Lawn Fertilizers

What’s The Easiest Way To Stop Weeds And Grabgrass

Weeds and crabgrass are a nightmare for some gardeners, especially when they invade their lawns. Once they get a foothold, they can be a real problem to remove, and if you head for the weed killers, you never know what sort of results you are going to get. There are, however, easier ways to remove, or better yet, prevent these problems from occurring.

It all starts by understanding the needs of weeds. If you think about it, weeds and crabgrass are plants so their needs are no different than any other plant. They need soil to sink roots, sunlight to make food, and water and nutrition to grow – stop weeds from accessing any of those components and they won’t grow. That’s a pretty simple philosophy to follow.

However, when it comes to lawns, it can be hard to block most of those basic needs. There is soil below your grass. That soil contains nutrients (especially if you fertilize frequently). There is always moisture in the soil (either from rain or watering), and the sun comes up every day. It’s not feasible to block that.

So how do we stop weeds and crabgrass from invading our lawns. The simple answer is to have a thick and healthy lawn that is not cut below an inch and a half. Let’s look back at those requirements. A thick lawn will make it difficult for weed seeds to find soil – no soil, no germination, no weeds. If those seeds do happen to find the soil – and let’s face it, they are tiny – then they maybe able to germinate. However, once again, a thick healthy lawn means the sun should never reach the soil below. With no sunlight, those weeds never grow to see the light of day – pun intended.

If you have any thin areas, you’re in a race. You can let those weeds get a foothold, or you quickly thicken your lawn. The easiest way to do that is by using a lawn seeding tool like the Grass Stitcher. With that tool, you can prepare the soil, sow your seed, and have grass growing in weeks. More importantly, you can leave what grass cover you have in place. It will provide some protection for your new grass seedlings while helping to slow down the growth of any weeds. Want to stop weeds and crabgrass? Grow a thick and healthy lawn.

Grass Stitcher
USA bryan@imaginegrafix.com

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Weeds And Crabgrass Problems – Weed, Feed And Repair

As winter approaches your summer grasses will slowly diminish and be taken over by the winter grasses. In that in-between period, your lawn may well thin a little and this will provide an opening for weeds like Crabgrass to invade your lawn. This is a good time to weed your lawn, give it a light feed, and to repair any problem areas.

Weeding is a real chore and short of using chemicals, which can often be indiscriminate in what they kill, you are going to have to do this job by hand. Pull out any weeds as soon as you notice them and be sure to pull them out gently so you get them roots and all. While you’re pulling out those weeds, take a close look at your lawn. Is it just changing from summer to winter grasses, or can you see bare earth? If you can see earth, you need to repair that section. If there is a reasonable thatch cover then leave it be.

After weeding, give your lawn a light feed with an organic fertilizer designed for use in the fall. Liquid fertilizers are ideal at this time of the year, just be sure to water it in well. Once you have fertilized, leave your lawn to rest for a week to ten days then re-examine those bare patches. If you see new grass shoots appearing then all is well – the fertilizer has triggered some new growth. If there are no shoots appearing – then it’s time to do a repair job.

Using a lawn repair tool to perforate the surface then sow seed that is suitable to your lawn, and suitable for the winter conditions ahead. You can use an all purpose mix – the winter grasses will germinate and come to life while the summer grasses will stay in hibernation until the warmth of spring awakens them.

Weeds and Crabgrass can be a problem at this time of the year. If you stay on top of them, then the problem won’t get out of hand. By repairing bare patches you are providing competition, which should further help to reduce any weed invasions.

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A Healthy Lawn Is Good For The Environment

You may have heard of terms such as ‘carbon footprint’. This refers to the amount of carbon we leave behind as we go through life. Environmentalists are encouraging us to do two things – reduce the amount of carbon we leave behind and to plant more trees to help reduce that carbon. What they don’t tell you is that a good healthy green lawn can help to reduce your carbon footprint.

All plants use a process known as photosynthesis to turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into food. The waste for a plant is oxygen, they use the carbon molecule for food. So all living plants consume carbon dioxide and give off oxygen – and that includes grass.

Of course, the healthier your lawn, the more carbon dioxide it consumes and the more oxygen it releases. We can’t all grow huge trees in our back yards. We can, however, grow a patch of lawn. With a good lawn you could say you were doing your part to help the environment.

A poor quality lawn doesn’t count. If the grass is stressed then there is a good chance it is not growing to its potential. This means the photosynthesis component is under performing, the lawn is not thriving and you are not converting carbon dioxide to oxygen. If your lawn is poor quality then perhaps it’s time to do something about it. However, don’t fall into the trap of throwing artificial fertilizers or chemicals at your lawn – this can actually add to the carbon footprint.

Instead, use a lawn seeding tool to over sow any bare patches, a natural organic fertilizer to promote growth, and adequate water each week to promote deep root growth. If you can develop a strong healthy green lawn, you will be helping to reduce your carbon footprint. Who would have thought that a good lawn was an environmental asset?

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Lawn Fertilizers For The Seasons

Are you in a warm season region, cool season region, or do you fit into what’s known as a transitional region? While we call them regions, and while you can often draw them on a map, the reality is that climates are different across the length and breadth of the nation. To determine which region you are in, think about how hot and how cold it gets in summer and winter.

If you suffer from ice, snow and severe frosts, you’re in a cool season region. If you experience cool to cold winters with occasional frosts, but no snow, then you are most likely in a transitional region. For most others, you are in a warm season region. Having said that, transitional regions have a tendency to warm or cool regions. For example, you may not have snow but receive regular mild frosts and generally cold days. Your tendency is towards the cool season.

Why is this important? Apart from determining which type of grass grows best, it is also important for understanding when and how to fertilize. Warm season grasses should never be fertilized during the fall. The best time to fertilize them is during the spring. Warm season grasses go through a hardening off process after summer that prepared the grass for winter. In some cases, the grass will become dormant over winter so fertilizer is either wasted or interferes with this process.

Cool season grasses on the other hand need to build a store of food before the freeze commences. These grasses need a good boost of nitrogen so when looking at fertilizers check their NPK levels. The ideal level for a winter grass is around the 30-0-10. Cool season grasses should have bare patches repaired now to be ready for next summer. Use a seeding tool to prepare the ground and sow your seed quite liberally. This will ensure that your lawn is full and healthy when spring regrowth occurs. Know your regions and fertilize accordingly.

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Lawn Care Rule Number One – Start With Quality Products

This may sound too simplistic but the best way to get a great lawn is by starting out using good quality products. When first sowing your lawn seed, don’t buy the cheapest brand of grass seed on offer. Look carefully at each of the products and find one that is well suited to your region. There are many suppliers that package an ‘all purpose’ grass then sell it nationally. Because they can mass produce it, they can sell it at much lower prices. The reality is, there is no ‘all purpose’ grass that will suit the entire nation – each region has its own conditions and grasses need to be selected for those regions.

Grass seed is just the start. When fertilizing, again, you need a good quality fertilizer that is right for your grass type. General purpose fertilizers often have the wrong proportion of nutrients for some grasses and are generally not suitable for year round use. Fall fertilizers generally should have less nitrogen, for example, than spring fertilizers. Again, different grasses have different needs at different times of the year.

If you start by using the right grass type for your region and use the right fertilizer for your grass type then you should be able to develop a thick healthy green lawn. That doesn’t mean you won’t get problems in your lawn – you will, however, those problems will be fewer, less severe and more easily repaired because you have started from a good base. A good quality lawn repair tool, watering system and lawn mower round out the basic requirements for any lawn.

If you think quality means greater cost, think again. While a bag of quality grass seed may cost a dollar or two more now, the fact that you don’t have to buy more grass seed every six months is actually a saving – not a cost. Likewise, a quality lawn repair tool and quality lawn mower will, over time, cost far less than if you purchase lower quality tools.

When it comes to gardening, especially lawn care, using good quality products means that over time you will have less to do in the way of maintenance and repairs and your finished lawns and gardens will look a million dollars – and be the envy of neighboring gardeners.

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Should You Fertilize Your Lawn In Summer?

There are many schools of thought when it comes to fertilizers and lawn care. Should you fertilize in summer, fall or spring? The problem with most arguments is that they fail to take into account a lawn’s needs and the types of fertilizers available.

In general terms, fertilizing in summer is not a good idea. Your soil should have all the nutrients required for your lawn before summer starts. In fact, most fertilizers burn grass during the heat of summer. However, that is standard fertilizer. Now that we are in August, we need to think about our lawn’s future requirements.

As summer ends and fall arrives, most lawns, particularly those in the north, go through a transition period where upward growth slows, and root development and sideways growth increases. To accommodate this, your lawn needs smaller amounts of fertilizer more frequently. The best option then is a slow release fertilizer, especially an organic type.

This should be applied in late summer, and mid August is the time start in order to be completed by mid-September – after that it will be too late. Your lawn is building itself up ready for the chill of winter. Of course, once winter is over, the reverse is required.

In spring, once the winter chills have disappeared, your lawn needs feeding, and initially it will be a gross feeder. In spring then you need to provide your lawn with a complete fertilizer that it can feed from immediately. It should also have a slow release component that will then continue to provide nutrition until the end of spring.

When it comes to fertilizers, your lawn has different requirements that require different types of fertilizer. Yes, you can start to feed your lawn now, but make sure it is a slow release fertilizer. If you have given your lawn a summer feed, and you notice brown patches, there is a good chance you have burnt your lawn. Flush it well with water for a couple of days then use a grass seeding tool to prepare the area. Oversow with grass seed that is suitable for late summer or winter and water it in well. Your lawn will bounce back bright and healthy.

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Archives

What’s The Easiest Way To Stop Weeds And Grabgrass

Weeds And Crabgrass Problems – Weed, Feed And Repair

A Healthy Lawn Is Good For The Environment

Lawn Fertilizers For The Seasons

Lawn Care Rule Number One – Start With Quality Products

Should You Fertilize Your Lawn In Summer?

Grass Stitcher Testimonials and Reviews