Eco-Lawn Care Tips for
April
While SCVL usually encourages cutting down on large lawn areas altogether, we
recognize that having some areas of practical turf grass is important to most
homeowners. Having an environmentally healthy lawn that is functional, low
maintenance and contributes to the overall beauty of your property is not so
difficult once you know some basic principles. Month by month we'll provide tips
for having an Eco Smart Lawn. Here are recommendations for this month:
Get Your Soil Tested
If you didn’t get a chance to get your soil tested last month ,
now is the time. We want to mention that in addition to your local county
extension offices, Federated Co-ops also provide soil testing for about $15.
Rake
Once the grass and soil are fairly dry, rake the lawn to remove
dead grass, leaves and other debris using a lawn rake with flexible tines. Areas
that are affected by snow mold should be thoroughly raked to raise the matted
grass.
Weed Control
When your lawn is healthy and properly maintained, you shouldn't
have enough weeds to require chemical treatment. If you have a persistent
problem with crabgrass that you cannot control through cultural methods or spot
treatment during the growing season, you can apply a crabgrass pre-emergent
herbicide (one that kills seeds). This must be applied
before
the soil temperatures are consistently in the 50s (generally around May 1) If
you are interested in going organic, now is also the time to apply corn gluten-a
pre emergent for killing weed seeds. It also acts as a fertilizer. The rule of
thumb for pre emergents is to apply before the forsythia blooms. For more
information on corn gluten:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h531cornglutenmeal.html
A fantastic organic method of controlling weeds is to overseed
with grass seed and early May is the time. It works by competing
with weeds and results
in a thick lawn that weeds can’t get started in. Do not overseed and apply pre
emergent at the same time as it will kill the grass seed as well as weed seeds.
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