Serf to Turf

May 2017

Pickaway to Garden

Serf to Turf?

By Paul Hang

 

This is not a menu item from your favorite restaurant. It is a question. With apologies to you medieval history buffs, a serf is an enslaved laborer. So, are you feeling like a slave to your lawn? People have many feelings and relationships to their lawns, from love to hate, from obsession to absolute neglect. If you are like me I bounce back and forth between the extremes depending on my schedule, the weather or my mood. Generally I am somewhere in the middle. I like a nice green lush lawn as well as the next guy but do not want to be a serf to my turf. When I had a couple acres to mow I was satisfied that the ground was covered by green plants. Now that I am in an urban environment with close neighbors and the public can drive by, I feel compelled to maintain a better appearing crop of grass.

 

I don’t want to spend any more time than I have to. I don’t want to spend any more money than I have to. I don’t want to use anymore synthetic chemicals than I have to. And, I don’t want to make any more apologies than I have to. I want it all. However I am satisfied with a lawn somewhere between a putting green and a weedlot.

 

While doing Master Gardener Volunteer training this spring one of our speakers was Chris Penrose, OSU Extension Educator from Morgan County. He brought in a bushel of lawn weeds for identification and some suggestions for growing and maintaining a nice lawn. Some of these I have been doing and I like the results. Instituting a few more and I think I will escape from serfdom.

 

The complete subject can’t be covered here. I don’t want to sound preachy but will give you the highlights and some justifications. First, let’s consider the grass that (hopefully) makes up most of our lawns. What other plant do we plant so close together, cut its leaves back when they grow a half-inch, walk on, drive over, and dogs use as a toilet? It’s no wonder we don’t get the results we want. I am assuming you are not establishing a new lawn and so selecting the type of grass to plant is not an option. At ohioline.ag.osu, Fact Sheet HYG-4011 covers Turfgrass Species Selection for this area. If you reseed try a blend of Kentucky Blue Grass and Tall Fescue. Remember when our lawns had a lot of White Dutch Clover? It adds nitrogen to the soil, the most important nutrient for grass. If you can tolerate it don’t kill it and even plant some.

 

Fertilizing is covered at ohioline.ag.osu, Fact Sheet HYG-4006 Fertilization of Lawns. For most lawns in Ohio a ratio of around 4-1-2 of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in that order is best. An example would be 24-6-6, which is close. Most of our soils do not need phosphorous. The best time to fertilize is in the fall. Next best is late summer and late fall. If you want to fertilize four times (and cut grass a lot) try a holiday schedule, May Day, 4^th of July, Labor Day, Veterans Day.

 

If you do nothing but mow, mow as needed not removing more than a third of the blades of grass. Keep your blade sharp. Vary your mowing pattern. Leave the clippings on the lawn. They provide up to 25% of the lawns nutritional needs. Why buy fertilizer, bag the clippings that you pay to haul off, when those clippings contain the nitrogen you paid for? Clippings are about 80% water and DO NOT contribute to thatch. High fertilizer programs contribute to thatch. Mow high, grass is a plant, the more leaves (blades) the more roots, the healthier the plant. High mowing makes a thicker lawn and shades out weeds. Mowing at 2-3” in the spring and fall and 3” in the summer is optimum.

 

Watering deeply and infrequently produces a deeper larger root system. Apply 1” of water a week unless rain is sufficient. Water in the morning. Water areas that dry out sooner more often. In our droughty summers, mow high and infrequently, don’t fertilize heavily, stay off the lawn, don’t aerate, spot treat weeds, water ½ inch every 2-3 weeks to keep the grass alive but not re-greening it.

 

Proper mowing, fertilizing and irrigation are the keys to a great lawn. Annual aeration is good. Renovate chronically thin lawns to adapted species and cultivars. If you do only one thing, mow your grass high. Of course if you use a company to fertilize and someone to cut your grass then you probably haven’t read this far. But if you do it yourself now you can get the most benefit from your efforts. Remember it’s not how fast you mow but how high. Don’t be a serf to your turf.

 

On May 20 9am to 1pm the OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers (MGVs), Pickaway County, will hold our annual Plant Sale at the library parking lot on N. Court St. It is a good opportunity to purchase some varieties of plants not always available commercially. June 14^th the OSU Extension MGVs, will hold their fifth annual Founders Day Celebration. It’s free and the public is invited. The program begins at 7pm at Trinity Lutheran Church, Noecker Hall on E. Mound St. Circleville. Naturalist Jim McCormac will present “A Romp Through Ohio’s Flora and Fauna.” Also our Helpline can be reached by calling the OSU Extension Office at 740-474-7534. A local master gardener volunteer will get back to you.

 

Things to do in the garden:

 

If you haven't already, this month you can direct-seed corn, beans, potatoes, melons, cucumbers and squash. Those last three are usually planted in "hills" in groups of three or four plants. Place cheesecloth or row cover cloth over them until they are lifted up by the growing vines. With any luck you will have prevented the cucumber beetles from invading the plants.

 

You can set out tomato, pepper and eggplant plants if the soil is warm (60 degrees). There is still a chance of frost but as we go through the month the chances become less and less. Be prepared to cover those tender plants if frost threatens. Don't be tempted to overfertilize tomatoes, extra nitrogen will delay ripening and produce more vine than fruit. Remember tomatoes can be planted deep in trenches with the top few branches of leaves above ground. Roots will form along the buried stem. If you stake your tomatoes put the stakes in before you plant to avoid damaging those new tender roots.

 

Harden off the houseplants you plan to put outside for the summer. A period of transitioning to the new environment will help assure their health and vigor. You can divide and move perennials. As the soil warms (50 degrees) you can plant summer-flowering bulbs such as caladiums, cannas, dahlias, and gladioluses. Some start them earlier indoors to get a head start. You can begin spraying roses for black spot following the directions on the product.

 

Cut the seed pods off your lilacs, but do not prune the stems. If your lilacs are getting overgrown and leggy, cut the stems at the ground. Do this to a third of the stems this year, a third next year and the final third the year after that. This way you will rejuvenate the bushes.

 

Thin apples, peaches and other tree fruit (not cherries) to a fruit every six inches. Remember "June drop." It is a time when fruit trees rid themselves of excess fruit which the tree cannot support. This is a natural process.

Mulch your beds after the soil has warmed. When you set out those tender plants protect against cutworms that can wreak havoc on new transplants. Use collars of aluminum foil, plastic, cardboard or other material to encircle the stem. The collars should extend into the soil an inch and above an inch or two. These are cultural practices and there are pesticides that can help control these pests (Google "cutworms extension"), however collars will protect your plants immediately. I have also placed a toothpick in the ground next to the plant stem with success.

 

This is a busy time for pollinators. When you spot a bug identify it before reaching for the spray. Fully 97% of the bugs in our gardens are beneficial. Singular bugs are almost always beneficial. Crowds are often pests. Know your enemy!

 

Now is a good time to get rid of invasive and harmful plants. Poison hemlock is very poisonous and a biennial. In its first year it is a rosette with basal leaves that are bluish green, deeply cut parsley-like leaflets that have sharp points. Second year plants have hairless stems bright green to bluish green with obvious purple blotches. Mowing and tilling are partial controls. Post-emergent herbicides are effective this time of year. Don’t get the sap on your skin.