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August 20, 2007

Critical lawn-care season arrives now

I participate in a weekly conference call with turf educators around the state and this week our go-to turf guy, Dr. Frank Rossi of Cornell's turf program, made a very interesting comment.

Frank said that late August is when people get tired of thinking about and taking care of their turf. You've spent the summer trying to keep your lawn (or your customer's lawn) looking its best and by now you're ready for a break. But the ironic thing is we are just entering into the most important six weeks of the year for lawn care. Frank reminded us that what people do with their lawns over the next six weeks will directly affect how their lawns look next summer.

So if you care about how your lawn looks, now is not the time to go on vacation!

Cool Weather

You've heard me say this before: The grasses that make up our lawns are cool-season plants. They like the cooler, wetter weather of spring and fall, and suffer during the heat and dry spells of summer.

So the first step in this key six-week period is to figure out when the cooler weather has arrived. In some years we've been in severe drought conditions all the way until mid-September, while in other years rain and cooler temperatures arrived in late August.

A single rainstorm isn't enough. Conditions have been typically dry lately so it's going to take a few days of steady, gentle rain to break our lawns out of their summer dormancy and get growing again.

Once your lawn breaks out of its natural, summer slump, it's time to take action. And this time will vary from year to year depending on the weather.

Actions

Once the cooler weather arrives, what do you need to do? Get ready for my stock answer: It all depends. It depends on how satisfied you are with your lawn and a few other factors.

If you live in the country and have a lawn that's been there for decades with little disturbance chances are it looks good enough. A lawn like this needs no extra attention other than being kept at three to four inches high and mowed with sharp blades. Leave the clippings and they'll probably provide enough nutrients to sustain your lawn.

But if you're not satisfied with how your lawn looks, then now is the time to take some action.

Fertilize

After checking your mowing height, the next most important step to improve the looks of your lawn is to fertilize during this window of time. Use a fertilizer with a high first number (nitrogen) and as low a possible second number (phosphorus). The third number (potassium) isn't as important. Look for products like 20-0-20 or 33-3-3 or 10-1-1. The exact numbers aren't as important as the relative ratio of those numbers.

Measure your lawn and apply at the rate recommended on the label, don't overdo it. Try to time this before a rainfall, but if a downpour is expected, wait to apply fertilizer so it doesn't just wash away.

Aerate

If your soil is compacted now is an ideal time to core aerate it. You may need to hire someone for this job because the equipment is expensive and not easy to rent. Spike aerators do not do as good a job as those that pull up cores of soil.

If your soil is sandy and not compacted, there's no need to aerate. Sandy soil is naturally aerated because of its large chunky particle size. Fine-textured soils like clay and silt are more prone to compaction. The soil must be moist, but not soggy when you aerate it.

Weed Control

If you've been troubled by perennials weeds like dandelions and feel you must treat, September is the best time of year. The product moves down into the roots better for more effective control. Crabgrass is everywhere this time of year but it's an annual and dies with the first frost, so there's no point in treating for it now.

Overseed

September is an ideal time to overseed or to start a whole new lawn. Most of the weed seeds have sprouted for the year so there will be much less competition. Get the seed down in the first half of September so the young plants have enough time to get established before winter.

Rake back the crabgrass and do what you can to get the good grass seed to contact the soil for better germination. Just scattering the seed on top of the crabgrass will do little good. As the crabgrass dies with the cold, your new grass plants can take off and fill in. By ensuring a dense turf this fall, next spring crabgrass and other weed seeds will have a much harder time getting established.

Summary

The best practices you can do in the next six weeks to make your lawn look better and have fewer weeds are to check your mower height, fertilize and overseed. If you're going to use perennial weed killer, September is the best month.

For more information contact our office or visit these Web sites:

http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/lawn/index.html for excellent home lawn care information and http://www.lawntolake.org/ for information on keeping your lawn and our lakes healthy. If you'd rather read a book, try "The Organic Lawn Care Manual" by Paul Tukey.

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