Have a Healthy Lawn the Natural Way

Follow these steps for a healthier lawn:

1. Provide your lawn with an inspection and repair last year's damage

2. Perform a site evaluation to determine potential for grass growth

3. Cut your lawn at a height of  1.5 to  2 inches for the first few cuts

4. Have your soil tested to ascertain the nutrient needs of the soil

5. Fertilize your lawn following the soil test recommendations

6. Monitor for insect and disease problems weekly to prevent serious problems

7. Follow correct cultural practices, with regards to cutting and watering

Early spring, when the snow has gone, is an excellent time to clean up the lawn and garden. The primary step is to pick up as much debris as possible and spread out any piles of remaining snow. Tread gently because the early spring is one of the times when grass plants are very susceptible to damage.

When the temperatures have started to warm up and the lawn has dried out a little you should give your lawn a light raking. A plastic rake is ideal for this as you will do little damage to the grass. This is the ideal time to inspect your lawn for winter damage and insect damage from last fall, this is usually indicated by dead and bare patches of grass.

You must first cover the exposed soil as quickly as possible with a weed-free top dressing and overseed your lawn. This will reduce the chance of weeds taking hold in that area. A square foot of soil will contain many thousands of weed seeds which will remain dormant until they receive the correct amount of light, moisture and heat. As the soil warms up in the spring all of the bare patches on your lawn will provide ideal conditions for these seeds to germinate. When you top dress your bare patches you remove the light needed for most weed seeds to germinate, as well as provide an excellent medium for your grass seed to germinate.

This is also the time to perform a site evaluation. Areas of non-growth or poor quality turf can be attributed to dense shade, lack of topsoil, excess watering because of downspouts, compaction or competition from trees and shrubs. Grass really struggles to grow under Walnut trees, because a chemical produced from the tree (Juglans) will actually prevent most plants from growing.

It is important to ensure you have the very best quality grass seed that is ideally suited to the particular location in which it is sown. A quality grass seed mix will cost from $4.00 and up per pound. A mixture of three to five grass types will allow you the opportunity to be able to develop a lawn that will have some diversification as well as being less susceptible to insects and disease. For your lawn to be resistant to such pests as Chinch bugs and Sod webworm you need to plant grass varieties that are high in Endophytes, which is a natural occurring fungus that will repel surface feeding insects. A mixture of high quality turfgrass cultivars will provide you with as much disease and insect protection as is possible and as long as you plant the correct species for the location you will have a solid investment.

Here's a typical blend that we have used for the past year:

20% Yorktown 11 Perennial ryegrass

20% Jamestown 11 Chewings fescue

20% Reliant Hard fescue

20% Limousine Kentucky bluegrass

20% Pennlawn Creeping red fescue

For your first few cuttings of the year it is advisable to cut lower than usual, at a height of 1.5 to 2 inches. This will stimulate the grass plant and also trim off any winter damage and help the initial greening. Please ensure your blade is sharp. A dull blade will put stress on grass plants as it will not be a clean cut. A stressed grass plant is susceptible to disease and insect damage.

Do not roll your lawn in the spring with a roller weighing over 100lbs. The common practice of using a power roller on a lawn does more damage than any other single maintenance procedure. The weight of the roller will cause the soil to become very compact and prevent water and air from reaching the plant roots. If you have damage from frost and must roll your lawn, use a light roller that you pull by hand. – the same type to be used when laying sod.

If you have not had your soil tested for over four years you should do so as soon as possible. This will allow you to ensure your fertilizer program is adjusted for the nutrition needed by your soil. The soil test will also tell you the pH of the soil. The pH is very important because if it is low or high the nutrients provided from your fertilizer will not be available for the grass plants. Grass plants require a pH between 5.5 and 7.0.

If you do not get your soil tested, or the results show no major imbalance you should fertilize with a natural organic fertilizer around June 1st, unless you did not provide a fall fertilization. In this case you should apply your spring fertilizer around the end of April or early May. A low formulation fertilizer such as 5-3-4 or a 9-2-2 will give a long lasting feed to the soil, which in turn will provide all of the plant nutrients for the summer.

Frequent monitoring of your lawn every week will provide the opportunity to catch potential problems before they become serious and help keep your lawn healthy. To encourage an even stronger lawn you should provide the fertilizer in the fall and at the same time aerate and overseed the lawn.

Terry Childs is a member of the Ecological Landscaping Association and the owner of Nature's Way Landscaping. Contact him by phone at (613) 382-1207. or by email at tchilds@aracnet.net.

Want to

Get back to where you were?