Love my Lawn
Oasis Lawn and Garden
Introduction
A healthy lawn depends on healthy soil. When dealing with the natural world, one requires patience. The process of taking a lawn from being dependent on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to thriving as a healthy habitat takes time. In fact, it can take up to five years before a lawn’s natural processes are fully back to normal.
The first step in maintaining your lawn is to assess one’s level of dissatisfaction with the lawn’s current state. What and how much don’t you like about your lawn or yard space? Once you have figured this out it is important to assess how much money and time you are able to put into dealing with the problem areas. Level of satisfaction will vary for each lawn owner, and it is important to know what you are willing to live with before you get started on making changes.
Time spent now on building a healthy lawn will save time in the future because a healthy lawn will not be plagued by insect and weed infestations. By realizing the importance of maintaining a balance within your lawn’s natural systems you will begin to better understand what it takes to have it thrive.
DEALING WITH PESTS
Pests are rarely a problem on a healthy lawn, as insects usually attack plants and grass that are weak or stressed. Grass needs at least 6” of good topsoil base to grow strong roots and cutting too short will weaken grass and create stress. Keep the blade at a height of 2” to 21/2” for best results. Monocultures or less diverse gardens and yard plantings are more susceptible to damage. Aim for a variety of plants in the yard to help with your lawn maintenance. However, if there is a problem, identify the insects and understand the cause before attempting eradication. Dead grass can be caused by dog urine or simple drought. Like weeds, pests act as a signal to what your lawn needs. Remember that most insecticides will also kill the good bugs, including earthworms, bees and ladybugs so read labels and identify best times to spray.
The most common pests of concern to many homeowners are ants, aphids many crawling caterpillars and inch worms, aphids ,chinch bugs, white grubs and earwigs. The symptoms for chinch bugs and white grubs are yellow patches and severed roots. If you have a severe problem with these bugs you should consider planting perennial rye grass or fescues, as they are less attractive for these pests.
Chinch bugs thrive in dry areas that have been over-fertilized with synthetic fertilizers. Small areas can be controlled by adding soapy water to the area. The easiest organic grub control is using predator nematodes. These can be ordered through many garden centres. One way to control earwigs is to trap them overnight in a rolled-up newspaper. Empty the traps daily into soapy water. Also effective is Diatomaceous Earth. Or use a mixture of 1 tablespoon each of vegetable oil, molasses and dry yeast in 8 ounces of water. Put the mixture into a small container, bury to ground level and clean as needed.
Although not a serious problem outdoors, ants can be controlled by applying equal parts of baking soda and icing sugar to ant runs or any commercial ant bait. Repeat every two weeks.
Rather than trying to eradicate all pests, your best bet is prevention and simple organic and physical controls of removal as nothing beats just walking your garden daily to do a little TLC and maintenance to stay on top of the condition of your .
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
Starting from scratch can be a great way to ensure a low maintenance and healthy lawn. If the area has inappropriate grass for the climate or soil, waterlogged spots, more weeds than grass or too much grass to maintain, you may want to consider starting over. By doing so, you can plan where to grow alternatives to grass, and provide a good soil base, the key to a healthy lawn.
By starting in August to early October, you will allow the roots of new plantings to be well established before taking a beating the following summer. Be sure that you have the time for at least 1 to 2 months of “babying” the new grass. Consistent moisture is essential.
Soil is the most important part of growing a healthy lawn. Before planting, it is a good idea to get a soil test. Six inches of soil is the minimum for growing healthy plants. Consider mixing compost into any new soil that is added. Next, rake the soil, being sure to rake away from the house to ensure water does not settle at the foundation. Lightly compact soil to get rid of air pockets. Consider using an edging shovel to create a break to keep the grass well divided from trees and gardens, making it easier to mow around these areas.
You have the choice of using grass seed or sod. Sod is often more expensive than grass seed. However, it will need less upkeep in the beginning months. Seed is widely available, but be sure to choose a mixture containing several types of seed. Fescue blends are the most tolerant and easiest to upkeep. Many people choose Kentucky Blue because of its lush green appearance but it does not take in nutrients and water well due to a shallow root system. Perennial rye germinates quickly but does not creep well so any dead spots will have to be filled in by hand. White clover is drought resistant, doesn’t require mowing and is very tough for heavy traffic areas.
By providing deep, rich soil choosing the correct seed and watering properly, most common lawn problems will be avoided.
DEALING WITH WEEDS
When dealing with weeds, you can try to reduce those unwanted species, or simply learn to enjoy the diversity. It is not necessary for a healthy and attractive lawn to have 100% identical leaf shapes. Weeds appear when there is something preventing the grass from thriving. This can be anything from too much nitrogen in the soil, insufficient depth of topsoil, compaction, or the incorrect grass species.
Before killing the weeds take the time to understand why they occurred in your lawn in the first place. For example, moss occurs in areas with low soil fertility, acidity, excess moisture, inadequate soil depth and shade. Instead of just killing the moss and replanting grass you must correct the factors that are keeping the grass from growing.
There are many options for weed control that do not require pesticide use. If there are only a few weeds you can use flaming or spot weeding. Flamers are available at hardware stores and should be used with caution. Be sure to only torch the plant for a couple of seconds to avoid soil damage. Use a dandelion weeder for spot weeding, getting down to the deep roots of the plant. Corn gluten will prevent weed seeds from germinating and add nutrients to the soil at the same time. Grass seed will also be affected, so time appropriately. Vinegar mixtures are particularly useful between paving stones. Be cautious around desired plants as it will kill whatever it touches.
Cut lawns to no less than 3 inches to help shade out weeds. For large outbreaks of weeds consider solarization. You will need a large tarp to cover the affected area. This will kill off all vegetation, so you will have to replant afterwards. Conditions suitable for growing grass are essential and may require the addition of topsoil, compost, compost tea, calcium, lime, or other nutrients
DE-THATCHING AND AERATION
A good time to de-thatch and aerate your lawn is in the early fall. Thatch is a layer of living and dead grass stems and roots that can form at ground level, preventing air, water and nutrients from reaching deep into the lawn’s soil. It can also be a host site for insects and fungus. Thatch often builds up on a chemically treated lawn because pesticide use can kill off beneficial organisms in the soil. In an organic lawn, these microorganisms normally consume decaying material and return it to the soil in the form of nutrients, leaving your lawn better equipped to fight disease and malnutrition. A thin thatch layer of a half inch or less on lawns is normal.
However, when the thatch starts to accumulate to a thick layer, then it’s time to take action. Dethatching removes thatch build-up. To do the job you can use a bamboo or power rake available at local garden and home stores. Whichever you use, make sure to rake in two directions.
The next step is to aerate in order to allow air and water to more easily reach the grass’ roots. Aerating is the act of removing small plugs of soil from the lawn. It is important to avoid spiked aerating devices, as they compact the soil around the spike leaving those areas more vulnerable. True aeration is when a small plug of soil is removed from the ground and deposited on the surface. When finished, the lawn will look like it has bullet holes, with small animal droppings on top. The “droppings” will quickly dissolve into the soil after a few rains.
It must be noted that aerating machines are not easy to use and it is usually best to leave this step to a professional. Equipped with access holes, the lawn is now ready to receive much-needed nutrients in the form of compost and compost tea.
TOP-DRESSING AND OVER-SEEDING
Fall and spring are good times to top-dress and over-seed your lawn. Top-dressing is the application of a layer of compost on the surface of the lawn. This feeds the lawn and improves soil quality. In combination with over-seeding, it allows you to build a thick healthy lawn that can resist weeds and pests without the use of pesticides. By mixing topsoil with the compost it will be easier to maintain good moisture content until the seed germinates.
Do any de-thatching or aeration before you apply top-dressing and seed. Spread an even layer of a topsoil-compost mix using a rake. For a large area it is worth it to get a truckload of bulk compost. Small bags will cover a surprisingly small area.
Next, apply seed that matches the climate and needs of your lawn. Once planted, you will have to make sure the area is constantly moist until the seeds have germinated and are a few inches tall. If you are looking for something that will germinate quickly use either Rye or Fescue species.
When seeding, make sure there is good soil-to-seed contact. This can be done by raking away any dead grass that is left on the soil and by walking over the area after seeding. If you are working on a small patch, you can simply apply the grass seed by hand. On larger areas you should use a broadcast spreader to ensure even application. Enriching the soil and adding new seed in fall or spring will allow root systems to be well established before the dry summer weather.
Even the lushest lawn will need help as years go by. As plants mature, reproduction rates slow down, meaning your lawn will need the occasional helpful hand. Top-dressing and over-seeding are just the tools to help it along.
PREPARING FOR WINTER
Too often people treat their frozen lawn like asphalt during winter and act perplexed when it does not appear as a lush green bed of grass in spring.
Though frozen, your lawn needs preparation and care for the winter months. A few easy precautions will mean less winter damage. The last time you mow the lawn for the year be sure to take it down to 2 inches above the soil. This allows less matting from snow and will help reduce damage from mice and voles. It is also helpful to add compost or compost tea and give a final heavy watering before snowfall.
Late fall weeding will minimize spring weeding. This is also a good time to convert some of your lawn to a garden or other uses. Redirect traffic with stakes around the lawn and shovel a clear path for guests to your home. If you have a snow removal service let them know where you would like snow piled. Large amounts of snow build up can lead to dead spots. The soil may be frozen but it is still vulnerable.
Salt can be detrimental to your lawn, so try to use non-sodium based de-icers. Alternatives to salt include sand, wood ashes, kitty litter or clay. None of these will melt the ice but should give enough traction to avoid falls. If you prefer to melt the ice there are commercial products now available that do not contain salt.
Through understanding the needs of your soil, grass type and location you can more easily battle any problems that may arise without the use of pesticides. This along with my other “Creating an Ecosystem” document should give you a great start at managing your lawn and property moving forward.
