These lawn-care tips promote healthy and green grass throughout the peak summer months
Now that June is here, summer weather will come calling, with high temperatures followed, no doubt, and a lack of water. It is time to sit back and let your lawn take care of itself. You can have a great-looking lawn without the supposed ‘work’ or environmental detriment. This is the perfect time of year to get to work on it and make a season-long difference.
Environmental Benefits of Lawns
According to the North American Lawn Institute, an averagesized suburban lawn produces enough oxygen to support a family of four. A lawn is not some green carpet that the Blue Jays play on (which is fake turf) but a high functioning, living, breathing colony of oxygen-producing plants that are knit together to form a low-growing welcome mat to your home.
A properly maintained lawn is cool to walk on as it transpires moisture through its blades. As it cools the air it also cleans it, through the miracle of photosynthesis.
As rain falls, toxins are filtered through the sophisticated root structure of grass plants. Not only do grass roots slow the flow of water through the soil, preventing flooding, but they also absorb an enormous amount of moisture in the normal course of their workday. That is not to say, however, that a lawn is a water hog.
You can give your lawn a boost and help it do its job more efficiently by following these few simple steps:
CUT YOUR LAWN HIGH Six to eight cm will do the job. For generations we cut our lawns much shorter, not realizing that tall grass blades produce deeper roots that are more drought tolerant. Also, the taller the grass blades, the fewer the weeds as weed seeds are ‘shaded out’ by the grass before they get a chance to germinate. More on weed control later.
USE A MULCHING MOWER The cut grass blades are regurgitated up into the cutting chamber of the mower where they are re-cut before being thrust down into the root zone of the grass plants. As they decompose they add precious nitrogen to the soil: the element that grass plants crave the most.
FERTILIZE THREE TIMES A YEAR Sometimes lawn fertilizer is called lawn food but this is inaccurate. The fact is, your lawn feeds on soil-borne nutrients and takes the nutrients up with the assistance of microbial activity in the soil. It is a little complicated. What you really need to know is that a quality lawn fertilizer provides nutrients to the soil that are used by the grass plants to grow and thrive. The aforementioned nitrogen is the primary ingredient in a spring/early summer application of fertilizer, and is always represented by the first number in the three number analysis on the bag.
SLOW-RELEASE NITROGEN The nitrogen that produces the best results in your lawn is most useful to it when it is released over an extended period of time. One of the most sophisticated forms of slow-release nitrogen is sulphur-coated urea. It releases nitrogen to the root zone as rain falls, temperatures rise, and microbial activity occurs in the soil. Iron also plays an important role, as it helps to produce green chlorophyll, deepening the colour and enhancing the appearance of your lawn quickly.
OVERSEED Spread triple mix or lawn soil over areas where bare patches occur and apply quality grass seed by hand at the rate of 500 grams per 40 sq meters. Rake smooth, step on it to bring the soil and seed in firm contact, and water well until the roots have taken firm hold. Remember that a thick lawn is your best defence against weeds. Alternatively, consider a new product on the market this season that combines dehydrated compost with quality lawn seed that you apply with a lawn spreader. Look for Golfgreen Iron Plus Lawn Recovery. It is amazing!
WATER LESS As we approach the summer season, the temptation to get out the lawn sprinkler will pull at you. I urge you to hold off until there is a real need. A lawn will grow nicely without water for up to 7 days. If it hasn’t rained for a week give your lawn a drink and apply about 2 cm to make sure that it moves down to the root zone where it is really needed.
DON’T WATER If we get into a drought situation, forget about watering all together. Your lawn will stop growing and it may go brown, but for the most part it will be dormant, not dead. That is, unless the drought continues for four weeks or longer, at which time my theory of ‘dormant not dead’ could prove erroneous. I argue that watering at that point is not going to solve the problem of dead grass. See below.
If you do experience dead areas in your lawn this summer, plan on overseeding in mid-August. By late September your grass will have revived and will be looking good again.
The lawns that we grow here are a cool weather crop. That is why there is more sod grown per capita in Ontario than anywhere in the world. We do it because we can. We have fabulous golf courses, partly for this reason, also.
Final note: If you have racoons or skunks digging up your lawn, you likely have grubs feeding on grass roots. June is the month to apply dormant nematodes, available from garden retailers. Water these microscopic insects into the soil thoroughly after application for best results.
Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, author, broadcaster and Order of Canada recipient. Get his free monthly newsletter at markcullen.com. Look for his new best seller, The New Canadian Garden published by Dundurn Press. Follow him on Twitter @MarkCullen4 and Facebook. markcullen.com