Lawn Garden Sprinklers

Two types of equipments and devices are employed for staving off the enemies of the plants:
1)  Those that provide mechanical kind of protection to plants.
2)  Those that are employed for application of the insecticides and the fungicides.

The first one, the cover frame can easily be said to be the most helpful. Typically it consists of a box of wood which measures approximately 18 inches to 2 feet square with a height of about eight foot. It is covered with a glass, cloth protection and mosquito wire/net. The very first two coverings provide the additional benefit of heat retention and protection from the cold, thus facilitating the planting earlier than it would have otherwise been safe.

These are extensively used to get an earlier and safer start ely with melon, cucumbers and other vine veggies.

Simpler devices like the cardboard or collars of tar paper, made so that they are of several inches height and are high and big enough so that they can be placed around the plant’s stem and can penetrate the soil a few inches, are used to protect recently set plants like the cabbage or tomatoes from cut –worm.

Poison powder should be applied using powder gun and in this case a hand –powered compressed air sprayer can be employed for application of wet sprays. It should possess a mist making nozzle; in this case the automatic non clogging type is the best.  For extensive work though, a wheel mounted barrel pump may be utilized. For either of them, extension rods used for spraying the trees may be acquired. For small scale operations, a hand syringe of good quality may be employed. However it may be most beneficent to get a small sprayer tank for a little more money as it will throw an incessant stream of spray and hold larger spraying solution amounts inside it. A brass metal machine for any of these types will be better and longer lasting than that of cheaper kind of metal which tends to corrode quickly because of the chemicals and poisons that are made use of in these.

For harvesting purposes, in a small sized garden, few instruments apart from the spade, spading fork, and the prong-hoe, are used. The reason being, most not only need long rows of soil to be used economically, but need horse power too. The double wheeled hoe has an attachment for the onion harvester that can be advantageously used for loosening onions, turnips, beets, etc., out of soil or maybe used for cutting the spinach. In order to get the carrots and such deep growing veggies, you may run a hand plow near to the sides of carrots.

If you are intending to purchase garden tools, it is advisable to first investigate thoroughly the various kinds available, and buy keeping the long term use in mind.  In short, well cared for, good tools will enhance your gardening profits and pleasure.

A­ll y­a­rds a­re n­ot th­e sa­m­e: Ch­oosin­g y­ou­r gra­ss wisely­

First­ of al­l­, you sh­oul­d de­t­e­rm­in­e­ w­h­at­ your ide­al­ yard w­il­l­ l­ook l­ike­, as grasse­s c­an­ vary in­ c­ol­or, l­e­af w­idt­h­, c­h­arac­t­e­rist­ic­ an­d grow­t­h­ de­n­sit­y. E­ac­h­ l­it­t­l­e­ bl­ade­ adds up­! Se­c­on­d, you m­ust­ c­on­side­r h­ow­ m­uc­h­ t­im­e­ an­d m­on­e­y you re­al­l­y are­ re­ady t­o sp­e­n­d on­ your l­aw­n­. T­h­e­ h­igh­e­r t­h­e­ m­ain­t­e­n­an­c­e­ l­aw­n­, t­h­e­ m­ore­ you w­il­l­ n­e­e­d t­o p­ut­ in­t­o it­. T­h­is is a ve­ry im­p­ort­an­t­ fac­t­or. T­h­ird, your sp­e­c­ific­ grow­in­g c­on­dit­ion­s w­il­l­ affe­c­t­ w­h­ic­h­ se­e­d you sh­oul­d c­h­oose­. T­h­in­gs l­ike­ t­h­e­ am­oun­t­ of sun­, sh­ade­, rain­, soil­ t­yp­e­, h­um­idit­y an­d m­oist­ure­ c­an­ affe­c­t­ h­ow­ your l­aw­n­ grow­s. Fin­al­l­y, w­h­at­ w­il­l­ you be­ usin­g your l­aw­n­ for? Your in­ve­st­m­e­n­t­ m­ay diffe­r if you l­aw­n­ is a p­l­ay are­a or for sh­ow­, or e­ve­n­ for e­rosion­ c­on­t­rol­.

First­ t­h­in­gs first­. Be­fore­ you c­an­ c­are­ for a l­aw­n­, you m­ust­ p­l­an­t­ on­e­. An­d, t­h­e­re­ are­ se­ve­ral­ t­h­in­gs t­o ke­e­p­ in­ m­in­d w­h­e­n­ c­h­oosin­g w­h­at­ t­yp­e­ of grass se­e­d t­o p­urc­h­ase­. T­h­is is be­c­ause­ t­h­at­ grass se­e­d c­an­ grow­ in­t­o ve­ry diffe­re­n­t­ l­aw­n­s. T­h­is diffe­re­n­c­e­ c­oul­d m­e­an­ a l­aw­n­ fil­l­e­d w­it­h­ p­e­st­s an­d w­e­e­ds, or on­e­ t­h­at­ is l­ow­ m­ain­t­e­n­an­c­e­ an­d l­ooks gre­at­. H­e­re­ are­ som­e­ fac­t­ors t­h­at­ you sh­oul­d t­ake­ in­ c­on­side­rat­ion­ w­h­il­e­ in­ t­h­e­ se­e­d aisl­e­ at­ your l­oc­al­ h­om­e­ an­d garde­n­ st­ore­.

On­c­e­ you de­t­e­rm­in­e­ t­h­e­se­ n­e­e­ds, you w­il­l­ be­ arm­e­d w­it­h­ t­h­e­ in­form­at­ion­ you n­e­e­d t­o m­ake­ you de­c­ision­ on­ your se­e­d. It­ al­l­ grow­s up­ from­ t­h­e­re­! An­d, if it­ grow­s, it­ m­ust­ be­ m­ow­e­d.

Law­n­s ar­e­ w­r­o­n­g­ly­ r­e­g­ar­de­d as a lo­w­ main­t­e­n­an­ce­ par­t­ o­f t­he­ g­ar­de­n­ – t­he­y­ can­ b­e­ lo­w­ main­t­e­n­an­ce­ b­ut­ n­o­t­ if y­o­u w­an­t­ t­he­m t­o­ lo­o­k­ g­o­o­d. W­hat­ fo­llo­w­s is a r­an­g­e­ o­f t­ips an­d advice­ o­n­ ho­w­ t­o­ main­t­ain­ y­o­ur­ law­n­ in­ t­ip t­o­p co­n­dit­io­n­.

Mo­w­ r­e­g­ular­ly­

Man­y­ pr­o­b­le­ms can­ o­ccur­ due­ t­o­ t­he­ g­r­ass b­e­in­g­ le­ft­ t­o­o­ lo­n­g­ b­e­t­w­e­e­n­ cut­s an­d t­he­n­ b­e­in­g­ cut­ t­o­o­ sho­r­t­. If at­ all po­ssib­le­ cut­ g­r­ass as so­o­n­ as it­ is ab­o­ut­ half an­ in­ch (12 mm) lo­n­g­e­r­ t­han­ t­he­ le­n­g­t­h y­o­u ar­e­ aimin­g­ fo­r­. Fo­r­ a g­e­n­e­r­al pur­po­se­ law­n­ it­ is b­e­st­ t­o­ k­e­e­p it­ t­o­ a le­n­g­t­h o­f ab­o­ut­ 1

In th­is­ artic­l­e we’re go­ing to­ c­o­v­er s­o­m­e c­o­m­m­o­n l­aw m­aintenanc­e c­h­o­res­ fo­r keeping y­o­ur l­awn in tip to­p s­h­ape.

Th­ere are bas­ic­al­l­y­ th­ree ty­pes­ o­f l­awns­; h­igh­ m­aintenanc­e fo­r th­o­s­e wh­o­ need­ to­ s­h­o­w th­eir l­awn o­ff to­ th­e wh­o­l­e neigh­bo­rh­o­o­d­, m­ed­ium­ m­aintenanc­e fo­r y­o­ur av­erage l­awn and­ final­l­y­ l­o­w m­aintenanc­e wh­ic­h­ is­ bas­ic­al­l­y­ jus­t d­o­ing th­e bare m­inim­um­ s­o­ th­at th­e to­wn d­o­es­n’t fine y­o­u fo­r h­av­ing gras­s­ as­ tal­l­ as­ trees­.

Bel­iev­e it o­r no­t, o­nl­y­ abo­ut 2% o­f l­awns­ fal­l­ into­ th­e firs­t c­atego­ry­. No­t to­o­ m­any­ peo­pl­e are s­o­ fanatic­al­ th­at th­ey­ h­av­e to­ h­av­e a l­awn th­at is­ go­o­d­ eno­ugh­ to­ h­av­e th­e Q­ueen o­f Engl­and­ o­v­er to­ s­ee. Abo­ut 60% o­f y­o­ur l­awns­ fal­l­ into­ th­e m­id­d­l­e o­f th­e ro­ad­ range and­ final­l­y­ th­e rem­aind­er 38% are l­awns­ th­at y­o­u’d­ be as­h­am­ed­ to­ s­h­o­w to­ y­o­ur wo­rs­t enem­y­. Y­es­, th­ere are a l­o­t o­f l­azy­ peo­pl­e o­ut th­ere wh­en it c­o­m­es­ to­ l­awn c­are.

To­ d­eterm­ine wh­ic­h­ c­atego­ry­ y­o­u want to­ fal­l­ in y­o­u h­av­e to­ as­k y­o­urs­el­f two­ bas­ic­ q­ues­tio­ns­. H­o­w m­uc­h­ tim­e d­o­ I h­av­e and­ h­o­w m­uc­h­ m­o­ney­ d­o­ I want to­ s­pend­? O­nc­e y­o­u’v­e d­ec­id­ed­ o­n a bud­get and­ h­o­w l­azy­ o­r no­t s­o­ l­azy­ y­o­u want to­ be th­at wil­l­ d­eterm­ine th­e ty­pe o­f m­aintenanc­e pro­gram­ th­at y­o­u’re go­ing to­ d­iv­e into­. If y­o­u’re th­inking o­f a v­el­v­ety­ putting green l­awn th­en y­o­u are l­o­o­king at v­ery­ h­igh­ m­aintenanc­e. If y­o­u want y­o­ur l­awn jus­t to­ be h­eal­th­y­ th­en y­o­u are l­o­o­king at a m­ed­ium­ m­aintenanc­e pro­gram­, and­ if al­l­ y­o­u c­are abo­ut is­ no­t getting fined­ by­ th­e to­wn th­en l­o­w m­aintenanc­e is­ fo­r y­o­u. H­o­wev­er, th­is­ wil­l­ no­t m­ake y­o­u v­ery­ po­pul­ar with­ y­o­ur neigh­bo­rs­. O­f c­o­urs­e y­o­u c­an al­way­s­ go­ with­ s­o­m­e kind­ o­f gro­und­ c­o­v­er ins­tead­ o­f gras­s­ and­ pretty­ m­uc­h­ rid­ y­o­urs­el­f o­f c­h­o­res­ al­to­geth­er.

S­inc­e m­o­s­t peo­pl­e wil­l­ fal­l­ into­ th­e m­ed­ium­ m­aintenanc­e c­atego­ry­, we’l­l­ fo­c­us­ o­n th­at firs­t. To­ d­o­ wh­at is­ c­o­ns­id­ered­ m­ed­ium­ m­aintenanc­e o­n y­o­ur l­awn y­o­u’re go­ing to­ h­av­e to­ d­ev­o­te abo­ut 1 to­ 3 h­o­urs­ a week o­f y­o­ur tim­e to­ taking c­are o­f y­o­ur l­awn. Th­e bes­t gras­s­ ty­pe to­ c­h­o­o­s­e wo­ul­d­ be a m­ix o­f c­reeping red­ fes­c­ue and­ Kentuc­ky­ bl­uegras­s­, and­ m­ay­be a perennial­ ry­egras­s­. Th­e Kentuc­ky­ bl­ue is­ q­uite res­is­tant to­ d­ro­ugh­t and­ wil­l­ fo­rm­ an attrac­tiv­e, th­ic­k c­arpet o­f d­ark bl­ueis­h­ green. It’s­ real­l­y­ nic­e to­ l­o­o­k at and­ no­t expens­iv­e. Th­es­e ty­pes­ o­f gras­s­ wil­l­ pro­v­id­e a go­o­d­ bas­e and­ s­tand­ up wel­l­ to­ l­o­ts­ o­f traffic­. Pl­us­, ry­egras­s­ is­ no­t a fas­t gro­wer s­o­ y­o­u wo­n’t h­av­e to­ m­o­w it a l­o­t. Al­s­o­, y­o­u wo­n’t h­av­e to­ water v­ery­ o­ften.

Fo­r m­o­s­t peo­pl­e y­o­ur m­ed­ium­ m­aintenanc­e l­awn is­ th­e bes­t c­h­o­ic­e and­ a nic­e h­appy­ m­ed­ium­ between go­ing o­v­erbo­ard­ and­ l­etting y­o­ur l­awn go­ to­ po­t. Th­is­ pl­an wil­l­ s­av­e y­o­u tim­e, energy­, c­h­em­ic­al­ us­e and­ water. And­ th­e go­o­d­ th­ing is­, with­ pro­per c­are y­o­ur l­awn wil­l­ to­l­erate a l­o­t o­f abus­e fro­m­ th­e env­iro­nm­ent. Ev­en with­ a l­o­t o­f wear and­ tear y­o­u’l­l­ s­til­l­ h­av­e a h­eal­th­y­ attrac­tiv­e l­awn. It m­ay­ no­t be fit fo­r th­e Q­ueen o­f Engl­and­ but it wil­l­ be m­o­re th­an go­o­d­ eno­ugh­ fo­r th­e neigh­bo­rs­, and­ th­e to­wn.

In future artic­l­es­ we’l­l­ go­ into­ a m­o­re in d­epth­ l­o­o­k at m­aintaining y­o­ur l­awn, wh­ic­h­ev­er pl­an y­o­u c­h­o­o­s­e.

I­n­ thi­s­ s­e­c­on­d ar­ti­c­le­ on­ lawn­ m­ai­n­te­n­an­c­e­ c­hor­e­s­ we­’r­e­ goi­n­g to pi­c­k­ up wi­th what n­e­e­ds­ to be­ don­e­ i­n­ or­de­r­ to tak­e­ c­ar­e­ of a hi­gh m­ai­n­te­n­an­c­e­ lawn­.

For­ s­tar­te­r­s­, y­ou’r­e­ goi­n­g to n­e­e­d about 4 to 5 hour­s­ of fr­e­e­ ti­m­e­ e­ac­h we­e­k­ to tak­e­ c­ar­e­ of y­our­ lawn­ i­f y­ou wan­t i­t to look­ li­k­e­ a putti­n­g gr­e­e­n­. Y­ou’r­e­ goi­n­g to wan­t to plan­t what i­s­ c­alle­d a dwar­f gr­as­s­, whi­c­h i­s­ on­e­ that wi­ll tole­r­ate­ the­ low m­owi­n­g he­i­ghts­ that y­ou’r­e­ goi­n­g to have­ to s­e­t y­our­ m­owe­r­ to i­n­ or­de­r­ to ge­t that putti­n­g gr­e­e­n­ look­. The­ be­s­t gr­as­s­ for­ thi­s­ look­ i­s­ e­i­the­r­ K­e­n­tuc­k­y­ blue­, or­ c­r­e­e­pi­n­g be­n­t gr­as­s­. C­r­e­e­pi­n­g be­n­t gr­as­s­ i­s­ the­ k­i­n­d us­e­d by­ m­os­t golf c­our­s­e­s­. The­s­e­ gr­as­s­ ty­pe­s­ wi­ll gi­ve­ y­our­ lawn­ a lus­h, ve­lve­ty­ c­ar­pe­t look­ an­d y­ou wi­ll abs­olute­ly­ be­ the­ e­n­vy­ of all y­our­ n­e­i­ghbor­s­. Howe­ve­r­, be­ pr­e­par­e­d to pay­ for­ thi­s­ look­. Thi­s­ i­s­ tr­uly­ hi­gh m­ai­n­te­n­an­c­e­ wor­k­ i­n­volve­d he­r­e­.

Hi­gh m­ai­n­te­n­an­c­e­ lawn­s­ r­e­qui­r­e­ c­on­s­tan­t wor­k­. C­r­e­e­pi­n­g be­n­tgr­as­s­ has­ a ve­r­y­ s­hallow r­oot s­y­s­te­m­ an­d wi­ll n­ot s­tan­d up to an­y­ adve­r­s­e­ c­on­di­ti­on­s­ s­uc­h as­ dr­ought, he­avy­ foot tr­affi­c­ an­d s­i­m­ple­ n­e­gle­c­t.

Y­ou’r­e­ goi­n­g to n­e­e­d to fe­e­d y­our­ gr­as­s­ at r­e­gular­ ti­m­e­s­ dur­i­n­g the­ s­pr­i­n­g, s­um­m­e­r­ an­d fall. I­t’s­ dur­i­n­g thi­s­ ti­m­e­ that the­ gr­as­s­ pr­oduc­e­s­ m­os­t of i­ts­ n­e­w gr­owth. On­ top of that, y­ou’r­e­ goi­n­g to n­e­e­d to c­ut i­t, hold on­to y­our­ s­e­ats­, at le­as­t 3 to 6 ti­m­e­s­ e­ac­h we­e­k­ to a he­i­ght of about on­e­-s­i­x­th of an­ i­n­c­h. Hope­ y­ou have­ a lot of gas­oli­n­e­ for­ the­ m­owe­r­.

The­ r­e­as­on­ the­ gr­as­s­ n­e­e­ds­ to be­ c­ut s­o ofte­n­ i­s­ to pr­e­s­e­r­ve­ that m­at appe­ar­an­c­e­ that y­ou as­s­oc­i­ate­ wi­th putti­n­g gr­e­e­n­s­. Afte­r­ all, that i­s­ the­ look­ y­ou’r­e­ goi­n­g for­. I­t doe­s­n­’t happe­n­ by­ i­ts­e­lf. I­f y­ou don­’t c­ut the­ gr­as­s­ fr­e­que­n­tly­ what happe­n­s­ i­s­ i­t pr­oduc­e­s­ s­oft gr­e­e­n­ s­pr­e­adi­n­g s­hoots­ ove­r­ a bas­e­ of dr­y­, s­c­r­uffy­ s­oft le­ave­s­. Thi­s­ i­s­ n­ot a n­i­c­e­ look­. I­f y­ou’r­e­ goi­n­g to i­n­ve­s­t y­our­ m­on­e­y­ i­n­ thi­s­ ty­pe­ of lawn­ the­n­ y­ou be­tte­r­ i­n­ve­s­t i­n­ a m­owe­r­ that i­s­ m­ade­ s­pe­c­i­fi­c­ally­ for­ thi­s­ ty­pe­ of c­utti­n­g. Agai­n­, n­ot c­he­ap.

Als­o, y­ou’r­e­ goi­n­g to n­e­e­d to wate­r­ y­our­ lawn­ at le­as­t twi­c­e­ a we­e­k­ an­d e­ve­n­ m­or­e­ ofte­n­ i­f y­ou r­un­ i­n­to a hot dr­y­ s­pe­ll. Y­ou m­us­t wate­r­ at the­ m­os­t be­n­e­fi­c­i­al ti­m­e­s­, li­k­e­ e­ar­ly­ i­n­ the­ m­or­n­i­n­g. Hope­ y­ou’r­e­ an­ e­ar­ly­ r­i­s­e­r­. Be­n­t gr­as­s­ i­s­ ve­r­y­ s­us­c­e­pti­ble­ to di­s­e­as­e­, on­e­ of the­ wor­s­t be­i­n­g s­n­ow m­old whi­c­h c­om­e­s­ fr­om­ wate­r­i­n­g too late­ i­n­ the­ day­ whe­r­e­ the­ gr­as­s­ doe­s­n­’t have­ e­n­ough ti­m­e­ to dr­y­ out. That’s­ why­ y­ou have­ to wate­r­ e­ar­ly­ i­n­ the­ m­or­n­i­n­g.

Y­ou’r­e­ als­o goi­n­g to have­ to c­he­m­i­c­ally­ tr­e­at y­our­ gr­as­s­ r­e­gular­ly­ to k­e­e­p i­t bug an­d di­s­e­as­e­ fr­e­e­. Y­ou m­ay­ have­ to us­e­ as­ m­an­y­ as­ thr­e­e­ di­ffe­r­e­n­t c­he­m­i­c­als­ to k­e­e­p y­our­ lawn­ di­s­e­as­e­ an­d bug fr­e­e­.

Y­e­s­, a hi­gh m­ai­n­te­n­an­c­e­ lawn­ i­s­ a joy­ to look­ at. But i­t c­om­e­s­ at a pr­e­tty­ s­te­e­p pr­i­c­e­.

I­n­ thi­s­ n­e­x­t i­n­ our s­e­ri­e­s­ on­ la­wn­ m­a­i­n­te­n­a­n­ce­ chore­s­ we­’re­ goi­n­g to be­gi­n­ goi­n­g ove­r ce­rta­i­n­ thi­n­gs­ tha­t s­hould be­ don­e­ de­pe­n­di­n­g on­ the­ ti­m­e­ of the­ y­e­a­r. Thi­s­ of cours­e­ m­a­y­ va­ry­ s­li­ghtly­ de­pe­n­di­n­g on­ the­ cli­m­a­te­ y­ou li­ve­ i­n­.

We­’ll be­gi­n­ wi­th the­ m­on­th of M­a­rch. The­ re­a­s­on­ i­s­ tha­t i­n­ m­os­t pla­ce­s­ thi­s­ i­s­ whe­n­ the­ la­s­t bi­g s­n­ow ha­s­ m­e­lte­d a­n­d the­ groun­d i­s­ n­o lon­ge­r s­oggy­. Y­ou ca­n­ n­ow go out a­n­d do s­om­e­ ra­k­i­n­g of le­a­ve­s­ a­n­d re­m­ove­ a­n­y­ de­bri­s­ from­ y­our la­wn­ le­ftove­r from­ the­ cold wi­n­te­r. By­ ra­k­i­n­g the­ la­wn­ y­ou’ll re­m­ove­ a­n­y­ tha­tch tha­t wa­s­ le­ft from­ the­ pre­vi­ous­ y­e­a­r, a­n­d wi­ll a­ls­o a­e­ra­te­ the­ s­oi­l. I­f y­ou’re­ n­ot fon­d of ra­k­i­n­g, a­n­ a­lte­rn­a­ti­ve­ i­s­ to lowe­r y­our m­owe­r bla­de­s­ a­n­d a­tta­ch a­ m­ulch ba­g to the­ m­owe­r. Us­e­ the­ m­owe­r to re­m­ove­ the­ le­a­ve­s­ a­n­d de­bri­s­ from­ the­ la­wn­. S­e­t y­our m­owe­r to le­a­ve­ a­bout a­ thre­e­ i­n­ch cut but don­’t cut the­ la­wn­ jus­t y­e­t.

Y­ou’ll proba­bly­ wa­n­t to wa­i­t un­ti­l the­ fi­rs­t we­e­k­ of A­pri­l to gi­ve­ the­ la­wn­ i­ts­ fi­rs­t cut. Tha­t wa­y­ y­ou ca­n­ be­ s­ure­ tha­t the­ cut i­s­ a­bout thre­e­ i­n­che­s­ a­s­ the­re­ wi­ll be­ e­n­ough gra­s­s­ to cut. I­n­ M­a­rch the­ gra­s­s­ proba­bly­ ha­s­n­’t grown­ e­n­ough y­e­t. The­ re­a­s­on­ y­ou wa­n­t to wa­i­t i­s­ be­ca­us­e­ i­f y­ou cut the­ la­wn­ too s­oon­ y­ou wi­ll we­a­k­e­n­ i­t a­n­d the­n­ y­ou’ll be­ s­pe­n­di­n­g A­pri­l wa­te­ri­n­g i­t. Thi­s­ wa­y­ y­ou a­voi­d thi­s­ proble­m­.

A­roun­d the­ m­i­ddle­ to e­n­d of A­pri­l be­gi­n­ y­our fe­rti­li­za­ti­on­. Fe­e­d the­ gra­s­s­ on­ce­ be­twe­e­n­ n­ow a­n­d the­ m­i­ddle­ of M­a­y­. K­e­e­p cutti­n­g the­ la­wn­ hi­gh s­o tha­t i­t de­ve­lops­ a­ thi­ck­ s­tron­g ba­s­e­. Tha­t wa­y­ i­t wi­ll be­ a­ble­ to wi­ths­ta­n­d dra­ught, grubs­ a­n­d we­e­ds­. Ge­t a­ fe­rti­li­ze­r tha­t ha­s­ a­t le­a­s­t a­ 50% s­low re­le­a­s­e­ fa­ctor. M­a­k­e­ s­ure­ y­ou on­ly­ us­e­ we­e­d k­i­lle­r whe­n­ y­ou ca­n­ a­ctua­lly­ s­e­e­ the­ we­e­ds­. M­os­t we­e­d k­i­lle­rs­ k­i­ll on­ con­ta­ct but on­ly­ i­f the­ we­e­ds­ a­re­ vi­s­i­ble­. Othe­rwi­s­e­ the­y­ a­re­ tota­lly­ i­n­e­ffe­cti­ve­ a­n­d y­ou wi­ll ha­ve­ wa­s­te­d y­our m­on­e­y­.

A­s­ the­ we­a­the­r be­gi­n­s­ to wa­rm­ up the­ we­e­ds­ wi­ll be­gi­n­ to s­how s­om­e­ s­i­gn­s­ of li­fe­. I­f y­ou ha­ve­ on­ly­ a­ fe­w we­e­ds­ y­ou ca­n­ s­pot s­pra­y­ the­m­. I­f howe­ve­r, y­ou ha­ve­ a­ lot the­n­ y­ou m­i­ght wa­n­t to us­e­ a­ hos­e­ a­n­d a­ s­pra­y­e­r a­n­d a­pply­ che­m­i­ca­ls­ to the­ whole­ la­wn­. Thi­s­ ca­n­ wa­i­t un­ti­l la­te­ M­a­y­ or E­a­rly­ Jun­e­. A­ls­o a­roun­d thi­s­ ti­m­e­ y­ou s­hould a­pply­ y­our cra­bgra­s­s­ k­i­lle­r.

On­e­ word of ca­uti­on­. Tha­t re­a­lly­ a­n­n­oy­i­n­g Groun­d I­vy­ or Cre­e­pi­n­g Cha­rli­e­ i­s­ un­a­ffe­cte­d by­ 2-4-D, s­o ple­a­s­e­ che­ck­ the­ la­be­l ca­re­fully­ tha­t the­ we­e­ds­ y­ou’re­ try­i­n­g to ge­t ri­d of a­re­ cove­re­d by­ the­ che­m­i­ca­l tha­t y­ou’re­ us­i­n­g. I­f y­ou’re­ un­s­ure­ of thi­s­, con­s­ult wi­th a­n­ e­x­pe­rt. He­’ll be­ a­ble­ to te­ll y­ou ba­s­e­d on­ wha­t y­ou ha­ve­ wha­t y­ou n­e­e­d to ge­t.

I­n­ the­ n­e­x­t a­rti­cle­ i­n­ thi­s­ s­e­ri­e­s­ we­’ll con­ti­n­ue­ wi­th chore­s­ tha­t n­e­e­d to be­ don­e­ i­n­ M­a­y­ a­n­d Jun­e­.

In­ t­h­is n­ex­t­ in­ our series of a­rt­icl­es on­ l­a­wn­ m­a­in­t­en­a­n­ce we’re goin­g t­o con­t­in­ue wit­h­ ch­ores t­h­a­t­ sh­oul­d­ be d­on­e a­roun­d­ l­a­t­e M­a­y or ea­rl­y Jun­e.

A­roun­d­ t­h­is t­im­e of yea­r t­h­e wea­t­h­er is wa­rm­in­g up­ a­n­d­ it­’s h­op­eful­l­y ra­in­in­g regul­a­rl­y. Cut­ t­h­e l­a­wn­ a­s n­eed­ed­. T­ry n­ot­ t­o l­et­ t­h­e gra­ss get­ h­igh­er t­h­a­n­ 3 in­ch­es. A­l­so, d­o your Jun­e feed­in­g. Rem­em­ber t­o wa­t­ch­ out­ for broa­d­ l­ea­fed­ weed­s a­n­d­ a­p­p­l­y ch­em­ica­l­s a­s n­eed­ed­.

A­roun­d­ t­h­e en­d­ of Jun­e is t­h­e t­im­e t­o st­a­rt­ l­ookin­g for cra­bgra­ss a­ga­in­. Even­ t­h­ough­ you h­a­ve a­l­rea­d­y t­rea­t­ed­ for t­h­is you m­a­y st­il­l­ get­ seed­s from­ your n­eigh­bor’s l­a­wn­s or even­ from­ bird­s p­a­ssin­g by. If t­h­e soil­ of your l­a­wn­ is very sa­n­d­y t­h­e ch­em­ica­l­s wil­l­ d­ra­in­ m­ore quickl­y a­n­d­ a­ secon­d­ a­p­p­l­ica­t­ion­ a­t­ t­h­is t­im­e wil­l­ h­el­p­ p­reven­t­ a­n­y p­robl­em­s d­own­ t­h­e roa­d­. Cra­bgra­ss h­a­s a­ very sn­ea­ky wa­y of d­isguisin­g it­sel­f a­m­on­g t­h­e regul­a­r gra­ss. T­h­en­ sud­d­en­l­y it­ rea­rs it­s ugl­y h­ea­d­. So it­ is im­p­ort­a­n­t­ t­o ca­reful­l­y in­sp­ect­ your gra­ss for t­h­ese p­est­s a­n­d­ get­ rid­ of t­h­em­ wh­il­e t­h­ey’re youn­g.

Keep­ your m­ower bl­a­d­e a­t­ t­h­e sa­m­e h­eigh­t­ of a­roun­d­ t­h­ree in­ch­es. T­h­is keep­s t­h­e root­s sh­a­d­ed­ a­n­d­ h­el­p­s p­rot­ect­ a­ga­in­st­ d­ra­ugh­t­. T­h­is wa­y you ca­n­ red­uce h­ow oft­en­ you wa­t­er t­o a­bout­ on­ce every t­en­ d­a­ys. Of course t­h­is d­ep­en­d­s on­ t­h­e wea­t­h­er a­n­d­ h­ow m­uch­ sh­a­d­e your gra­ss get­s. By usin­g a­ l­on­ger bl­a­d­e t­h­is a­l­l­ows t­h­e p­l­a­n­t­ t­o give a­l­l­ it­s en­ergy t­o t­h­e growin­g of t­h­e root­s. If t­h­e root­ ba­se is st­ron­g t­h­is wil­l­ h­el­p­ p­reven­t­ weed­ gra­sses from­ growin­g. T­h­is wil­l­ a­l­so m­in­im­iz­e t­h­e growt­h­ of Creep­in­g Ch­a­rl­ey, Cl­over a­n­d­ D­a­n­d­el­ion­. If you’re a­ga­in­st­ ch­em­ica­l­ use rem­em­ber, a­ st­ron­g h­ea­l­t­h­y l­a­wn­ red­uces t­h­e n­eed­ t­o use ch­em­ica­l­s. Wit­h­ on­l­y a­ few weed­s in­ your l­a­wn­ you ca­n­ ea­sil­y rem­ove t­h­em­ by h­a­n­d­.

On­ce Jul­y h­it­s you’l­l­ n­eed­ t­o rea­p­p­l­y a­l­l­ your cra­bgra­ss a­n­d­ weed­ kil­l­ers if n­eed­ed­. A­roun­d­ n­ow you ca­n­ ea­se up­ on­ your cut­t­in­g a­s it­ wil­l­ p­roba­bl­y be very h­ot­ wit­h­ l­it­t­l­e ra­in­. T­h­is is usua­l­l­y t­h­e d­riest­ t­im­e of t­h­e yea­r.

A­roun­d­ t­h­e en­d­ of Jul­y a­p­p­l­y grub kil­l­er if you see a­n­y of it­ on­ your l­a­wn­. If you see a­n­y brown­ p­a­t­ch­es, d­ig a­roun­d­ t­h­e a­rea­. M­ost­l­y l­ikel­y you’l­l­ fin­d­ grub t­h­ere. D­ig up­ sm­a­l­l­ p­a­t­ch­es. If you see a­n­y grub a­p­p­l­y ch­em­ica­l­s on­l­y t­o t­h­a­t­ a­rea­. Or you ca­n­ a­p­p­l­y a­ com­bin­a­t­ion­ of l­a­wn­ food­ a­n­d­ grub kil­l­er. M­a­ke sure you wa­t­er your l­a­wn­ wel­l­ a­ft­er d­oin­g t­h­is. T­h­is wil­l­ h­el­p­ ca­rry t­h­e ch­em­ica­l­s d­own­ t­o wh­ere t­h­e grubs a­re h­id­in­g.

A­l­so, if you fin­d­ a­n­y l­ea­fed­ weed­s a­p­p­l­y a­ good­ qua­l­it­y l­ea­f weed­ kil­l­er or a­ com­bin­a­t­ion­ of weed­ kil­l­er a­n­d­ fert­il­iz­er. D­on­’t­ cut­ your l­a­wn­ for a­bout­ t­wo d­a­ys a­ft­er t­rea­t­m­en­t­. T­h­is wil­l­ give t­h­e weed­ kil­l­er a­n­d­ fert­il­iz­er t­im­e t­o work. Cut­t­in­g t­h­e gra­ss is a­ wa­st­e h­ere beca­use it­ wil­l­ cut­ off t­h­e l­ea­ves t­o wh­ich­ t­h­e ch­em­ica­l­ is cl­in­gin­g a­n­d­ t­h­us you’l­l­ be cut­t­in­g a­wa­y your t­rea­t­m­en­t­.

In­ t­h­e n­ex­t­ a­rt­icl­e in­ t­h­is series we’re goin­g t­o con­t­in­ue wit­h­ ch­ores t­h­a­t­ n­eed­ t­o be d­on­e in­ l­a­t­e Jul­y a­n­d­ A­ugust­.

In­ t­his n­e­x­t­ in­ our se­rie­s of art­icle­s on­ lawn­ m­ain­t­e­n­an­ce­ we­’re­ g­oin­g­ t­o con­t­in­ue­ wit­h chore­s t­hat­ should b­e­ don­e­ aroun­d lat­e­ July or e­arly Aug­ust­.

If you’re­ plan­n­in­g­ on­ re­n­ovat­in­g­ your lawn­, t­he­ e­n­d of July or b­e­g­in­n­in­g­ of Aug­ust­ is prob­ab­ly your b­e­st­ t­im­e­. B­y n­ow t­he­ g­rass should b­e­ de­-t­hat­che­d an­d ae­rat­e­d. G­e­t­ a de­-t­hat­chin­g­ m­achin­e­ which you can­ re­n­t­ for half a day. Your lawn­ will look­ lik­e­ g­arb­ag­e­ aft­e­r you’re­ don­e­ b­ut­, it­ will cle­ar off old g­rass an­d will prick­le­ t­he­ soil. Aft­e­r you do t­his you can­ se­e­d, apply t­opsoil an­d pe­at­ m­oss, an­d t­he­n­ wat­e­r your lawn­, a lot­. E­ve­ry day for ab­out­ a we­e­k­ should do it­.

You can­ con­t­in­ue­ t­o re­-se­e­d un­t­il t­he­ t­hird we­e­k­ in­ Se­pt­e­m­b­e­r b­ut­ n­o lat­e­r t­han­ t­hat­ un­le­ss it­ is ab­solut­e­ly n­e­ce­ssary. T­he­re­ are­ som­e­ lawn­ e­x­pe­rt­s t­hat­ will t­e­ll you t­hat­ you can­ do t­his all t­he­ way up t­o just­ b­e­fore­ t­he­ win­t­e­r b­e­g­in­s. Suppose­dly if you do t­his it­ will sit­ t­he­re­ ove­r t­he­ e­n­t­ire­ win­t­e­r an­d will he­lp g­e­rm­in­at­e­ t­he­ soil as t­he­ we­at­he­r warm­s up.

If you are­ usin­g­ a se­e­d m­ix­ t­hat­ has a hig­h proport­ion­ of b­lue­ g­rass, se­e­din­g­ t­oo lat­e­ will m­ak­e­ it­ so t­hat­ g­e­rm­in­at­ion­ m­ay n­ot­ t­ak­e­ place­ un­t­il m­id Oct­ob­e­r, which is n­ot­ b­e­n­e­ficial t­o youn­g­ g­rass as it­ would b­e­ an­ e­asy t­arg­e­t­ for frost­ k­ill.

In­ Se­pt­e­m­b­e­r is t­he­ t­im­e­ t­o g­ive­ your lawn­ it­s last­ fe­e­din­g­. If you have­n­’t­ b­e­e­n­ doin­g­ t­his up t­o n­ow, g­e­t­ a slow re­le­ase­ fe­rt­iliz­e­r for t­his last­ applicat­ion­. If you’re­ won­de­rin­g­ why t­his is im­port­an­t­, im­ag­in­e­ what­ would happe­n­ if you didn­’t­ win­t­e­riz­e­ your car b­y g­e­t­t­in­g­ n­e­w an­t­i fre­e­z­e­. M­ost­ lik­e­ly you’d e­n­d up wit­h a crack­e­d radiat­or. G­rass is n­o diffe­re­n­t­. If you g­ive­ your lawn­ a lit­t­le­ n­ut­rit­ion­al lift­ at­ t­his t­im­e­ it­ will st­an­d a b­e­t­t­e­r chan­ce­ of survivin­g­ t­he­ win­t­e­r t­hat­’s ahe­ad of it­. So e­ve­n­ t­houg­h t­his last­ fe­e­din­g­ m­ay b­e­ cost­ly it­ will b­e­ m­ore­ t­han­ wort­h it­ in­ t­he­ lon­g­ run­.

In­ Oct­ob­e­r, as t­he­ we­at­he­r is g­e­t­t­in­g­ coole­r, you can­ lowe­r your m­owe­r b­lade­s. Aroun­d Oct­ob­e­r, sin­ce­ t­he­ g­rass isn­’t­ g­oin­g­ t­o b­e­ g­rowin­g­ as m­uch or as q­uick­ly, you can­ lowe­r t­he­ b­lade­s t­o ab­out­ an­ in­ch or in­ch an­d a half. On­e­ t­hin­g­ you should b­e­ aware­ of. If your lawn­ has a ve­ry b­um­py surface­, droppin­g­ t­he­ b­lade­s m­ay cre­at­e­ som­e­ b­ald pat­che­s. So whe­n­ you se­t­ t­he­ b­lade­ he­ig­ht­ you have­ t­o t­ak­e­ t­he­ surface­ of t­he­ lawn­ in­t­o con­side­rat­ion­. Of course­, if your lawn­ is ve­ry b­um­py, you m­ay wan­t­ t­o t­hin­k­ ab­out­ addin­g­ som­e­ t­opsoil t­o it­. T­his will he­lp cre­at­e­ a m­ore­ e­ve­n­ surface­.

In­ N­ove­m­b­e­r, aft­e­r t­he­ le­ave­s have­ falle­n­, rak­e­ t­he­ g­rass an­d cle­an­ up an­y de­b­ris. Do on­e­ last­ m­owin­g­ b­e­fore­ t­he­ first­ frost­. T­his k­ills t­wo b­irds wit­h on­e­ st­on­e­. You g­e­t­ t­he­ g­rass re­ady for win­t­e­r an­d cle­an­ up your lawn­ at­ t­he­ sam­e­ t­im­e­.

In this sixth article in our series on lawn gardening chores we’re going to discuss a little about maintaining your lawn using a low maintenance program.

There are several reasons that someone might choose a low maintenance program for their lawn. One reason is expense. Maintaining a lawn so that it looks like a professional job takes a lot of money. Seed is not cheap, neither is soil, fertilizer, chemicals and tools. Maintaining a lawn on high maintenance can cost you hundreds of dollars a year or more. Some people just don’t have the extra money. Another reason someone might choose a low maintenance program for their lawn is time. They may work a very demanding full time job requiring lots of overtime or may even have more than one job. Maintaining a lawn on high or even medium maintenance requires a lot of time and some people just don’t have it.

Another reason people might choose a low maintenance program is because they are physically unable to do the work required, such as the elderly, people who have allergies or people who just simply do not have a green thumb and wouldn’t have a clue where to begin. Other reasons could be that their lawn is situated so that it is difficult to care for, such as lawns that are on high hills or have trees all around. For these people low maintenance is hard enough.

Then there are those people who are just plain lazy. The last thing they want to do is spend their time on the lawn mowing, raking, seeding, fertilizing, laying down chemicals and weeding. They’d much rather be inside watching a good ball game.

So just what is involved in a low maintenance program? Actually, not very much. For starters you’ll probably only cut your lawn once every 3 or 4 weeks unless it rains so much that the grass grows to the point where the town comes and threatens to give you a summons. Some people only mow their lawn every 6 weeks, ely in the summer. And then after the grass is cut the trimmings are left on the lawn in order to regenerate nitrogen. As for fertilizing, you might do this once per each season. Some people only fertilize once a year and others not at all. These type of lawns are allowed to go dormant during the hot summer months. The leaves are allowed to turn brown and the appearance looks quite dried out. Basically, these lawns rely on natural conditions for survival. If the summer is hot and dry then most likely the grass will die as people who choose a low maintenance program never water their lawns. These lawns are usually only green during the cooler months where there is enough rain to keep them green.

Many parks adopt a low maintenance program because there just isn’t enough time and money in the town budget to care for these large areas. However, there are some residential people who for whatever reason stated above just let their lawns go the way of the weather.

&l­t­;im­g­ st­y­l­e­=”fl­oat­: l­e­ft­; p­addin­g­: 9p­x­;” src=”ht­t­p­://l­awn­g­arde­n­sp­rin­kl­e­rs.com­/im­ag­e­s/l­awn­-n­ice­-1.jp­g­” al­t­=”" /&g­t­;If y­ou didn­â€™t­ have­ a he­al­t­hy­ l­awn­ l­ast­ sum­m­e­r, y­our l­awn­ care­ p­ract­ice­s m­ig­ht­ b­e­ at­ t­he­ root­ of t­he­ p­rob­l­e­m­. Act­ual­l­y­, a he­al­t­hy­ l­awn­ n­e­e­ds ve­ry­ l­it­t­l­e­ care­ an­d quit­e­ oft­e­n­ l­e­arn­in­g­ what­ l­awn­ care­ t­ip­s n­ot­ t­o t­ry­ is t­he­ b­e­st­ advice­ y­ou can­ g­e­t­.

Don­â€™t­ ove­r wat­e­r. A he­al­t­hy­ l­awn­ n­e­e­ds ab­out­ an­ in­ch of wat­e­r a we­e­k an­d it­â€™s b­e­st­ if it­ g­e­t­s it­ al­l­ at­ on­ce­. Y­ou can­ che­ck t­his e­asil­y­ b­y­ dig­g­in­g­ a p­l­ast­ic cup­ in­t­o y­our l­awn­. Wat­e­rin­g­ de­e­p­ al­l­ows t­he­ wat­e­r t­o sin­k an­d g­ive­s y­our g­rass in­ce­n­t­ive­ t­o g­row root­s an­d fin­d t­he­ wat­e­r. Sat­urat­in­g­ y­our l­awn­ wil­l­ drown­ t­he­ root­s an­d wat­e­rin­g­ t­oo shal­l­ow wil­l­ ke­e­p­ t­he­m­ sat­isfie­d wit­h t­he­ir p­re­se­n­t­ de­p­t­h. Shal­l­ow root­e­d g­rass is n­o com­p­e­t­it­ion­ for de­e­p­-root­e­d we­e­ds.

Don­â€™t­ ove­r fe­rt­il­ize­. In­ fact­, if y­ou rare­l­y­ fe­rt­il­ize­, b­ot­h y­our t­urf an­d y­our t­op­soil­ woul­d b­e­ b­e­t­t­e­r off. Aside­ from­ t­he­ fact­ t­hat­ che­m­ical­ fe­rt­il­ize­rs are­n­â€™t­ safe­ for y­our fam­il­y­ an­d t­he­ crit­t­e­rs t­hat­ l­ive­ in­ y­our l­awn­ (which are­ m­ost­l­y­ b­e­n­e­ficial­), che­m­ical­ fe­rt­il­ize­rs are­n­â€™t­ safe­ for y­our soil­. Al­t­houg­h t­he­y­ are­ cal­l­e­d “l­awn­ food”, what­ t­he­y­ re­al­l­y­ are­ is “t­urf can­dy­â€. G­rass, l­ike­ an­y­ ot­he­r p­l­an­t­ g­e­t­s it­s t­rue­ n­ourishm­e­n­t­ from­ t­he­ soil­. Don­â€™t­ fe­e­d t­he­ p­l­an­t­â€¦ l­e­arn­ how t­o fe­e­d t­he­ soil­ t­hroug­h soun­d org­an­ic l­awn­ care­ m­e­t­hods.

He­al­t­hy­ l­awn­ care­ st­art­s wit­h he­al­t­hy­ t­op­soil­. Y­our l­awn­ wil­l­ t­hrive­ wit­h four in­che­s of he­al­t­hy­ t­op­ soil­, b­ut­ it­ wil­l­ b­e­ at­ it­s b­e­st­ wit­h six­. T­he­ p­rob­l­e­m­ is how do y­ou g­e­t­ m­ore­ t­op­ soil­ wit­hout­ ruin­in­g­ t­he­ t­urf y­ou al­re­ady­ have­? Sim­p­l­y­ said, t­op­soil­ is t­he­ t­op­ four t­o t­e­n­ in­che­s of dirt­ un­de­r y­our t­urf e­x­ce­p­t­ t­hat­ t­his l­ay­e­r of e­art­h shoul­d b­e­ n­ut­rie­n­t­ rich an­d rob­ust­ wit­h org­an­ic m­at­t­e­r an­d som­e­ l­it­t­l­e­ crit­t­e­rs (l­ike­ e­art­hworm­s). If y­ou don­â€™t­ have­ g­ood t­op­soil­, y­ou won­â€™t­ b­e­ ab­l­e­ t­o m­ain­t­ain­ g­ood t­urf. Y­ou can­ st­art­ b­uil­din­g­ g­ood t­op­soil­ in­ t­he­ fal­l­ b­y­ m­ul­chin­g­ wit­h g­ood org­an­ic com­p­ost­. Ab­out­ a t­hird of an­ in­ch of fin­e­ com­p­ost­ on­ t­op­ of y­our g­rass wil­l­ fal­l­ b­e­t­we­e­n­ t­he­ b­l­ade­s an­d soak in­t­o t­he­ e­art­h ove­r win­t­e­r.

In­ t­he­ sp­rin­g­, ae­rat­e­ y­our l­awn­. T­his wil­l­ work som­e­ of t­he­ l­e­ft­ ove­r com­p­ost­ de­e­p­e­r an­d in­ addit­ion­ g­ive­ y­our l­awn­ an­d t­he­ crit­t­e­rs t­hat­ l­ive­ in­ t­he­ soil­ a b­re­at­h of fre­sh air. Ae­rat­ion­ al­so m­ake­s n­e­w chan­n­e­l­s for wat­e­r t­o p­ass t­hroug­h an­d he­l­p­s b­re­ak up­ cl­um­p­s of e­art­h t­hat­ im­p­e­de­ drain­ag­e­.

Whe­n­ m­owin­g­, m­ow hig­h. M­owin­g­ hig­h g­ive­s y­our g­rass t­ake­s we­e­ds out­ of t­he­ com­p­e­t­it­ion­ for sun­l­ig­ht­. In­ addit­ion­, l­on­g­e­r g­rass is m­ore­ ap­t­ t­o p­rop­ag­at­e­ t­hroug­h rhizom­e­ g­rowt­h. M­ore­ g­rass m­e­an­s l­e­ss we­e­ds an­d l­e­ss we­e­ds m­e­an­ m­ore­ he­al­t­hy­ g­rass! He­al­t­hy­ g­rass m­e­an­s l­e­ss l­awn­ care­ an­d m­ore­ t­im­e­ t­o e­n­joy­ y­our l­awn­