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Earth-Friendly Lawn Care Around the Year

As we're all increasingly concerned that our gardening practices might harm the environment, lawn care is a prime target of examination.  Certain types of fertilizers, especially if applied in the spring, run off into waterways like the Chesapeake Bay and harm the fish and crabs there.  There are concerns, as well, about pesticides and wasteful use of water. 

But the good news is that not only is it possible to have a good-looking lawn without harming the environment; it's actually less work than traditional, potentially harmful lawn care practices.  Just follow this schedule and see your lawn flourish - without harming Mother Earth.

Spring

Weed Control:  If your lawn is sunny and has a history of crabgrass, apply corn gluten, an organic preemergent weed killer, when the forsythia are blooming (or, according to other experts, when forsythia blooms are dropping). As an added bonus, corn gluten contains a small amount of nitrogen (10 percent by weight), so it helps to "green-up" your lawn in a safe, organic way.  Remember to always read the instructions - and follow them.

Seeding:  Seed bare spots in March.  However, the best time to seed is fall.

To Fertilize or Not:   A big jolt of fertilizer in the spring encourages top growth at the expense of root growth, promotes weeds, leads to extra mowing and, with spring rains, causes more nutrient run-off into waterways than feeding in the fall.  On the other hand,  one application of a slow-release organic fertilizer like Lawn Restore is fine to use in the spring (as well as one application in the fall) and recommended by many sources I respect. 

Summer

Mowing: First, keeping your mower blades sharp and set high helps your lawn in many ways.  Taller grass reduces weeds and encourages deeper roots, thus improving drought tolerance, while sharp mower blades increase your lawn's resistance to disease.  So set your mower height to 3 inches or higher.  Then mow frequently, never removing more than 1/3 of the blade at a time if you can help it. (Recognizing that after a solid week of rain it may be corn-like before you can get back to mowing; I've been there.)

Since clippings act as a slow-release fertilizer, it helps to leave them on the lawn.  And if you're concerned that this will cause excess thatch, experts assure us it doesn't and that thatch is actually caused by excess synthetic fertilizer.  There's that word again (see "Fall" for details.)  And to prevent nitrogen runoff, don't leave clippings on streets or sidewalks.

Watering: If you need to water, do it as early in the day as possible but never at night, and preferably when there isn't much wind.  Most importantly, water deeply, to one inch, in order to encourage deep roots, thereby increasing drought tolerance.  Lawns need roughly an inch of water every 7 to 10 days, depending on the temperature.  More frequent watering not only wastes water but encourages fungal disease and poor root development.  During the heat of the summer lawns naturally go brown and dormant and look rather sad but don't fret; they green up again when the weather cools off.

Weed Control: If you applied a preemergent crabgrass killer to your sunny spots in the spring, that's the only weed control application you'll need to do all year.  There will be weeds, of course, so try a little attitude adjustment.  As a Cooperative Extension agent once told me, "You gotta have weeds. If you don't have weeds you're spending too much on chemicals."  And the remedy for those weeds is sometimes called mechanical removal, which means grabbing your favorite weeding tool and getting some exercise.  It's less work in the long run if you remove weeds before they bloom and release their seeds - as many as hundreds of seeds per plant!  Alternatively, you might decide that weeds contribute a little biodiversity to your lawn and that some of them aren't so ugly after all.  But rest assured that as you develop a denser, healthier lawn, most weed problems will go away.

Fall


Final Mowing: Cut a little shorter than normal to discourage matted grass and snow mold.

Fertilizing: If you think you can just let nature take its course with your lawn, think again.  Lawns simply use up their stores of nitrogen every year and become unhealthy and spotty if the nitrogen isn't replaced.  In fact, lawns need 2 pounds of nitrogen yearly per 1,000 square feet and while grass clippings contribute ½ pound, that still leaves 1½ pounds you need to apply, preferably in two or more small applications.  So choose an organic slow-release fertilizer (look for the term WIN, which stands for water-insoluable nitrogen) and here in Zone 7A, apply it in early September and then again around Halloween - or alternatively, once in the fall and once in spring.  (In colder climates, fall chores should be done a week or two later; check with local authorities.)  Read those instructions first, and follow them.

Seeding:  If you're starting a new lawn, the best time of the year is early September and here are all the steps in that process.  Best grasses for sunny areas are tall fescues; for shade, creeping fescues.

If your lawn is thin and increasingly weedy, it's probably time to overseed - a lawn maintenance chore that's needed every three or four years.  Here's the rundown on that.

And if you have bare spots, now's also the best time to fill them with seed or sod, and here's more information about that.

Adding organic matter:  Just as important as fertilizers per se is the yearly application of organic matter because it feeds your soil and the earthworms and thousands of other critters that inhabit the healthy soils needed to support healthy lawns.  It also improves both water retention and good drainage - an amazing feat! 

Just spread a thin (1/2 inch or so) layer of either screened compost, Canadian spaghnum peat moss (and don't worry, it's not a diminishing resource), or chopped leaves on top of your lawn.

Any Time

One more thing your lawn probably needs is lime, which can be applied any time, unless the ground is frozen.  A soil test will tell you how much it needs and it'll cost about 10 bucks.   Here's more about soil tests.


Limb up tree branches to give your lawn more light.

Not a Do-It-Yourself?

I know it's hard to love companies with names like ChemLawn, but some lawn care folks are going organic and there's no need to fear them (or the wrath of your neighbors when the truck pulls up).


To find an organic or natural lawn care company near you, just Google those words and your state or city. The natural-lawn-care customers I know are happy customers indeed.

Top photo by Julie Wiatt of the Voice Newspapers.

This article was originally published by Maryland's Voice Newspapers. If you have any comments about the article, send 'em along.

 

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