Last year’s dry summer spelled trouble for our lawns here in Vermont, especially in our very dry sandy area. Sam Kineson is often quoted when discussing our general area, you know the one..
Come here, you see this? This is sand. You know what it’s gonna be 100 years from now? IT’S GONNA BE SAND!! (Sam Kineson)
My takeaway, as my lawn fell prey to moles, crows and other pests was to not antagonize a stressed lawn with aerating, excessive mowing, watering or other habitual practices. When lawns get stressed they are susceptible to weeds, diseases, and other pest out breaks.
Don’t stress, it isn’t a personal blight on you only
A dry, burned out lawn will come back with adequate rainfall. Dead spots can be repaired and seasons come and go. Don’t sweat it, it’s only grass, besides, your neighbors are mostly likely suffering the same as you ~ except for that one guy, you want to be him.
The question is how to grow a lawn that makes your neighbors envious of your lush green turf.
Here are a few tips to keep you focused on maintaining a healthy lawn:
MOW HIGH– Mowing the grass short weakens the plant, harms the growth crown leaving room for weeds growth. Mow as high to maintain moisture making the plant stronger and able to survive periods of drought, disease conditions, and other stresses. Keeping a longer lawn (3 1/2″) for maximum photosynthesis and grass growth will smother and overcrowd weeds.
WATER LESS – Lawns should be watered deeply and infrequently, you want deep root growth. Over-watering causes roots to stop growing deeper as they don’t need to search of water. Shallow roots become lazy, staying close to the surface where the water is. Make your lawn “tough like bull,” and strength train to build an extensive root system. You need that to fight off weed infestations, pest attacks and quicker recovery from other stress.
Speaking of Bull… You might not have access to manure but you can use:
COMPOST – We want you to be on an organic lawn care program, but even if you aren’t, top dressing with compost helps. Adding compost builds and enriches the soil, you want to feed the grass naturally. A healthy soil creates the nutrients that grow grass naturally, making conventional fertilizing obsolete. Rich soil is happy, this is the key to growing a healthy lawn and composting is the best way to get there.
Don’t Stress ~ Don’t Over Water
Don’t Use Chemical Shortcuts
“My local hardware store has a great sale on lawn care systems with pelleted delivery that makes life easy.” said my neighbor, who’s lawn looks like the Sahara desert, what went wrong?
Chemicals kill indiscriminately, (and smell horrible too) both the good and the bad are wiped out and your soil becomes kinda dead, not able to nourish your lawn naturally. This creates a situation where you need to continue using more and more chemicals to feed the grass making it green..
Who benefits from this situation?
Loser: You and your lawn care budget, as you spend time, energy, and money.. Your green is gone… both turf and pocket cash
Winner: Your local hardware store as you constantly return for this and that chemical to correct all the situations their brand promises to correct.
If the need for removing weeds is still there you have many options and methods for removal:
- Vinegar has plant killing properties: It can be used as a non-selective weed killer. Household vinegar does not get above 5% acetic acid, repeat applications are needed but handle with care as it kills what it hits.
- Herbicidal soaps are natural approaches for controlling mosses and algae and there are numerous weed killing formulations using natural oils, concentrates and other organic substances. These are all non-selective herbicides and as of yet, there are no organic broadleaf (selective) herbicides available.
- Mechanically remove weeds with weed puller tools, long screwdrivers, hand trowels, or bare hands. My wife swears by her asparagus harvesting tool as a direct weeder.
- Weed flamers are gaining popularity as an organic weed control. They are basically modified propane torches used to burn problem weeds.
What about using pre-emergent fertilizer?
My strategy has recently changed to the point where I ask myself..
“Why use a pre-emergent at all ?”
In a healthy lawn, spring plant will be strong enough on its own to overtake weed seed germination, fertilizing only gives weeds the advantage. Crabgrass is a filler weed and will quickly take over, smothering your good lawn grasses. It will thrive in areas with thin turf or bare patches. Many organic turf growers contend that a bag of seed can be as effective at suppressing crabgrass as any pre-emergent herbicide. Dense, healthy turf will naturally crowd out crabgrass, so growing more grass and filling in those thin areas and bare patches will result in minimized crabgrass pressure.
Next I’ll write on:
- Pre-emergents
- Why I stopped using GMO based corn gluten
- My Personal lawn care product schedule
- Grubs creating a scary scene from “The Birds”
Hey Dave,awesome lawn care tips by you. Completely agree with all the above points. I think organic lawn care tips are nowadays getting so much important for the creation of an healthy lawn. Garden looks wonderful when properly take cared by the homeowner. I like your blog completely,thanks for posting this nice information.
I agree that you should mow high. Otherwise, your grass will probably turn brown. I have seen this in my experience with mowing lawns.
Yes, we have been experiencing long drier summer seasons. This one trick certainly help keep things green.
Bodynsoil recently posted…Review of Fed Up Documentary
A Great Article. Overwatering is one of the main reasons that damage the lawn in the long run. I like how you mentioned not to take chemical shortcuts. Good Point. Great Article. Thanks for Sharing!
Sodding Mississauga recently posted…Smart Irrigation Saves Money!
We have installed our own watering system which was an easy project to do on your own and saves a lot of water as well. I’ve been working on a video project showing how the installation is done.
Bodynsoil recently posted…Daily Prompt On Second Thought
which self propelled lawn mower is best can any one help?
Best self recently posted…Best Pressure washers 2017 – Buyer’s Guide
Wonderful topic! I’m sensitive to the gas fumes from gas mowers. We have an enormous lawn and My spouse and i don’t have the muscle power for a push mower. We use a battery powered electric one. And we also leave the grass clippings. Best wishes on going all away with the push mower. Also I’ve had a self-propelled gas lawnmower for a while. Pushing the lawnmower myself always wears me out, so having it be self-propelled is a life saver. However, I do dislike the noise and exhaust it produces, so I might consider a corded electric mower in the future. Thanks for the information!
Best self recently posted…Best Pressure washers 2017 – Buyer’s Guide
The major difference between Crabgrass and turf grass is the fact that crabgrass is an opportunistic grower. In that the seeds will lie dormant for years, waiting for a weak turf to grow in. That makes it difficult to crowd it out with turf grasses. Thanks for writing!
Aaron C. recently posted…Refer a Friend
Thank you for your advise, I’ll work hard to keep the turf healthy for years to come.
Bodynsoil recently posted…Lifting my Spirits at the Gym
This info is absolutely diamond and is a great step by step way to create and keep a lush green lawn so thank you very much
This has worked great for us and rejuvenated our dying burnt out grass.
Bodynsoil recently posted…Daily Word Post: Riff
Informative article sharing this blog post. I have a lawn garden, and I am an enthusiast of lawn care. I don’t know about lawn care. In this article, I found some valuable lawn care tips. This post is really important essential. I satisfied with getting this article post.
Bracel Aurther recently posted…13 Best Rototiller Reviews 2018
My husband has been working on his lawn for a few years and it has responded fabulously.
Bodynsoil recently posted…Daily Word Post: Riff
Pingback: 12 Tips For A Healthy Organic Lawn - Off-Grid
Twitter: bloggerhamid
This is Anne Alexander. Do you know I have a little garden? There I have used the new generation lawn mower for the firm & garden. I love your garden & love your technical term too. I will follow up with your content. Thank You for sharing this information.
Awesome tips there!! Different lawn grass have different recommended mow heights and cutting them wrongly might affect the general health of your lawn grass.
Thanks for sharing!!
addy recently posted…Best Electric Lawn mowers Reviews 2019-Cordless and Battery-Powered