Get Our Free Newsletter
Home
Current Issue Previous
Issues
Advertise
Donations
Site
Search
Contact Us
Feature
Articles
Privacy
Pledge
|
March
Turf Tips
In an effort to
promote a better lawn, homeowners have several things that should be
accomplished during the month of March to set the tone for an entire
season of either pleasant lawn care or a disastrous one. Most of
these things can be done even though the weather may be cool and the turf
isn't actively growing.
- Complete Mower
Maintenance:
- Full engine
tune up (by an authorized shop is best)
- Oil change
- Blade
sharpening - purchase of 2nd blade recommended for ease of
changing dull mower blades after 10 hours of use.
- Cleaning of
residual clipping materials left stuck underneath the mower
deck. Power clean with hose, let dry and spray with WD-40
(or similar) to help reduce accumulations.
- Light raking of
the lawn to remove various tree debris; twigs, leaves, nuts etc.
- If turf was left
too long over winter, lower your mower deck to 2" and bag
the grass the first time to remove dead foliage and other debris.
This
may also help remove some of the debris instead of raking. Mowing
slightly lower for the first time during the season will encourage a
faster green-up by allowing more sunlight to the soil. Make sure to raise your mower deck to 3 - 3.5"
for cool season turf (2 - 2.75" for warm season turf) after this
cutting. Failure to do this will encourage more weed invasions from
annual grassy weeds like crabgrass and actually stimulate turf to grow
faster. [Never remove more than 1/3 of the grass plant during NORMAL
mowing.]
- Assess damage
areas from the previous season, and consider if spring seeding will be
needed to restore them. Small areas (ie. Dinner plate size) should be
left to fill in naturally during the growing season. Large bare areas
should be seeded now to establish germination properly. NOTE: fall is
the best time to seed your lawn, determine if you can wait
until then for better results! Seeded areas should receive an
application of a starter type fertilizer to help aid in results.
- Apply a
pre-emergent crabgrass fertilizer between March 1st and April 21st.
Determine if your lawn had problems with this annual weed last year and
apply according to recommended label rates. Shady lawns typically do
not receive much competition from crabgrass so the need for that
product may be unwarranted. Crabgrass germination occurs when the soil
temperatures reach 55 degrees for several consecutive days (soil temps
not air temps). Irrigate according to label recommendations to
promote barrier formation.
- Apply dicot weed
controls to infested areas once the air temperatures are consistently
in the 50's and the weeds are beginning to grow, however slow that may
be! Avoid irrigation within 24 hours of your application for dicot
weeds.
- Avoid power
raking or "de-thatching" your lawn if it's in average
condition. This cultural treatment produces stress on the turf and is
best left until fall for cool season lawns.
Back to Turf Tips Index
Chris Karcher is a
local franchise owner of NaturaLawn of America - the leader in organic-based
lawn care and the only national service provider to promote Environmentally
Responsible lawn care. "Doing the right thing has never
been this easy!" |