With the ground finally warming up, we all start to get excited at the prospect of seeing GRASS (even if it is currently brown). In the April edition of Mark Cullen's newsletter, Gardening with Mark, he touches on how to enjoy a happy, healthy lawn:
Make no mistake: your lawn is good for the environment.
If you have any doubts, check this out:
A lawn sequesters carbon, filters toxins out of rain water, eats CO2 and returns fresh oxygen to the air. It is soft to walk on barefoot, is 5 to 10 degrees cooler than asphalt and supports a host of wildlife, most of which is too small for the naked eye to see but believe you me, it is there in abundance. A handful of rich root-level subsoil is teaming with over 4 billion micro organisms: michoriza, beneficial bacteria, sow bugs, millipedes, earth worms and the like. These are the good guys.
In short – a lawn is the most sophisticated living ground cover known to mankind.
All of that said, here is how you can enjoy a nice lawn, without the use of weed or pest controls (to be performed in this order):
1. Rake your lawn lightly with a fan rake – the goal is to get the grass blades to stand upright and to remove the winter debris.
2. Aerate if necessary. I only aerate my lawn where foot traffic occurs as this is where the soil is compacted and most in need of the fresh air that you introduce when aerating. Use a power aerator if you are doing your whole lawn or buy an inexpensive manual ‘foot’ aerator at the hardware store for small areas.
3. Overseed where your lawn is thin and where weeds are a problem. Use a good quality grass seed (I recommend Golfgreen) and remember that the ultimate pedigree of your lawn is in the bag! Lay down 2 to 3 cm of triple mix (equal parts top soil, peat moss and compost). Rake smooth. Spread the grass seed thinly at one pound for 400 sq. ft (1/2 kg per 40 sq. metres). Rake THAT smooth. Water. You will thicken your lawn nicely and compete most weeds out of existence –before they even get a start!
4. Fertilize. Use a good quality fertilizer that is relatively high in nitrogen (about 20 to 28%) which is represented by the first # in the 3 number analysis. And make sure that it contains a ‘slow release’ nitrogen ingredient. This produces a greener lawn over a longer period (8 to 10 weeks) AND feeds the lawn with the one element that it craves the most – nitrogen.
5. Cut 2 ½ to 3 inches high. Often we cut our lawns much too short. Remember this: the taller the grass blades the longer the roots. The longer the roots the greater the resistance to drought, disease and insect problems. AND most lawn weeds are ‘shaded out’ by long grass.
6. Mulch. Use a mulching mower and return the nitrogen-rich grass clippings to the root zone of your lawn.
7. Use a reel-type push mower. Eliminate emissions and enjoy the sound of the cutting action of an old fashioned reel-type mower. Note: the new models are much lighter than those of 30 or 40 years ago. And they hold their cutting edge much longer.
8. Replace your old mower. You have heard that gas driven lawn mowers are big emissions spewers… right? Well, the new lawn mowers on the market are much ‘cleaner’ burning than the old ones. Look for MTD or Honda for two of the cleanest burning brands. And avoid the 2 cycle mowers that require you to mix oil with the gas.
Just following a few of the guidelines above will improve on the environmental impact that your lawn has on your neighbourhood.
Subscribe to Mark's newsletter here and read his new Canada AM blog here.
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