Seasonal lawn care will vary to some extent depending on the climate zone and type of grass that is grown, whether cool season or warm season varieties. In general, however, there are recognized steps in lawn care that should be observed in any of these areas.
Spring or early summer is the time to seed, sod, or plug an area, when the ground is warmer. For a new lawn, adding a fresh load of topsoil to the ground is beneficial. Seeding the lawn is the least expensive way to plant, but it takes longer for the lawn to grow and usually needs daily watering, or the freshly-sprouted grass will die. Sodding is more expensive, but it will provide an almost instant lawn that can be planted in most climate zones in any season. Hydroseeding is a relatively quick and inexpensive method of planting. A nitrogen-based, slow-release fertilizer may be applied, when needed. Pesticides, which is an umbrella term that include herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, may be considered for use on lawns when required, and where legal.
Summer lawn care requires raising the lawn mower for cool season grass, and lowering it for warm season lawns. Lawns will require longer and more frequent watering, best done in early morning to encourage a stronger root system. This is also the time to apply an all-purpose fertilizer. During the hot summer months, lawns may be susceptible to fungus disease. It’s advisable to take a sod sample to a local landscape expert for testing and treating the yard, if necessary.
In the autumn, lawns can be mowed at a lower height and thatch buildup that occurs in warm season grasses should be removed, although lawn experts are divided in their opinions on this.
This is also a good time to add a sandy loam and apply fertilizer, one that contains some type of wetting agent. Cool season lawns can be planted in autumn if there is adequate rainfall.
Lawn care in the winter is minimal, requiring only light feedings of organic material, such as green-waste compost, and minerals to encourage earthworms and beneficial microbes
Monday, March 10, 2008
Where did grass originate
Before the invention of mowing machines,lawns were managed differently from today. Lawns belonging to wealthy people were sometimes maintained by the labour-intensive methods of scything and shearing. In most cases however, they were pasture land, maintained by grazing with sheep or other livestock.
Areas of grass grazed regularly by rabbits, horses sheep over a long period can form a very low, tight sward which is similar to a modern lawn. This was the original meaning of the word "lawn", and the term can still be found in place-names. Some forest areas where extensive grazing is practiced still have these semi-natural lawns.
Early lawns were not always distinguishable from pasture fields. It is thought that the associations with pasture and the biblical connotations of this word made them attractive culturally.
By contrast, they are little known or used in this form in other traditions of gardening. In addition, the damp climate of maritime Western Europe made them easier to grow and manage than in other lands.
It was not until the Tudor and Elizabethan times that the garden and the lawn became a place to be loved and admired. Created as walkways and for play areas, the lawns were not as we envisage them today. They were made up of meadow plants, such as camomile, a particular favourite.
In the early 1600s, the Jacobean epoch of gardening began.
It was during this period that the closely cut "English" lawn was born. By the end of this period, the English lawn was the envy of even the French. It was also seen as a symbol of status by the gentry. In the early 1700s, gardening fashion went through a further change. William Kent and the age of Capability Brown were in progress, and the open "English" style of parkland was seen across Britain and Ireland. Lawns seemed to flow from the garden into the outer landscape.
During Victorian times, as more plants were introduced into Britain, and the influence of France and Italy became prevalent, lawns became smaller as borders were created and filled with plants, statues, sculptures, terraces and water features, which started eating into the area covered by the lawn.
In the United States, it was not until after the Civil War that lawns began to appear in middle class residences. Most people did not have the hired labor needed to cut a field of grass with scythes. Average home owners either raised vegetables in their yards or left them alone. If weeds sprouted that was fine. Toward the end of the 19th century, suburbs appeared on the American scene, along with the sprinkler, greatly improved lawn mowers, new ideas about landscaping and a shorter work week.
Lawns do not have to be, and have not always been of grass. Other possible plants for fine lawns in the right conditions, are camomile and thyme.
Some lawns, if grown in difficult conditions for grasses, become dominated by whatever weeds can survive there; these include clovers in dry conditions, and moss in damp shady conditions. In more recent times, especially in suburban residential areas, a lawn may refer to an area surrounding a home where some or all of the natural grass or sod has been removed and replaced with artificial turf, stones, mulch or some other material determined by the homeowner to reduce maintenance and/or water consumption.
Areas of grass grazed regularly by rabbits, horses sheep over a long period can form a very low, tight sward which is similar to a modern lawn. This was the original meaning of the word "lawn", and the term can still be found in place-names. Some forest areas where extensive grazing is practiced still have these semi-natural lawns.
Early lawns were not always distinguishable from pasture fields. It is thought that the associations with pasture and the biblical connotations of this word made them attractive culturally.
By contrast, they are little known or used in this form in other traditions of gardening. In addition, the damp climate of maritime Western Europe made them easier to grow and manage than in other lands.
It was not until the Tudor and Elizabethan times that the garden and the lawn became a place to be loved and admired. Created as walkways and for play areas, the lawns were not as we envisage them today. They were made up of meadow plants, such as camomile, a particular favourite.
In the early 1600s, the Jacobean epoch of gardening began.
It was during this period that the closely cut "English" lawn was born. By the end of this period, the English lawn was the envy of even the French. It was also seen as a symbol of status by the gentry. In the early 1700s, gardening fashion went through a further change. William Kent and the age of Capability Brown were in progress, and the open "English" style of parkland was seen across Britain and Ireland. Lawns seemed to flow from the garden into the outer landscape.
During Victorian times, as more plants were introduced into Britain, and the influence of France and Italy became prevalent, lawns became smaller as borders were created and filled with plants, statues, sculptures, terraces and water features, which started eating into the area covered by the lawn.
In the United States, it was not until after the Civil War that lawns began to appear in middle class residences. Most people did not have the hired labor needed to cut a field of grass with scythes. Average home owners either raised vegetables in their yards or left them alone. If weeds sprouted that was fine. Toward the end of the 19th century, suburbs appeared on the American scene, along with the sprinkler, greatly improved lawn mowers, new ideas about landscaping and a shorter work week.
Lawns do not have to be, and have not always been of grass. Other possible plants for fine lawns in the right conditions, are camomile and thyme.
Some lawns, if grown in difficult conditions for grasses, become dominated by whatever weeds can survive there; these include clovers in dry conditions, and moss in damp shady conditions. In more recent times, especially in suburban residential areas, a lawn may refer to an area surrounding a home where some or all of the natural grass or sod has been removed and replaced with artificial turf, stones, mulch or some other material determined by the homeowner to reduce maintenance and/or water consumption.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Do you know how grass/turf grows?
The often asked question about grass/turf. How does grass grow?
Grass is the key comfort factor in the design of most homes, parks, play fields and recreational areas. When we consider that grass is often the factor that is overlooked when we create a budget for developing a piece of land, it seems strange that the better the grass quality the better the presentation of the property whatever it may be.
Please pop in from time to time to get updates as I develope my blog page and give as much information as possible relating to growing, maintaining, treating, caring and getting the most out of your grass.
Grass is the key comfort factor in the design of most homes, parks, play fields and recreational areas. When we consider that grass is often the factor that is overlooked when we create a budget for developing a piece of land, it seems strange that the better the grass quality the better the presentation of the property whatever it may be.
Please pop in from time to time to get updates as I develope my blog page and give as much information as possible relating to growing, maintaining, treating, caring and getting the most out of your grass.
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