Panel data provided by Madison's Canadian Lumber Reporter.

Lawn Maintenance, the Key to Green

By Jos Van Hage

For a lawn to look good, it must be maintained. When lawn care is kept up to date the lawn will be healthy and in turn look good. Regardless of the grass blend, they all require the same maintenance.

Feeding the lawn with fertilizer is important. Fertilizer provides nutrients to the roots of the grass giving them strength and provides the green color to the grass blades. The type of fertilizer you use depends on the time of year. In early spring many gardeners want to green up the lawn, quickly so they use a quick release fertilizer with a higher first number (nitrogen). Three weeks later, after the lawn has greened up a well balanced slow-release fertilizer such as 24-6-12 is applied. A slow release fertilizer will continually feed the lawn for 5-8 weeks depending on weather conditions and soil type. If there is lots of rain or if the soil is sandy and well drained, fertilizer will go more quickly than if there is not much water or soil is clay. Fertilize with 24-6-12 throughout the summer until mid August, which is when the lawn needs to prepare for winter. In September, fertilize the lawn one more time with 6-3-12 a fall fertilizer that will strengthen the grass roots and help carry the grass through the winter.

Water is another important factor in keeping the lawn green. When you notice the grass has lost its springiness and the color has faded, the lawn needs to be watered. It is better to water the lawn less often but for longer periods. Watering once a week (in the morning so less water evaporates) to a depth of 6-8 inches is good. Let the lawn go slightly dry between watering as you want to allow the air in as well as stimulate deep root development. A lawn that is kept too moist will also increase the chance of moss.

Of course when you water and fertilize the lawn it will grow and need to be mowed. Keeping the blade on the mower sharp for a clean cut is important as it makes a nicer looking lawn. The lawn should be mowed to a length of 1-1-½ inches. This length will provide shade and coolness for the plants roots and stop it from drying out quickly as well as prevent weeds from germinating. If the lawn is too short it slows the development of the grass roots which makes the grass lose its green color and begin thinning leaving room for unwanted diseases such as dollar spot, leaf spot, rust as well as leaving room for weeds to come in. Mowing the lawn every 5-7 days is usually average or when the grass becomes 1/3 taller than its mowing height. Letting the grass become too high and then mowing it will expose the shaded stems and cause them burn in the hot sun. By mowing the lawn on time, the grass will assume a dwarf habit by the development of the side-shoots, which thickens the lawn in summer.

A thick healthy lawn will not allow weed seeds to germinate but if you have unwanted weeds and broad-leaved grasses they can be removed manually if you have only a few or by chemical if you have a lot. There is ‘Weed n Feed’ which is a fertilizer combined with a weed killer or chemical lawn weed killers. I cannot stress enough to read the label first before applying any chemical and use caution as weed killers will kill planted trees, shrubs, flowers etc. if it gets too close. 

-Jos

Jos Van Hage owns three Art Knapp's  Garden Centres in Prince George
-Hart Highway
-Highway 97 South at the Old Cariboo Highway
-COllege Heights (Highway 16 West)

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