CUT
YOUR MOWING CHORES IN HALF:
Few of us enjoy spending every spare minute sweating behind a mower.
Organic lawn care will save you the time you would have spent dumping
the clippings and dragging them to the curb or compost area. Here
are two more ways to clip your mowing time:
- Reseed
your lawn with one of the new slow-growing grass types-such as
fine fescue and buffalograss.
- Replace
areas of your lawn with mulch, groundcovers, paved paths, and
seating area. Mulches and groundcovers work well around trees
where grass doesn't grow well anyway. Install edging strips to
keep neat edges.
AERATING:
Aeration is poking holes in your lawn. It is probably the most important
step you can do to improve your lawn. Properly done aeration:
- Gives
roots room to grow.
- Helps
fertilizer and organic matter get down where the roots can use
it.
- Helps
water soak into the soil rather than running off.
- Helps
oxygen get into the soil.
Use
a manual aerator for small lawns, or rent a power lawn aerator once
a year in spring (spring and early fall in very dry climates).
There
are two types of aeration machines. One type has solid rods that
push into the soil and leave holes surrounded by packed soil; the
other type has hollow rods and pulls little cores of soil out of
the lawn. Choose the hollow-rod type if you have a choice.
For
the best possible results, water your lawn deeply the day before
you plan to aerate. Leave the little plugs right on your lawn. They
will break down with mowing and time, and help build healthy soil.
ADJUSTING
SOIL ACIDITY:
Turf grasses grow best when the soil pH is between 6.0 and 6.5.
Much higher or lower than that, and the plants can't use the nutrients
in the soil or any fertilizer you give them.
Test
your soil's pH each spring. Use a home test kit or submit a sample
to your county agricultural extension office (there is a small fee
for this ser vice). To collect a sample, use a clean trowel and
dig a hole about 6 inches deep. Then cut a 12-inch slice of soil
from the side of the hole and put it in a clean bucket. Mix the
soil together and take out as much as you need for the test.
A pH
of less than 7 means your soil is acid. You can "sweeten" acid soil
with lime. Apply ground limestone or oystershell lime with a drop
spreader. You can also use liquid lime, which you apply with a hose
end sprayer (consult label instructions for rates).
A pH
larger than 7 means your soil is alkaline. Use sulfur to acidify
alkaline soil.
