Density: compaction. We asked our on-staff experts and turf scientists across the country to identify some of the most common lawn weeds, pests, and diseases nationwide, as well as the most common mistakes homeowners make in dealing with them. Even if your lawn already makes the neighbors green with envy, you're likely to face a few of those common lawn problems. This question overlaps with, Use, of course, because crochet and volleyball, for example, require a fair amount of space, while if you just want vistas of the distant mountains and a path to reach the garage, you may not need much lawn at all. If you go for the third, I recommend using one of the grass identification sites listed in Sites & Sources, under Identifying and Choosing a Grass. Prevents crabgrass, dandelions and many other common weeds. Chronic lawn problems are often about the soil, not the actual grass. Aerate the soil. If your poor drainage area is a relatively small one and not too severe, you can lighten the soil by working in lots of organic matter. Here are several indicators of compacted soil: A number of things can cause or contribute to soil compaction. The best time to prune either is in early spring, before the first flush of growth. Also check the soil's acidity, or pH, and adjust it as needed. The #1 remedy for white grubs in turf! The action of removing lawn clippings reduces the … Don’t stop at finding the best grass seed for your neck of the woods; think also about adding rock, meadow or ornamental grasses, shrubs, and garden beds. For too many of us, the lawn becomes a box. If you’re like most people, your lawn is the highest use area of your landscaping, especially if you have kids or pets. What happens to them? To perform an easy, time-honored test for soil texture, you’ll need to dig about five inches of loose dirt from under your grass (and it’s important to dig, as what’s right on top may not resemble what’s three inches down) and put it in a quart-sized jar. Dallisgrass, nimblewill, quackgrass, and tall fescue develop into unsightly patches and clumps. Although there are plenty of grass varieties available that can tolerate a fair amount of shade, lack of sun can still be a factor in a failing lawn.Using shade-tolerant grasses like fescues is part of the solution, but other measures may need to be taken. You must remove or kill the entire root, or the plant will resprout. Here's PM's brutal but effective strategy: Kill it off, then start fresh. Don’t be your own worst enemy here, just be honest. If you did the worm count mentioned above, check the sides of the hole. First — and you probably don’t want to hear this — cultivate patience. Soil beneath most lawns eventually becomes hard and compacted, even if you prepared it perfectly before planting. The simplest, safest solution is to dig up the weeds and their roots and throw out both and the soil in which they grew. Water thoroughly and slowly until the water soaks at least 1 inch below the lawn's roots, or 4 to 8 inches into the soil. Aerators remove plugs of dirt from the lawn and break up the soil, allowing grass roots to spread… 1 broadleaf lawn weed in Mississippi, Virginia buttonweed starts growing in early summer and continues to grow until frost. Lawn grasses grow best in a soil pH between 6.5 and 7. Alter the grade or improve the drainage to minimize areas where water collects. To germinate clover seed needs soil temperatures to be at least 7-8 ° C and must be kept moist. Hand pulling is effective when done consistently for a season or two. Pelleted for easy application. Think outside it. Keep this up for four days, then switch to a deep watering once a day for the next five days. Mowing high produces stronger, healthier grass with deeper roots and fewer weeds and pest problems. Bromethalin, the active ingredient in a new mole bait, is a chemical alternative to mole traps. Check for grubs by cutting into the lawn near the edge of a brown area and lifting the sod. Several options require less water and no mowing — always a plus. Some areas may need something other than grass. These ground covers will also make mowing easier and protect trees from the occasional nicks that can allow disease to take hold. There are ways to improve an old lawn and … Fill the jar with water, shake vigorously, and leave it overnight. If only a few plants have appeared, pull them by hand, taking care to remove as much of the root as possible. Pull out any plants that become established in or near your lawn. Obviously, first among these is heavy use, which is why paths are almost always compacted. It's easy to fix an ugly lawn if you learn the proper techniques. One note of caution: don’t grab a pinch of earth from the yard, throw it in a plastic bag and mail it off with a note asking for a soil analysis. In soil science, texture refers to the size of the ground-up rock particles in soil. Pricking or slitting the surface can improve a waterlogged lawn. If done properly, the technique of “top-dressing,” or adding a thin layer of soil over your lawn, can improve the soil without killing the existing turf. It’s difficult to push a trowel or dandelion weeder into the ground when it’s dry. And follow the directions precisely. Ice remains on lawn after snow has melted elsewhere. Vigorous, adaptable, and fast-growing, crabgrass thrives best in lawns that are underfertilized and mowed too low. It’s a good thing as long as it’s only about a quarter to half an inch thick, as it helps slow evaporation from the ground, provides organic matter to the soil, protects both soil and roots from summer’s heat, and to some extent slows seed germination, thus providing a minor barrier against weeds. Fertilize southern grasses in the spring after dormant lawns are revived and green, then again in July or August. There is no selective herbicide or other shortcut for those weeds. Using grass fertilizer… For very shady areas, reseed with shade-tolerant grasses such as creeping red fescue or St. Augustine and mow them high to maximize their light-trapping leaf surface. Turn the sprinklers off at the point of runoff, wait a half-hour for the water to soak in, and then run the sprinklers again. The best fix for getting a healthy lawn is making sure it has a good diet. An on-line search of that office should bring up a list of companies that do such analysis, detailing what precisely each one will test for and how much it costs. Is it one of your pet projects, or is it the step-sister to the garden, which you love? Keeps your yard looking good through the ups and downs that each year brings. That’s our test. Density. Pretend you’re a stranger, and look at your lawn. How perfect does the grass have to be to keep you happy? So, how do you fix a bad lawn and turn it into a beautiful, self-sustaining outdoor environment? It helps prevent crabgrass and fertilizes. This ... 2. A barrier of chicken wire that extends 1 foot deep around your yard might help keep them out. Almost half of you hire others to fertilize, mow, apply chemical treatments, aerate the lawn, or do spring and fall cleanups. Raking only once or twice each fall, as 57 percent of those surveyed did, just isn't enough. If they don’t, your grass is not as healthy as it could be. Azalea, Canada hemlock, common boxwood, flowering quince, Japanese boxwood, Japanese holly, lilac, myrtle, privet, rhododendron, roses, and winterberry can be cut back as far as needed. Most lawn grasses don't like shade, even "shade-tolerant" varieties. So if you choose to use one, apply it in July and August when grubs are immature. Try pinching a piece between your thumb and finger. You can hire an expert to come tell you what’s what (be sure to take notes! Figure on applying slow-release fertilizer three times a year if you mulch and five times a year if you don't. Soil should be damp 4 or 6 inches deep.). Our Landscaping Blog provides the ideas, information and practical experience you need to get the job done right. With a sharp, narrow trowel, dig out a “core sample” from your lawn — a grass plug about six inches deep — and look at the root depth. The latter are "often problematic, "because people put them on and forget about them," says Ali Harivandi, Ph.D., environmental horticulturist at the. It’s best to perform this test a day or so after a rain (or watering), depending of course on temperature, shade and so on. Trapping a mole is the only way to be sure you're rid of it. Watering once a week—long enough to apply 1 inch of water over the lawn—is the old rule of thumb. And you should do so before the flowers mature and spread their seeds. You don’t need to know these with great precision (at least not all of them), but you need a ballpark estimate. How to fix the top 10 lawn problems will provide you with cures for some ailments that might be afflicting your yard, like crabgrass, dandelions, moss, and grubs. ), Even a good rainfall doesn’t soak into soil. Don't bother with animal repellents; they're of little or no use, according to the experts we interviewed. Lawn … As with soil structure, you can get a feel, literally, for your soil texture by picking up a bit. As a locally-based company with decades of experience in the lawn care business, ABC has the experience and know how to advise homeowners on the best and most cost-effective ways to improve … Different tactics are successful with these different situations. Also known as creeping Charlie, creeping Jenny, and gill-over-the-ground, ground ivy spreads by seed and by the vining stems that root at each node. A soil test requires a good deal more soil than that, and accuracy requires that it be gathered from here and there about the yard, so that results don’t get skewed by odd, local factors. Use a specialized, fork-like tool to pull plants and taproots out by hand. Use granular products on wet grass, liquids on dry (but not droughty) grass. Spread by spores, moss is an attractive ground cover that many homeowners cultivate. Enlist the help of a friend … Lawn Care Guru. About half of readers surveyed say they mulch at least some of the time. Measure yours by setting empty containers around the lawn, running the sprinklers for 20 minutes, and measuring the depth of the water inside. Weeds. Remember, climate determines not only the type of grass that grows best in your yard but also problems that might beset your lawn. While glyphosate and glufosinate-ammonium are effective chemical remedies, the EPA considers glyphosate moderately toxic. What do you do with it? How can you tell? There are several informal tests for compaction, but none suffices in itself, so be sure to use several. They're likeliest to invade areas that are drier, wetter, shadier, or otherwise different from the rest of the lawn. Problem: Persistently thin, patchy grass Solution: Get a soil test. Assuming it holds together, give it a little squeeze and wiggle your fingers as if you were trying to break it up with your thumb and fingers. Such differences affect moisture retention as well as light level, and these factors can affect planting choices. Add a 1/2 inch layer to lawns and gently rake over area. Down To Earth® Bio-Turf Lawn Fertilizer is easy to apply for long-lasting fertilization. But too many cause irregularly shaped sections to wilt and die. Soil, or core, aeration is the solution. Grass prefers a slightly acidic soil, so a high pH would go a long way towards explaining an unhappy lawn. … The dirt will settle out in easily visible bands with sand on the bottom, silt above that, and clay on top (see How’s Your Soil Texture?). Teufel’s Compost provides a microbially active source of organic matter, humus and other important soil builders required by turf to thrive. Night watering promotes mold and fungus. Run a de-thatching machine over the lawn to remove all the dead grass and leaves. Wait a couple of days and reseed or replant any damaged areas. Watering once a week—long enough to apply 1 … First of all, approximately what percent of your lawn is weeds? If you can’t see them and they’re not going to take over, do they bother you? This will protect the soil from erosion (from heavy rain) and compaction. Also keep trees and shrubs properly pruned. When thatch accumulates to more than half an inch in depth, though, it can cause problems. Spots of dead grass will often repair themselves eventually. Then replant the dead area with a suitable grass type. Soil with good structure will crumble in your hand (and out of it) when subjected to fairly mild pressure. Fertilize? Derived from corn gluten meal, bone meal and potassium sulfate, Concern® Weed Prevention Plus (8-2-4) provides a fast green-up and will not burn. Rebuilding a damaged lawn takes about two years, so figure on investing a fair amount of energy on planning in the early days. Measure. Trim back high hedges. 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