the areas are generally on small. Of course, there are situations where insects attack in plague proportions. In those situations, you may better off just waiting for the plague to move on before even attempting to repair the damage. In most cases, insects are there to eat and your lawn will generally bounce back if fed and watered well.

For patches that have been stripped or damaged badly, be sure there is no disease present before doing anything more. If there is, treat that first. Once the area is free of disease, cut the area back hard and then scour the surface with a hard rake or fork. Sow seed and water well and keep reasonably moist until the seed has germinated. The Grass Stitcher can make this task a lot easier since it scours the surface leaving small indentations that are perfect for seed germination. If you don’t have one, I suggest you check them out – they are a great tool to have when you need to repair your lawn.

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Your Soil Type Is The Key To Good Grass Seed Germination

Do you know your soil type? Most people don’t, or if they do, classify it poorly. Yet, if you are trying to grow grass, you need to know how to treat that soil if you want your grass seed to germinate and grow. Poor care is the primary reason why gardeners can’t grow a good lawn.

There are three basic soil types:

Sand

Sand is the type of soil that will freely run through your fingers. Even when wet, it will not form a solid ball when a handful is squeezed in your hands. Sand allows for easy root growth but has a very poor hydration factor.

Clay

Clay is the exact opposite of sand. When damp, a handful squeezed in your hand will form a solid ball. Clay soils can be difficult to work with. After a prolonged dry spell they will bake into solid masses. A little water will simply wash away and not penetrate too deeply. It often requires a good soaking to bring a clay soil back to life. It does, however, hang onto that water for a longer period of time. Because clay is sticky, roots can struggle to penetrate to any great depth.

Loam

Not surprising, loam is a mix of sand and clay. When a handful is squeezed together, it will form a ball. However, the ‘stickiness’ of that ball is determine by how much clay is in the mix. A good loam mix will retain water while allowing for good root growth.

The most common soil type is loam – the differences being the balance between clay and sand. Different plant types prefer different loam types – grass is no exception. If your soil is a little sandy, add some clay. Likewise, if your soil has too much clay, add some soil. Wouldn’t it be nice if it was that easy?

There are commercial products around that will help to build your soil into a good loam. The addition of sand, composted plant material and gypsum can help build up a clay soil while, again, the addition of composted plant material and clay can help build your sand base up to a good loam.

If you don’t intend changing your soil structure then it is very important to buy grass varieties that are suited to your soil. Get the wrong grass variety and your seed germination rate will be low and your lawn almost non-existent. Learn about your soil before considering a grass type.

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April 2010

Archives

Looking For Low Maintenance Grasses For Warm Regions?

Use Flowers To Turn A Bad Lawn Into A Native Garden

When A Stitch In Time Really Does Save Nine

Lawn Care Tips – Too Much Love Can Kill Your Lawn

Lawn Care – Repairing Insect Damage

Your Soil Type Is The Key To Good Grass Seed Germination

Grass Stitcher Testimonials and Reviews