At this time of the year, folks have so many questions about their lawns, and there are many considerations.
First, it’s wise to realize the value that lawns provide all year round. That green carpet, which we walk on and kids love to play on, is always an important consideration. The green space it provides also helps cool our neighbourhoods, sequesters carbon, keeps our soils open for good drainage and provides a home for many soil microorganisms.
Lawns can also present many challenges. Perhaps the most significant one is water restrictions during spring and summer.
However, lawns are incredibly resilient, especially if they have eight to ten inches of good soil beneath them. Unfortunately, many folks are struggling with only two to three inches of soil with hardpan below.
Because lawns are smaller today, it’s not too difficult to replace the soil underneath by taking off the sod; spreading at least 10 inches of quality soil that will be both well-draining and yet have good moisture retention; then working the new soil into your existing soil. Once this is done, either install turf or sow seed as soon as possible.
Rejuvenating your lawn will make such a difference in your lawn’s ability to withstand longer periods of drought in summer.
It’s also best to use some of the more drought-tolerant seed varieties, such as turf type tall fescues with a little creeping red fescue mixed in. It’s the most drought tolerant mix for our region. It may be hard to find, but so very worthwhile.
If you wish to only overseed, then simply scratch up the soil’s surface with a hand rake, apply a skiff of peat most and sand, or a light soil blend, and then seed on top. It will take about two weeks for the seed to germinate. There is still time to overseed if you do it very soon.
Some non-burning seed and sod fertilizer will help get the new grasses going. You may want to mix in some micro clover or white Dutch clover with your lawn seed to help it stay green in summer and to add nutrients to your soil.
Once we get our fall rains, one of our most important jobs is to aerate our lawns and to apply a one-quarter inch layer of sand; it will help improve your lawn’s drainage by opening up the soil. When the ground is soft, and you can easily push a pencil into the ground, then it’s time to aerate.
Although it’s been a drier year, the application of dolomite lime, at the rate of one bag per 200 sq. m. or 2,000 sq. ft., will keep the lawn’s pH level up and will prevent your soil from becoming too acidic. In small lawn areas, all you need to apply is a partial bag of lime. Both of these steps, aerating and liming, will help minimize moss from thriving in your lawn areas.
It’s still warm enough to keep our lawns growing, so when you mow, please cut your grass low to allow more air to circulate near the roots, especially since we will soon stop mowing.
As for feeding, if your lawn colour is a pale green, applying some slow-release nitrogen fertilizer would be an ideal way to bring your lawn back to good health.
It will quickly green up the grasses, and its slow-release properties will stay in the cells of your grass, only to release once the weather warms up again in late winter; at which time your lawn will green up quickly again and will be more able to tolerate any stressful growing conditions in spring and summer.
A little lawn care now will make a huge difference next year.
