Wake up your Lawn!

By on Mar 6, 2012 in Lawn-gevity |

It’s time to get “growing”….it’s been a long winter and I want to see green grass don’t you? Then it’s time to wake up your lawn. To do so I’ve always taken a word from the wise as in Ben Franklin and applied gypsum to my lawn. Found throughout the world , gypsum got the name Plaster of Paris from rich deposits near the French capital. It was ambassador to France Ben Franklin who recognized the value of gypsum as a soil amendment and fertilization agent. The story goes that he applied gypsum on a clover field so that the words “this has been plastered” were written in gypsum on the middle of the field and could be read. It was also Franklin who said “He that rises late must trot all day”. I take Ben’s advice and wake up my lawn in spring every year with a healthy dose of gypsum. Gypsum or calcium sulfate will...

Having a Melt Down?

By on Feb 17, 2011 in Lawn-gevity |

It’s good to see some green grass out on the lawn again. Water cooler conversations turn to “do you think it will be an early spring?”  For those who have read the Little House on the Prairie series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder you shudder at the thought of 7 months of winter. The ‘Long Winter‘ was the sixth book in the ‘Little House’ series describing 7 months of blizzards in the severe South Dakota winter of 1880-1881. Without TV, internet or cell phones that is some serious cabin fever we’re talking about. Fortunately we all experience a melt down at this time of year when a winter thaw teases us with thoughts of spring. Snow however is the great equalizer….everyone’s lawn looks the same in winter. When the snow melts it exposes the need for a little “lawn” and order. Snow mold causes ugly patches of...

Lawn-Gevity

By on Aug 14, 2010 in Lawn-gevity | 1 comment

The record breaking heat and humidity this summer has had an effect on “Lawn-Gevity” …….physiologically cool season grasses do well when air temperatures are in the 60 to 75 degree range…….a couple months of 80’s and 90’s can create real difficulties for grass. When soil temperatures heat up the grass starts to stress, yellow and wither. Grass has an ability to cool itself through something we call evapotranspiration…….it’s something like people perspiring. The roots draw up water from the soil and it evaporates through the leaves dissipating heat. The problem is roots aren’t as active in summer as they are in spring and fall…..they even shrink reducing their water absorbing ability. Contingent on how healthy your lawn was heading into summer the stress can exacerbate other issues like grub damage or...

Nuts about Nutgrass

By on Jul 7, 2010 in Lawn-gevity | 1 comment

Couple of issues in the landscape that can drive homeowners nuts in July……Nutgrass or Nutsedge and Japanese Beetles. Check out this picture I took in someone’s landscape. They obviously did not prepare for the invasion with a timely Beetle spray prior to the attack. It’s a feeding frenzy! Once they engage and start damaging the plant it attracts additional marauders to the onslaught…. I’m seeing a lot of Nutsedge in lawns right now. As your desirable turf wilts and growth slows in the hot summer sun, the lime green Nutsedge will grow much faster giving an unsightly appearance to the lawn. We had a lot of rain last year and again this spring….now throw in the summer heat and you’ve got the makings of a banner year for nutsedge.  Nutsedge is a sedge not a true grass. Pull one out of the ground and you can feel the triangular shape of the...

Read the Label

By on May 12, 2010 in General, Lawn-gevity |

If you want to be “weeding” by example…make sure to always read the label on products you use on the lawn and landscape. Labels are there for a reason and tell us a lot about what we need to know to be safe and successful. Take for example these unfortunate people who had their “Lawn-gevity” dealt a blow when Glyphosate was mixed into a tank sprayer as opposed to the lawn weed killer which was intended…talk about “involuntary plant slaughter!” Labels on everything from fertilizers to weed killers to bags of grass seed give us important information…… so take the time to read them before getting to work or buying them for that matter. Take for example grass seed. Anyone can put a pretty picture on the bag and a catchy title like “Surefire Heavenly Lawn Seed Mix” but the proof is in the label on the back of the...

Soil Temperature

By on Apr 7, 2010 in Lawn-gevity |

After a record setting March for air temperatures and sunshine here in West Michigan, the temperatures have normalized to a “degree” (catch the pun) for early April. Here is my reading for April 7 at the 2 to 3 inch level. You can see I have a reading of around 52 degrees today. When the sun comes back out later this week we should be moving quickly into the 55 to 60 degree soil temperature range which is when everything goes nuts…..grass will grow briskly and unfortunately so will the weeds along with crabgrass germination…….”take me to your weeder” It’s a good time to apply crabgrass pre-emergent controls this coming...