

By monitoring your grass regularly you 1) reduce the risk of undesirable conditions, such as pests or weeds taking over your lawn, 2) you will spot problems early, making them much easier to deal with. It is important to keep an eye on your grass throughout the summer. Raking thoroughly is usually enough to remove thatch, however, in severe cases use either a vertical mower or contact a local landscape professional.

Thatch can prevent water and fertilizer from reaching the root zone as well as harbour plant diseases and pests. A healthy, well-maintained lawn should have minimal thatch (accumulation of old leaves, clippings, stems, roots, and other organic material that has failed to decay). Annual lawn aeration and topdressing will help to refresh and rejuvenate your lawn for the growing season. Yet in several fascinating ways this miraculous substance holds the key to life. Heavy soils such as clay and wet soils are prone to compaction, especially in high-traffic areas. Soil is one of the most ubiquitous and underappreciated substances on Earth. Never apply fertilizer to wet grass leaves, especially during extreme heat.Ĭompacted soil prevents water, air and nutrients from reaching turfgrass roots. Always water in the fertilizer to prevent burning. Imagine a science-based civilization far distant in the Galaxy that had built an interferometer of such resolving power that it could analyse the chemical composition of. Continue to fertilize using a 4-Step Program, which can be purchased at any local garden centre. We recommend using a starter fertilizer with newly installed grass. How much fertilizer your lawn needs depends on soil fertility and how much growth you want. The taller the grass, the less dense the lawn and the higher the chance of weed infestation. Don’t let the grass grow so tall that it falls over. Never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf height at once. Bluegrass should be mowed at a height of between 2-3″ (5-8 cm). Proper mowing keeps turfgrass healthy and beautiful. Water evenly and slowly enough so that the water penetrates the soil without running off.įor newly installed sod, we’ll cover that in an upcoming article. Avoid frequent light watering, which results in shallow rooting, and overwatering – saturated soil prevents air from reaching the root zone where it’s required. 12, e2018MS001453 (2020).Your lawn needs an inch (2.5 cm) of water per week (including rain) when it is actively growing in the summer. Perspectives on the Future of Land Surface Models and the Challenges of Representing Complex Terrestrial Systems. Persistence and memory timescales in root-zone soil moisture dynamics. As with our other quality mulches, fine shredded hardwood bark mulch conserves water, suppresses weeds, moderates soil temperatures and adds valuable. Quantifying the impact of ecological memory on the dynamics of interacting communities. Khalighi, M., Sommeria-Klein, G., Gonze, D., Faust, K. Ecological memory of recurrent drought modifies soil processes via changes in soil microbial community. Persistence of environmental DNA in cultivated soils: implication of this memory effect for reconstructing the dynamics of land use and cover changes. Relic DNA is abundant in soil and obscures estimates of soil microbial diversity. Soil memory: theoretical basics of the concept, its current state, and prospects for development.
