Lawn Problems

Taking Control Of Lawn Soil Deficiencies

When lawns lose their color, or lushness, it is often a sign that the soil is deficient in one or more essential components. Many gardeners simply throw an all-purpose fertilizer at the problem, however, this may only serve to exacerbate the problem rather than fixing it. In fact, unless you use a slow release fertilizer, most of the fertilizer you apply is wasted. It is either washed away, escapes into the air with evaporating water, or is used up by weeds.

Rather than throwing all -purpose fertilizers, use dedicated products that are designed to restore deficiencies. You can often diagnose deficiencies yourself simply by looking at the grass itself. If you can identify problems before there are any long term effects, you will save a lot of time and money on lawn repair and expensive lawn repair tools. Here are a few common problems and the best way to deal with them.

Rusty colored grass blades - This can often be an indication of a calcium deficiency. You can apply fireplace ash (so save it up over winter) or copper sulfate. You should also cut back on nitrogen.
Pale green grass blades – This is often an indication of too little nitrogen. Natural remedies include blood meal, cotton seed meal, or corn gluten meal.
Yellowing tips of grass blades – This is a sulfur deficiency that is best remedied by applying phosphate rock, gypsum, or elemental sulfur.
Pale yellow grass blades – Pale yellow lawns can be an indication of an iron deficiency. Apply cheleated iron or iron sulfate – be sure to use iron supplements designed for lawns.

Iron is an interesting addition to lawns. If you have ever wondered how a movie or TV program always manages to have lush dark green lawns, it is because of the addition of iron. If your lawn looks a little dull, and you’re planning an outdoor activity like a wedding, then apply an application of iron four to five hours before the event. You can almost see the lawn darkening up before your eyes. This is a great tip for those about to have an open house viewing in order to sell their home. The effect lasts 10-14 days before the lawn starts to return to normal.

Whenever possible, use natural products to repair soil deficiencies. You will find the long-term costs are much lower, yet the results are much better than using general purpose fertilizers. You can see from the above list of problems that a calcium deficiency could be made worse by the application of a general purpose fertilizer containing nitrogen.

Grass Stitcher
USA bryan@imaginegrafix.com

Tweet Read More →

Does Your Lawn Struggle At The Edges?

There is always one area of a lawn that gardeners have difficulties with. It could be around trees, close to buildings, or most commonly, along the edges. This includes curbs, garden beds and pathways. It can be a strange problem as well since individual grass plants will appear to grow well, so well they grow over the path, garden bed or curb. However, I did say individual grass plants and the reason I say it’s a strange problem is because the area between the plants is bare earth – the grass just doesn’t seem to want to grow there.

Sound familiar at all? Is there a solution? Gardeners have been trying a wide variety of solutions for decades, some with success, some without. Every garden is different and for each the source of the problem is different. Generally speaking, the source of the problem is in the location. Edges, like curbs and paths, block the natural flow of water. The result can often be too much water, or not enough if there is a slight slope up to the path or curb. Where grass grows close to raised garden beds the problem can be exasperated by shade from the raised bed and the plants in the bed.

If you can identify the cause of the problem, you can take steps to solve the problem. If too little water is the problem then adding water retaining products may help. Likewise, if too much water is the problem, taking corrective action to improve drainage could help to resolve the problem.

Generally speaking, using a grass that is suited to those conditions is the best option. For gardeners who have a single grass type as a lawn – for example, those with Bermuda Grass lawns – there are varieties that tolerate shade and there are also varieties that tolerate either damp or dry conditions. Use a lawn seeding tool to prepare the area and sow your seed liberally. Water well and within a month you will find that your lawn is growing strongly, right up to the edges.

Tweet Read More →

Lawn Care Tips – Regular Lawn Inspections

Lawns are one area in the garden that seems to suffer from lack of respect. Sorry, but I do believe that most gardeners use a set and forget approach, apart from complaining about the need to go out and mow it. Yet lawn care really is a very simple process if you do it correctly. One lawn care tip that is a part of this process is that of inspecting your lawn.

When I say “inspecting”, I don’t mean stepping outside, giving it the once over and deciding the mowing can wait until next week. I mean getting down on your knees and really looking closely at your lawn. Some of the things you should be looking at include:

Thatching – how thick is your lawn’s thatch? A simple test – poor a cup of water on the lawn. Does it sit on top or flow through to the soil below quite quickly? If it sits on top, chances are the thatch is too thick.
Grass quality – how green is each grass blade? Are they fairly equal in height, thickness and color? You can also see if bugs have been eating your lawn and to what extent they do.
Finger test – stick your finger into the soil. Can you penetrate fairly easily? If your finger meets a concrete-like soil then you need to consider aeration.

You can tell a lot about your lawn simply by getting down close and inspecting it. It doesn’t take long. In fact, you can do it casually every time you find yourself on the lawn – for example, playing with the kids. It takes all of one minute, yet most gardeners never get down close and personal with their lawns.

Most problems can be identified quickly when inspected closely. If you have the proper lawn repair tool in your tool shed, the repair job can be done just as quickly and the end result is a lawn that looks fabulous, feels great under foot and takes minimal time to maintain. Of course, when it comes to the mowing, there is little we can do about that – when it needs mowing, it needs mowing – but then, if you do that routinely, it becomes easier as well.

Tweet Read More →

Lawn Care Tips – How To Best Groom Your Lawn

Many gardeners don’t realize that their mowing patterns could actually be doing their lawn harm. Lawn care includes mowing techniques and can produce a lawn that not only looks lush and green, but looks well groomed as well.

These lawn care tips for grooming your lawn are easy to implement and really only need a change in thinking, and the way you do things.

Poor Lawn Mowing Practices:

Mowing in the same pattern every time; that is, north-south or east-west.
Mowing too short or too long
Mowing when the grass is wet
Mowing with blunt blades

Good Lawn Mowing Practices:

Rotating your mowing pattern. That is, north-south, then east-west, then northwest-southeast, then perhaps in a square.
Only cutting a third of the height of the lawn each time you mow
Using good quality sharp blades
Leaving the clippings on the ground (only if you are mowing regularly to the one third rule)

A good mowing routine spreads the stress each time you cut. If you cut in the same pattern all the time, your lawn will start to form compacted wheel ruts from the lawn mower. Your grass will also learn to grow in a certain direction as well. This leads to poor thatch development including over thatching which, together with compacted soil, makes water penetration difficult.

Your lawn’s heath is not measured by how green it looks today. It is measured by how healthy the thatch and root system is. By using good mowing techniques, your lawn will develop an even thatch that allows water to penetrate, and a deep root system that helps to stop the soil from compacting.

With all that in place, worms and other beneficial organisms can survive, further improving your lawn. Rotational mowing also helps to promote a grass that grows up, rather than sideways. This is the effect we are looking for when we talk about ‘grooming’ your lawn. It also makes life a lot easier when small problems do develop – and they generally are small problems in a well looked after lawn. A grass seeding tool can quickly repair any problem area and before you know it, those small problems are gone.

A good lawn care maintenance routine that includes rotational mowing can do wonders for you lawn – and it only takes a change in thinking and how you do things – not extra work.

Tweet Read More →

Archives

Taking Control Of Lawn Soil Deficiencies

Does Your Lawn Struggle At The Edges?

Lawn Care Tips – Regular Lawn Inspections

Lawn Care Tips – How To Best Groom Your Lawn

Grass Stitcher Testimonials and Reviews