As leaves go brown, make lawn green

With organic lawn care, preparing the soil is
crucial, one expert says.

By DEAN FOSDICK

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Drought has affected nearly half the nation so far this year, with conditions in portions of the Southeast, Southwest and Midwest classified by climatologists as “severe” to “exceptional.”

But the arrival of cooler nights and moderating daytime temperatures makes autumn the best time of year to revitalize turf grasses. A good maintenance plan will help lawns withstand harsh winter weather and enable them to return with an abundance of thick, green growth next spring, said John Marshall, manager of The Scott’s Training Institute, a division of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. in Marysville, Ohio.

“A lawn is pretty durable. It can go dormant and come back frequently if you give it a balanced feeding. You have to be careful of disease activity, though, when it begins to go brown,” he said.

So now is the time to do reseeding, feeding, and watering, if possible. What you do should be tailored to where you live and the state of your lawn.

RESEEDING

Reseeding an entire lawn should be done once, in the fall, if needed. Getting seed into the ground in early fall gives the new grass sufficient time to grow and be mowed a couple of times before winter arrives. Mowing and raking also clear the leaf drop, which can smother lawns and encourage diseases, Marshall said.

Reseeding bare spots can be done anytime.

FEEDING

You can reseed without feeding but you’ll eventually need to add some nutrients, perhaps in spring.

Fertilizing for traditional grass growers (nonorganic) should be done at least twice a year. Some people, like Thompson, recommend doing it four times. Fertilizer bags are well marked for turf, ornamentals, trees and shrubbery and such, and include directions for use — typically, spread it over and water it in.

Soil preparation is crucial, especially when you’re talking about organic lawn care, said Paul Tukey, a landscaper from New Gloucester, Maine, and author of “The Organic Lawn Care Manual” (Storey Publishing, 2007, paperback $19.95). Incorporating as much organic matter as possible into the soil is the best defense against drought, he explained.

“The organic matter [compost, leaf mold] acts like a sponge in the soil. Wetting agents, which allow the soil to absorb water more readily, are also available. These allow lawns to maximize watering efficiency and keep lawns greener longer.”

WATERING

Water or the lack of it also will dictate how much success you’ll have getting your lawn going again, Tukey said.

“A good way to combat the effects of drought is to give the dormant, brown lawn about a quarter-inch of water per week during the drought, but not more. This small amount of water will keep the crown of the plant alive, even if the stems are dormant and brown.

“Remember, a brown lawn during a drought is usually not a dead lawn unless the duration of the drought exceeds four to six weeks, so it’s OK to allow the lawn to remain dormant for a while,” Tukey explained.

“If you commit to watering a lawn during a drought to keep it green, the key is consistency. Water deeply, once or twice a week, but not more, and your lawn will make it through.” This deep watering means the water goes right down to the roots.

Watering at the right time of day (mornings) as well as watering deeply and infrequently will be a big help, as will mowing with the blade set as high as the machine allows, Tukey said.

“In fact, if no rain is in the 10-day forecast ... then people shouldn’t mow their lawns. Period. Mowing during times of drought thoroughly stresses out lawns.”

DROUGHTS

The frequency of droughts has little to do with a lawn’s recovery. It’s the duration of a drought that will damage a lawn.

“This is species dependent,” Tukey said. “St. Augustine grass, for example, has a very low drought tolerance. Fescues have extremely high drought tolerance.”

If drought is becoming increasingly common and lawns frustrating to maintain, then it may be time to consider such alternatives as xeriscaping (landscaping with plants, ground covers or shade trees that don’t require much water), Tukey said.

Despite the many turf-related stresses of late, no one is predicting that grass will disappear from residential settings.

“There’s always going to be a use for lawns,” said Eric Nelson, director of turf grass development for Scotts Ortho-Gro. “Grass is one of the greatest ground covers you can grow. Among other things, it has the ability to tolerate traffic. When you talk about children playing and kicking the ball around or climbing around a swing set, you’re not talking about English ivy in those situations.”

XRecommended reading: “Scotts Lawns: Your Quick Guide to a Beautiful Yard.” By Nick Christians with Ashton Ritchie (Meredith Books, 2002, paperback $19.95). For more about fall lawn care, visit www.gardening.cornell.edu.