Everything under the sun about "Lawns"

Lawns are different things to different people. For some it is a pleasure, where family activities or quite times can take place. For others it is a nuisance that requires maintenance, money, and time. No matter what the role the lawn plays in your life there is always advantages and disadvantages. The extra positive to the environment is they generate oxygen, trapping dust and pollutants, and cooling the air through evaporation. The dew that forms on the grass in the morning captures the purest form of light and can be absorbed into the body through the skin. In this blog we will discuss different types of lawns, lawn care, fertilizer, weeds, and the benefits of having one.

Essentially a lawn is a a bunch of many plants crowded together with their roots only penetrating a few inches into the soil which require frequent and abundant watering. In areas that are prone to drought this can tax the water supply. Additionally they require large amounts of fertilizer, time for mowing, and time for weed control.

By knowing your desired need for a lawn it is easy to select the style or varieties best suited to the environment, maintenance level, and or use. Most homes sold today come with a lawn so starting from scratch is seldom necessary. Sometimes from previous owners the lawn can be neglected, a landscape project, or bad drainage.

The first and most important task is to choose a grass that best suites your climate. If you live in a cold climate you will need to select a grass that can survive when the grass goes dormant in the winter. If the climate is a hot one selecting a grass that is best suited to higher temperatures would serve best. Grasses like bermuda-grass or fescues are resistant to pests, disease, and drought. If the goal is to hire a professional to maintain the grass, a bentgrass or Kentucky bluegrass is ideal which are both cool season grasses.

It is best to understand what you will be using the grass for. A grass that is soft in texture but resistant to wear. Some want the fine manicured look, while that may come with a higher cost of maintenance with a lot of fertilizer or weed killer to look their best, or that need frequent doses of pesticide or fungicide.

The grass we use today have evolved from being eaten by large animals on the pen prairies or meadows to now being cut regularly by lawn mowers. Lawn grasses grow from the crown, or growing point, which lies next to the ground. Below the crown is a underground system of fibrous roots. Extending upward from the crown is the primary shoot which consists of blades, collar, sheath, nodes, and internodes.

Of the cool season grasses which suite the Alberta climate the most poplar is the Bluegrass. The other two are fescues and ryegrasses. The blades of bluegrass all have a characteristic boat-shaped tip, with the edges curved up like the sides of a canoe. Most are relatively cold tolerant but need generous amounts of water and fertilizer. Fescues are generally classified as fine or coarse. Turf-type tall fescue has coarser blades but better wear tolerance than fine-textured fescues. Ryegrasses tend to clump rather than form runners, as many other grasses do. They germinate and establish themselves quickly, and are used in low cost mixtures to cover large areas.

Several of te world's thousand f native grasses make excellent ground covers. Their minimal need for water and fertilizer, their tolerance to wide temperature range, their resistance to pests an disease, and the infrequent need for mowing, has made them increasingly popular. Often they are planted on hillsides, along roadways, and in other neglected spots, they help control wind and water erosion to stabilize soil.

They have not been bred for uniformity so they do not make the mos attractive home lawns. Some of them are annuals and if they fail to reseed themselves they must be replanted the following year. Their variations in color and height that add a natural informal look to a landscape.

There are a number of situations in which you may want to plant a new lawn. Changes in the landscape, drought, or pests all lead to an important decision with long term implications. It is best to think about the intended use of the lawn and how it fits into the landscape. Evaluating the soil prior to beginning any work is key. Soil texture and pH will determine the success of your lawn. Although most nutrient deficiencies can be corrected after the lawn has been established, changing the soil under the grass is difficult and expensive. The effort you put into the soil will reflect in the health and beauty of your lawn for years to come.

Landscapers can use many terms to describe the texture of the soil in their area, including heavy, light, poor, lean, sandy, clay, and loam. Scientist and horticulturist classify soil by the proportion of sand, silt, and clay it contains. These three classifications are based on the size of the individual soil particles. The soil texture is then determined by the proportions of each of these various particles.

For proper growth, lawns need air in the soil, sufficient moisture, and a supply of mineral nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and iron. Clay types of soil hold onto nutrients well but the particles cling together so closely that they hold water and leave little room for air. If the water drains to slowly from compaction the water will drain to slowly and may die. Clay oil is usually hard when dry and sticky when wet.

On the other extreme sandy soil has plenty of room for air, but moisture and nutrients disappear quickly. Water sinks into sandy soil and within a few days it dries up.

In-between clay and sandy is loam soil which is one of the best for lawn growth. Which contains a combination of clay, silt, and sand. It retains nutrients and water while allowing sufficient room for air.

The first step in preparing any soil for a lawn is to have your soil tested. A soil test eliminates guess work on what condition your soil is in and what amendments must be added. A soil test can tell you the exact information about pH and soil texture. Knowing the nutrient deficiencies, and the presence of organic matter and harmful salts. Some testing can detect the residuals of herbicides or other chemicals.

It is best to collect four or five samples from different locations in the sampling area. It is also important that the tools are clean as to not contaminate the samples.

The best way to improve either a heavy clay or a light sandy soil is to add organic matter. The addition of compost, peat moss, composted manure, redwood saw dust, finely ground pine or fire bark, and agricultural by products. The organic matter helps with air flows and water retention when added to the soil, while added decomposed material supplies the soil with much needed nitorgen.

I won't be getting into to much detail about the design of lawns but the installations of underground sprinkler systems and having edging are things that are to be done before the grass or seeding is to take place. Establishing the final grade, rolling and watering and the area is almost ready to be planted. Selecting the correct seed and ratio is important because in some municipalities some grasses are labeled as noxious weeds.

Sod turf that is grown commercially , cut into strips, ad lifted intact, along with a thing layer of soil held together by runners, roots, or netting. Installing a sod lawn is as simple as laying a carpet, with the objective of reestablishing the grass roots in well-prepared soils. Sod lawns will generate immediate results compared to other methods, and checking the root attachment by lifting the corners to see its progress. The ideal time to install a cool season grass is late summer, early fall, or early spring.

When doing large areas with sod it is recommended to order sod ahead of time to give the grower time toe schedule cutting, or the local nursery time to order the sod from its supplier. It is very simple to estimate the amount of sod you will need by measuring the law and to calculate the square footage.

At the very least a lawn will need to e mowed and edging on a regular basis. In areas where rainfalls is sparse most lawns should be watered as necessary. Typically this is once every one to two weeks, depending the the type of grass, the average retentiveness, and the moisture retentativeness of your soil. You may think that allowing the grass to grow taller between cuts is benefiting it, but the truth is longer grass requires more water. So it is recommended to mow at the middle of the range of cutting heights is best. Unless the lawn is growing in fertile soil, it needs the occasional application of complete lawn fertilizer such as 15-5-10 with some iron added. An acceptable minimum schedule is two to three times a year.

A moderate lawn care schedule is cutting the grass when it gets one third higher than the recommended height for the grass. The lawn should receive a complete fertilizer at least four to five times during the period when it is actively growing. This is usually between March and October. Taking the time to control the weeds is an important part of moderate lawn care as well. The absence of weeds not only keeps the lawn more attractive but also enables it to grow more rigorously, since a weed free lawn does not have to compete with weeds for water, nutrients and space. It is also possible to apply products that kills weeds as they germinate, these are known as preemergent herbicides. A moderately maintained lawn needs aerating every two years or so to penetrate thatch and open up compacted soil so that air and water can enter freely.

The long and short answer to watering lawns is: when it needs it. Water when the grass begins to dry out, before the grass wilts. Wilted grasses appear to discolor and is most common in drought-prone spots especially under trees. Another common sign of lack of water is the resilience and the ability of a lawn to bounce back into shape. It is best to soak the soil deeply and then not water again until the top inch or two of soil begins to dry which allows oxygen to reenter the soil, where it is needed for proper root growth.

How often your lawn needs mowing depends on several things: how often and how much you water and fertilize, what time of year it is, and the type of grass in your lawn. When cool season grasses slow down in the summer heat once every two or three weeks is all that is needed. The rule of thumb for mowing is the remove one-fourth or one-third than the recommended mowing height. Removing to much grass that has grown tall can be harmful as you expose the stems that have been shaded and may burn in strong sunlight.

Whether to leave grass clippings on the lawn or to pick them up is a question many landscapers ask. Leaving finely cut clippings of cool season grasses on the lawn does not usually cause or contribute to thatch. Finely cut clippings return nutrients and other beneficial materials to the lawn, as they contain 75 to 80 percent water, 3 to 6 percent nitrogen, 1 percent phosphorus, and 1 to 3 percent potassium.

Sixteen chemicals elements are essential to the growth of lawns. Three of these - carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen - are readily available from air and water, so supplementing them is never necessary. Others, such as nitrogen, may be plentiful in the environment but exist in a form that plants cannot use. Calcium, magnesium, and sulfur are called secondary nutrients because they are needed in lesser amounts. They are often supplied by the soil amendments that are used to adjust pH.

This concludes this blog on cool season lawns that are popular in Alberta,

Canada. Later this spring more will be written on types of weeds and how to control them.

This spring Kephas Landscaping Inc will be taking time to present blogs with information related to arboricultural or landscape care and design. Kephas Landscaping is a landscaping, tree care, and snow removal company located in Calgary, Alberta.