Lawn Care Tips: Month by Month
So for the past 30-plus years, I’m quite often asked the same lawn care questions year after year. Other than the drought of 2010, and, more recently, 2016 there is a calendar of events that for the most part always happen.
April: As the snow begins to melt, you may notice a bleached colored lawn that is pressed to the ground. This is called either pink or grey snow mold. Remedy for this is a light raking to allow sunlight to warm soil. The fall months are a great time to prevent this with either a low final lawn cutting or a balanced winterizer application. If snow mold is still persists in years to come then a fungicide is an option.
May: Dandelions and other broadleaf weeds begin to appear. Our lawn care program is season long control of broadleaf weeds so at every visit we are targeting dandelions etc. Our broadleaf herbicide is a contact herbicide which means weeds can be treated at one visit and others can appear six weeks later. It can take up to two full seasons to control broadleaf weeds 100%.
June: When I began my lawn care career over 30 years ago, leaf spot disease was a big problem. Now, three-plus decades later, every June we can be guaranteed red thread will be an issue. I believe most of the red thread problems begin with improper watering practices. Remember “Deep…Infrequent Waterings.” I’m not a big fan of irrigation systems with rain sensors. Lawns require one good rain storm a week or which equates to one inch of water per week. Too much water will cause disease issues. This was quite evident last season(2018) with record setting rainfall.
July-August: Nutsedge will start becoming a concern. Record rainfall (2018) brought out more weeds than I’ve seen in over 30 years. Nutsedge was a big problem last year (2018). Yellow nutsedge is not a grass nor a weed but a sedge. Nutsedge is a perennial that reproduces primarily by small underground tubers called nutlets. Regardless of herbicide selection, yellow nutsedge is a difficult-to-control weed that may require multiple herbicide applications. Hand pulling small areas of nutsedge early on in the growing season is often the best remedy.
September: The best time and only time to seed is the month of September. Cool fall nights with adequate moisture is an ideal time to grow turf. Spring pre-emergent control products state on label that seeding is not recommended during time of application. We provide our proven slice seeding program during the month of September.
October-November: Proper late-season fertilization (Winterizer),leaf clean-up and final lawn cutting. Lawn mower should also be put away clean with fuel stabilizer added to gasoline tank. Gas stabilizer will prevent gasoline going bad causing gum, varnish and corrosion to build up in the fuel lines and engine.