Danny Lipford » Lawn Care

Environmentally Friendly Way to Mow Your Lawn

Danny Lipford — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:04 +0000

Changing the way you mow your grass can save water by reducing the need for lawn irrigation. Here’s how:

Use a mulching mower and blade. Leaving the grass clippings on the lawn will provide natural, organic nitrogen and help retain moisture.
Don’t cut the grass too short. Set your cutting depth to leave 2½” to 3” of grass. Taller grass protects the stem from sunlight, makes a stronger root system, and reduces evaporation.

Wireless Moisture Sensor for Your Lawn or Garden

Jodi Marks — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:00:45 +0000

It’s important to keep you lawn watered during dry weather, but timed sprinkler systems often cut on when watering isn’t needed. The Wireless Moisture Sensor from Vigoro uses a remote sensor to monitor moisture levels in the soil. It then relays the information to the timer to prevent it from cutting on unnecessarily. The Vigoro Moisture Sensor is available at The Home Depot.

(695) Room with a View, Part 2

How to Recycle Leaves in Your Yard

Julie Day — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:55:02 +0000

Leaves are nature’s perfect mulch.

Every year, our friendly neighborhood shade trees remind us that Mother Nature has a mind of her own, as the leaves begin to flutter down and cover the ground like a crunchy snowstorm. Left to their own devices, those leaves would form a dense mat under the tree, choking out competing plants and breaking down to provide nutrients back to the tree. It’s a brilliant system—if you’re a tree! But we homeowners—with our driveways, lawns, and gardens—find all those fallen leaves quite a nuisance.

Instead of sending your leaves to the landfill, consider recycling them to feed the plants in your garden. Leaves are a great, free source of nutrients and insulation for your garden if used correctly, and you can keep your lawn neat while still allowing nature to work its magic. Here’s how to make use of fallen leaves in your garden.

Mulch small amounts of leaves directly into your lawn.

Mulch Mowing

The easiest way to recycle fallen leaves is simply to leave them alone. Up to an inch or two of leaves can be mowed and left to break down in your lawn, adding nutrients and a bit of mulch to your lawn grass. Make sure your lawn mower has a mulching function and sharp blade, so that the leaves are thoroughly shredded and spread thinly.

Shredding Leaves

If you have large amounts of leaves, you can use them for other purposes in the garden, but they must first be shredded. Whole leaves (especially large ones) form an impenetrable, moldy mat that will suffocate nearby plants and make a mess. There are several ways to shred leaves:

Lawn Mower: Mow over leaves while on the ground with the lawn mower and either pick them up with the bag attachment or rake up after shredding.
String Trimmer: Rake up leaves and put them in a garbage can. Crank up your string trimmer and use it to shred the leaves while in the can.
Leaf Blower: Use the shred and vacuum feature on some leaf blowers.
Shredder: Run leaves through a commercial shredder.

Shredded leaves break down much faster.

Uses for Shredded Leaves

Once you’ve got a nice pile of shredded leaves, there are many great uses for them:

Compost Pile: Add shredded leaves to a compost pile. Shredded leaves are a great source of carbon for the compost pile. Layer them with nitrogen-rich waste such as leaf clippings, and keep some extra on hand to sprinkle over messy kitchen scraps.
Leaf Mold: Some gardeners like to process leaf compost separately to produce a super-rich mulch and soil additive called leaf mold.
Container booster: Fill your planting containers about half-full of tightly-packed leaves, then add regular potting soil and plants. The leaves will break down slowly and feed the plant, saving on the cost of potting soil.
Instant bulb bed: To create a bed of spring woodland bulbs such as daffodils, first layer shredded leaves and topsoil, then place a layer of bulbs, then cover with layers of leaves and topsoil to about 8”- 10” deep.

Leaves are great for suppressing weeds under shrubs.

Mulch: Spread shredded leaves around shrubs, trees, flowers, and vegetable gardens to use as Mulch. I like to use leaves in areas that need deep mulch, such as back behind large shrubs where it’s hard to keep weeds under control. Since leaves tend to blow in the wind, you may find that your mulch migrates back into the lawn on windy days! If this is a problem in your yard, try sprinkling the mulch with water or adding a thin layer of regular wood mulch, pine straw, or topsoil on top.

Gardening Tip

Many tree leaves (including black walnut, eucalyptus, and sycamore) beat the competition by releasing chemicals that inhibit the sprouting and growth of seeds. If you’re planting new seeds or transplanting seedlings, hold off on the leaf mulch until the plants are established.

Garden blanket: Mound leaves around and over tender perennials and shrubs to provide extra winter insulation. In the spring, gradually remove the leaves to allow the soil to warm. You can also move containers of perennials and shrubs to a sheltered area and bank with leaves for the winter. Keep some extra leaves on hand to cover plants in case of a surprise spring freeze.
Amend soil: Leaves are full of nutrients and very beneficial additives to both clay and sandy soil. Use leaf compost, or simply spread a thick layer of shredded leaves on your vegetable garden to be tilled into the soil. The leaves will break down slowly in the ground and substantially improve the quality of your garden soil.

Some gardeners even raid their neighbors’ leaf piles!

Leaf Recycling Tips

A few parting thoughts as you go to work recycling those leaves:

Leaves are often acidic. Check your soil pH and amend with lime, if necessary, to keep the pH neutral.
Avoid mulching with tree seeds, such as maple tree “helicopters” and oak tags. You’ll end up with a lot of sprouts to pull!
Tougher leaves, such as oak leaves, are slower to break down. For this reason, you may choose to compost them separately or mix them in with other types, keeping in mind that some will break down faster than others.

Further Information

Leaf Shredding (video)
Leaf Compost (video)
Tip for Bagging Leaves (video)
How to Make Compost For Your Garden (video)
How To Build a Compost Bin (article)
Using Mulch In Your Garden (article)
Allelopathic Plants: Nature’s Weedkillers (Earth Friendly Gardening)

How to Winterize the Grass in Your Lawn

Julie Day — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:00:09 +0000

If all the conflicting advice about whether or not to winterize your lawn has left you confused, you’re not alone! But figuring out what to do may not be as hard as it seems. Here’s what you need to know about how to prepare your lawn for winter.

What Is a Winterizer?

Your lawn’s nutrient needs change in the fall in preparation for the cold weather ahead. Winterizing fertilizers are high in potassium (chemical symbol: K), the third number listed on the fertilizer label.

Winterizers have a higher potassium content than other lawn fertilizers.

Potassium is a very important nutrient in overall plant health. It works at the cellular level to strengthen and harden plants from top to bottom, making them more tolerant of cold and stress. Potassium also helps a plant absorb other nutrients, making it an important component of balanced feeding for your lawn.

The other two nutrients in fertilizer are nitrogen, the first number (chemical symbol: N), which promotes leaf and stem growth; and phosphorus, the middle number (chemical symbol: P), to enhance root growth and fruit production.

Commercial winterizer fertilizers usually contain higher levels of potassium and lower levels of nitrogen than early-season “turf building” type fertilizers. For example, Scotts WinterGuard fertilizer has an N-P-K number of 24-2-14 while their standard Turf Builder is 29-2-4.

Winterizers Are for Cool-Season Grasses

Most commercial winterizers are formulated for cool-season grasses such as fescue and bluegrass. These type of lawns:

Have their peak growing season in the fall, so that’s a great time to feed them.
Need increased potassium and decreased nitrogen as the season progresses.

Some lawn care professionals believe that a fall application of winterizer is the single most beneficial thing you can do for cool-season lawns, and the best choice if you’re only fertilizing once. Among the main commercial fertilizers, winterizers are more balanced than turf-builders, so they’re a better choice for once-a-year feeding.

Warm-Season Grasses Beware

Winterizers should not be used with warm-season grasses (Bermuda, St. Augustine, zoysia, centipede) because they:

Go dormant in the winter while an application of fertilizer spurs new growth.
Grow in warmer climates where winterizing is less of an issue.
While warm-season grasses need potassium, it should be applied during spring and summer instead of fall.

The nutrient ratio is more important than the name on the label.

What’s All The Hype?

If you follow the seasonal parade of fertilizer products, winterizers are last in the lineup of recommended summer and fall fertilizers. But look closely and you’ll notice that the earlier feedings are almost pure nitrogen, because nitrogen is what makes your grass green and thick.

Winterizers appear on shelves in the fall to provide the potassium that was left out of the earlier products. It’s quite a clever marketing plan, but it can cost you a fortune! If you substitute a slow-release fertilizer with more balanced nutrients for the typical summer blend, you can cut down on the number of applications needed.

For established lawns, turf experts recommend feeding with at least three parts nitrogen for every one part potassium to provide maximum green-up and overall health, with at least half of the nitrogen in a slow-release form. Many commercial fertilizers now contain little or no phosphorus due to pollution concerns.

Lawn fertilizer should be applied during the peak growing season (spring for warm-season grass, fall for cool-season). While you may find fertilizers with these ratios labeled as “winterizers,” they can be applied anytime that’s right for your lawn.

Fall is a great time to feed cool-season lawns.

Do I Need to Winterize My Lawn?

Conduct a soil test. If it shows adequate levels of potassium in your soil, you don’t need winterizer.
If you’ve been feeding your lawn with balanced nutrients all season (such as organic fertilizer or compost), you shouldn’t need to worry about winterizing, as there will still be plenty of potassium available in the soil during fall.
Cool-season grass will benefit from fall feeding. You can use a winterizer or another fertilizer as long as it contains both nitrogen and potassium. Or supplement your lawn throughout the season with potassium from organic sources.
For warm-season grasses, wait until late spring to fertilize and feed with balanced nutrients.

Winterizers, like other chemical fertilizers, are commercial products designed for repeated use. Chemical fertilizers do not improve your soil and need to be applied again the next season.

For a low-maintenance, low-budget, healthy lawn, consider switching to organic lawn practices such as top-dressing, mulch mowing, core aeration, and slow-release organic fertilizers. Over time, these practices will condition and enrich your soil, giving a healthier lawn that requires less maintenance.

Further Information

The Myth of “Winterizer” Fertilizer (Colorado State University Extension)
Why You SHOULD NOT Winterize Your Lawn (Alabama Extension)
Winterizing Lawns (Clemson University Extension)
Winterizing Lawns Not Good for Warm-Season Grasses (Auburn University)

Applying ‘Weed and Feed’ Products to St. Augustine Grass

Julie Day — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:45:54 +0000

What type of ‘weed-n-feed’ can I use that’s safe for St. Augustine grass? I’d like to apply it this fall, and I’m having a hard time finding a product labeled for use on my lawn. -Joe

As you’ve likely discovered, many broadleaf weed killers also harm St. Augustine grass. There are a few herbicides available that are rated for St. Augustine, but most of them are weed control only, not weed and feed.

A couple of thoughts about weed-and-feed products:

Unless you live in a frost-free climate, you should stop using any fertilizers at least six weeks before your average first frost date. St. Augustine is a warm-season grass that goes dormant for the winter, and you don’t want to stimulate growth that can be killed by frost. Weed-and-feed products are best reserved for spring and summer in these types of lawns.
The most common herbicide for St. Augustine lawns is Atrazine. Simply put, Atrazine is nasty stuff. It’s known to cause cancer and birth defects, and it’s showing up at alarming levels in drinking water. One look at the stern warnings on the label should make you think twice about putting it on your lawn!
A healthy lawn is naturally weed-resistant. If you have a widespread weed problem, focus instead on getting your lawn healthy, or on replacing the unhealthy lawn with groundcover or planting beds.

To help decide which herbicide to use on your lawn, check out Managing Weeds in Warm Season Lawns by Clemson University Extension. It includes a table that matches grass and weed types to herbicides with specific product names.

Further Information

Fall Eco-Friendly String Trimmer Giveaway

Danny Lipford — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:05:58 +0000

We’re giving away two LEHR Propane Powered Eco Trimmers ($200 value) to help you cut down on pollution while sprucing up your yard.

Winner of the EPA Clean Air Excellence Award, the Eco Trimmer delivers the power and performance of a gasoline powered string trimmer without the negative environmental impact. Propane burns cleaner than gasoline, producing 96% less carcinogens and 97% fewer particulates.

Just twist on a camping style propane canister (not included) and you’re ready to go. Each canister provides two hours of running time.

For a chance to win, simply fill out the entry form from September 23 through October 31, 2009.

How to Mulch with Grass Clippings

Julie Day — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:27:57 +0000

If I have clippings, I sprinkle them thinly in naturalized areas.

Is it a good idea to use grass clippings as mulch? -Henry

Grass clippings can make great mulch, though using them has advantages and disadvantages. To begin with, if you are mowing properly – with a nice sharp mulching blade set high, cutting no more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time – you shouldn’t HAVE any grass clippings. The small chopped-up snippets are best left where they are, to quickly decompose and feed your lawn.

However, if you’re mowing an overgrown area, or prefer to bag your clippings, here’s what you need to know about using them as mulch.

Dry grass clippings: If applied too thickly, fresh green grass clippings turn into a smelly, gooey mess, smothering your garden with a hot, moldy blanket. The heat of decomposition can damage plants and invite diseases, and the matted, decomposing grass blocks air and water circulation.
Build clippings gradually: Spread your clippings in a 1” layer, and allow them to completely dry and turn brown (a week or two) before adding more. Or, you can dry your clippings elsewhere and spread them when they’re ready.
Beware of contamination: Keep in mind that clippings will be contaminated with any chemicals you have applied to your lawn. Any fertilizers, insecticides, or weed killers you used will then be filtered into the soil around your garden plants.
Watch out for weeds: Most lawns have at least a few weeds, so there’s a good chance your clippings will contain weed seeds which may germinate in your garden.

As an alternative, add grass clippings to your compost pile, mixed with at least an equal amount of brown stuff (such as dead leaves) to balance out the composting process.

Don’t Forget the “Curb” in Curb Appeal

Julie Day — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:31:09 +0000

You’ll be surprised what a difference a clean curb makes.

To achieve a simple and noticeable pop in the “curb appeal” of your home, pay attention to the curb itself. Since it doesn’t serve as a focal point of your yard, keeping the curb neat and tidy can be easy to overlook. But the point behind cleaning up your curb is so that it won’t be noticed and draw your eye away from the rest of the landscaping. It’s one of those small details that has a surprising effect on the big picture of the curb appeal of your home.

A little cleanup would make this lawn and sidewalk look like new.

Here’s how to get the curb in front of your home in shape:

Edge Lawn: Use an edger, a string trimmer, or a shovel and shears to give your lawn a sharp edge where it meets the curb. Even if you don’t have a prizewinning lawn, this step will make it look like you do.
Remove Weeds: Pull (or spray with Round-Up) any weeds or grass poking through cracks in the concrete.
Tidy Up: Rake leaves and debris and add them to your compost or trash pile. Neaten up around trash pick-up areas as well.
Shovel Dirt: Run a square shovel along the gutter to scoop up any dirt or mud. I’m always surprised how much soil I shovel up! If the dirt is free of rocks, use it to fill in low spots in your yard.
Clean Concrete: Give the curb a good rinsing to remove grass clippings and grit. Or, conserve water by using a broom to get the curb nice and clean.
Other Areas: Follow these same steps to spruce up your driveway, sidewalk, and parking area.

Fall Lawn Care Guide

Julie Day — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:08:59 +0000

Fall and spring are the most important times of the year for establishing and strengthening lawns, as well as preparing them for the harsh temperatures of winter and summer. Here are some tips for taking care of your lawn in the fall.

About Fall Lawns

There are two basic types of grasses—cool-season and warm-season—with different needs and requirements:

Cool-season lawns (fescue and bluegrass) have their peak growing season in the early fall. This is the absolute best time of year to establish, strengthen, and cultivate these types of grasses.
Warm-season lawns (Bermuda, zoysia, and St. Augustine) wind down their growing season as the weather cools. Warm-season grasses go brown and dormant after the first hard freeze, so fall care for them focuses more on weed control and planning for winter color.

Warm-season lawns are preparing to go dormant in the fall.

Fall Lawn Cultivation

When lawns are growing, they respond well to cultivation tasks that improve soil quality. Unless you’re planting a new lawn and can till up the entire area, lawn cultivation is done gradually, every year or two, so that the lawn grasses can recover. Here are the most important lawn cultivation tasks:

Dethatching should be done during your lawn’s peak growing season, but only if the thatch layer is over ½ inch. For cool-season lawns, fall is the perfect time. Hold off on dethatching warm-season lawns until next spring.
Core Aeration should also be done during your lawn’s peak growing season, so that the grasses can quickly recover. It’s best to aerate cool-season lawns in the fall and warm-season lawns in the spring or early summer.
Top-Dressing your lawn with topsoil mixed with other ingredients is a great way to finish up the cultivation process, since it evens out lumps and improves soil quality. Top-dress after aerating, and seed any bare spots.
Correcting Soil pH can be done in the fall for any type of lawn. Start by conducting a soil test to determine what amendments, if any, are needed for your lawn. Apply lime to acid soils or sulfur to alkaline soils according to the recommendations of your soil test.

Task	Cool-Season Lawn	Warm-Season Lawn
Core Aeration	Fall	Spring/Early Summer
Dethatching	Fall	Spring/Early Summer
Correcting pH	Fall or Spring	Fall or Spring

Fertilizing Fall Lawns

Whether you should fertilize your lawn in the fall or not depends on the type of grass you have.

Apply fertilizer on a cool day, and water it in.

Fertilizing Cool-Season Lawns

Start feeding cool-season lawns in late August or September (6 weeks before your average first frost) with a N-P-K ratio of 3:1:2 or 4:1:2. The nitrogen will stimulate green shoots and thick growth. Most lawns benefit from about one pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet. Check the instructions on the fertilizer bag for correct application.
Apply winterizing fertilizers, which are higher in potassium to promote winter hardiness, around the time of your last mowing of the season (October to November).

Fertilizer Tip

Too much fertilizer can burn your lawn. Choose slow-release organic fertilizers whenever possible, and follow package instructions to make sure you apply the correct amount.

Fertilizing Warm-Season Lawns

Stop feeding warm-season lawns in early August to late September (6-8 weeks before your average first frost). Do not fertilize warm-season grasses in the fall, unless you live in a frost-free climate, since this will stimulate growth as they are going dormant for the winter. Instead, wait until the growing season begins in spring or early summer.
Winterizing Fertilizers: While there’s some debate about the usefulness of winterizer fertilizers, it’s generally recommended not to apply anything to warm-season grass after August.

Cool-season grass seed grows quickly in the fall weather.

Fall Lawn Seeding and Planting

Cool-Season Lawns: Fall is the perfect time for establishing and thickening turf through seeding, sodding, and patching bare spots. If you’re seeding your lawn, reduce the amount of fertilizer to avoid burning the seedlings.
Warm-Season Lawns: If you don’t like the brown appearance of your dormant warm-season lawn, fall is a good time to overseed with annual ryegrass or other cool-season grass for winter color. Apply the seed about 2-4 weeks before your average date of first frost.

A healthy lawn is the first line of defense against weeds.

Fall Lawn Weed Control

Fall is the ideal time to combat actively growing weeds with post-emergent herbicides. Weeds, like other plants, spend the fall drawing nutrients from their leaves into their roots for winter survival. The increased absorption means that your weed-control products will quickly be drawn into the roots for rapid results.

Weed Control Tip

Weed & Feed products combine fertilizer and weed control into a single application. While they can simplify fall care of cool-season lawns, don’t use them if you’re planting grass seed as they often contain a pre-emergent herbicide that will keep grass seed from germinating.

Fall cleanup is important for keeping your lawn healthy.

Other Fall Lawn Tasks

Leaf Cleanup: If allowed to accumulate, leaves form a wet blanket that smothers your turf grass and invites disease. Keep leaves raked or picked up, and consider using them to start a compost pile. Small amounts of leaves can be mowed and mulched into your lawn.
Mowing: Continue mowing as long as your lawn is growing. Mow newly seeded lawns as soon as they need it. Make sure your mower blades are sharp for the fall season, and do a little mower maintenance before putting it away for the winter.
Watering: The weather may be getting cooler, but your lawn still needs one inch of water per week as long as it’s growing. Newly planted grass seed will need watering every day or two until established.
Grass alternatives: If you have areas of your lawn where grass refuses to grow, fall is a great time for planting and establishing groundcover.

Further Information

How to Control Bermuda Grass

Julie Day — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:01:03 +0000

One of the constant challenges of lawn maintenance is dealing with invasions of unwanted grass species. Bermuda grass is a tough one, because it’s aggressive and very quickly spreads both above and below ground to take over lawns and planting beds.

You may have patches of wild Bermuda grass (sometimes called wire grass), or you may be dealing with an invasion from a neighbor’s cultivated Bermuda lawn. Here are some tips for dealing with unwanted Bermuda grass in your lawn.

Natural Approach

Rather than resorting to chemicals to solve the problem, try using Bermuda’s natural traits against it while encouraging the growth of your lawn grass at the same time:

Increase Shade: Bermuda grass requires a lot of sunshine. Set your mower height to 3-4 inches, and your taller lawn grass will shade out the Bermuda. This is probably the most effective strategy even though it takes time. (On the other hand, if you want to keep the Bermuda and get rid of other grasses, set your mower blade low, and the Bermuda will eventually win out).
Limit Fertilizer: Bermuda also needs more fertilizer than other types of lawn grasses, so you can discourage its growth by reducing applications of fertilizer. For cool-season lawns, limit fertilizing to the fall, after the Bermuda has been nipped by frost.
Encourage Preferred Grass: A healthy lawn is always more resistant to invasion. Learn about your particular lawn grass, and take steps necessary to encourage a thick turf that is resistant to weeds and other grasses.

Chemical Solution

If you decide to resort to using chemicals to control the spread of Bermuda, how you go about it will vary depending on the type of grass (or other plants) the Bermuda is invading:

Cool-Season Grasses: If you have a cool-season lawn (fescue, bluegrass, or rye grass) you can use a product such as Bayer Bermuda Grass Control to kill Bermuda without harming your lawn.
Warm-Season Grasses: Since Bermuda is a warm-season grass, chemicals that are used to control it will also kill other warm-season grasses—including St. Augustine, zoysia, and centipede. A total vegetation herbicide, such as Roundup (glyphosphate), can be used to kill ALL the grass—including your existing lawn. Then once you are rid of the invading Bermuda grass, you would need to replant your lawn with your favorite turf grass.
Around Shrubs and Trees: There are products, such as Ornamec or Grass Getter, which are designed to kill unwanted grasses without harming shrubs and trees.

Keep in mind that ALL herbicides contain chemicals that upset the ecosystem (that’s what they’re designed to do!), and many contain ingredients that are toxic to humans and animals. I always recommend using them only as a last resort.

Further Information

Stamp Out Bermuda Grass (Bay Weekly)
Bermudagrass Control (Utah State Extension, PDF 161kb)
How to Control Weeds in Your Lawn