Tag: grass

Welcome to Summer

It looks like the summer heat came a little early this year. We are already experiencing some of the warmest and driest conditions that the are has seen in a few years this early in the summer season. Over the holiday weekend, while you are spending time with family and friends, take heed of the temperatures and make sure that you keep yourself and your lawn hydrated.

Your turf likely has not been able to put down deep healthy roots since the wet winter (yes, too wet is a bad thing for turf). Please keep an eye on your turf and if you haven’t already turn on your irrigation system. We haven’t really needed them until this week, but if you have one use it. If you are unsure how to operate your system, let us know and we can assist you.

Watering during periods of drought can help prevent many serious turf problems like dormancy, yellowing, bare spots, and some diseases. Here are some tips on how and when to water your lawn:

When to water

Using irrigation water to fill the gaps between precipitation events is critical to a healthy lawn, and efficient, responsible use of this natural resource will keep water bills lower. You should always pay attention to any local ordinances regarding water usage. Drought tolerant turf species, while they may go dormant during drought, will revive once precipitation occurs or watering restrictions are lifted

To be the most efficient when watering your lawn, you should always irrigate when:
 Winds are calm
 In the early morning hours, this minimizes evaporation loss and results in a more efficient irrigation event.
 Only when lawns show signs of drought stress.

Do not irrigate in the evening (increases disease pressure)

How to Water

There are two basic kinds of sprinkler systems available to homeowners:

  1.  In-Ground, automatic irrigation: This is the most efficient way to irrigate your lawn. A professionally designed and installed system will provide complete and even distribution of water across the lawn surface, should have a battery back-up for any timing devices, and a rain sensor to disable the system when precipitation occurs.
  2.  Above Ground, movable hose based sprinklers: These methods are less expensive than in-ground systems, however not as efficient or convenient. These sprinklers may either be a portable surface type, which needs to be moved from time to time in order to cover the whole lawn or a traveling sprinkler, which follows the path of the hose or a cable around the lawn.

Both methods require observation and effort on the part of the homeowner in order to avoid over watering and ensuring uniform coverage through out the lawn.

Knowing how to irrigate is one thing, but how much should you be watering your lawn?

  • A general rule for most turf species requires 1 inch of water per week in order to maintain a healthy status, this includes any precipitation.
  • Irrigation should be a supplement to natural precipitation, not the main source of water for your lawn.
  • Water once every 2-3 days in periods of drought (about a half an inch per application).
  • If one or more inches of precipitation falls in any given week, then supplemental irrigation is not necessary.
  • Soils that are primarily clay based (most around here) will require less water overall and fewer applications than more sandy soils. Clay has a very high water holding capacity.

Irrigation cycles should be run so that you are watering as deeply as possible into the soil profile, with causing runoff on the surface. Irrigation should only be applied to supplement precipitation deficits. Avoid hard and fast irrigation timer settings, be flexible with your times and days. Avoid standing water in your lawn.

To determine if you are applying the correct amount of water, place a rain gauge between a series of irrigation heads or midway between the sprinkler and the end of its coverage and check the depth of water in the gauge after a predetermined length of time. Use this information to calculate the amount of time that irrigation must be applied to reach ½ inch.

Things to keep in mind
When watering
• Water deeply and infrequently.
• Proper use of sprinkler water will result in a healthier and attractive lawn and lower water bills.
• Consider spot watering localized dry spots instead of the entire lawn.
• Water areas on mounds and berms and near buildings more often, where reflected heat dries the turf.
• Avoid irrigating until water runs off the lawn surface and on to walks and roads.
• Areas shaded from trees may require more water to support both trees and turf grasses.
• Avoid standing water for any period of time.

When Maintaining
• Make sure that you are mowing at the proper height for your turf species (not all grasses should be mown at the same height of cut).
• A sharp mower blade is essential if you want to maintain a healthy lawn through periods of stress. Dull blades tear the grass, resulting in a more stressful and jagged cut, making the turf more susceptible to fungal diseases.
• Avoid fertilization until fall for cool-season turf (fescues, ryes, bluegrasses).
• Spot spray only for weed control in cool-season turf.

Importance Of Pre-Emergent Weed Control

 

A weed is generally defined as any undesirable species present in an otherwise homogenous stand of turf. Weeds can be intimidating and stressful on both professional turf managers and homeowners, but they don’t have to be. With the right information and timing, weeds can be controlled and virtually eliminated from a turf stand (if a plan is developed and followed). Pre-emergent herbicides are the key in the battle against weeds.

As a golf course superintendent, every  September, I would start the pre-emergent application process, so that turf at the course would be lush and weed free not only for the remaining season but also for the coming one.

Many might think that this is an expensive process or can not be done to residential lawns. It most certainly can, and should be done to home lawns. The cost is outweighed by the season-long benefits that it provides. You know the saying ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ That is precisely the case with pre-emergent applications. Weed free lawns provide homeowners with better curb appeal, a more enjoyable lawn, and a denser,healthier lawn.

It is considerably more difficult and costly to control weeds once they have emerged from the soil.

We all know how unsightly rampant weeds can be in a lawn. There is a another negative effect weeds have on your lawn aside from aesthetics. Weeds compete with desirable turf for sunlight, water, air and essential nutrients. The effect of all the competition is a significant reduction in the overall health, density, vigor and aesthetics of the rest of your lawn as the more aggressive weeds out grown the existing grass.

Weed infestations can become uncontrollable quickly if there is not preventative action taken. In order to combat weeds, a well thought plan needs to be developed (likely with the help of a professional) and followed.

Strategic timing for the pre-emergent application is crucial to its overall effectiveness as is choosing the proper active ingredient (AI) in the pre-emergent. Waiting too late to make the application is not going to do you or your lawn any favors and can severely inhibit the efficacy of the treatment resulting in weed breakthrough and weaker protection.

Pre-emergent chemicals will only work when applied before weed seeds germinate, and location, grass type, and soil temperatures are the determining factors as to when that is, so if there is any doubt, contact a professional for a consultation. When applied properly, the active ingredient in the pre-emergent forms a barrier to prevent newly germinated weed seeds from breaking the soil surface and infesting your lawn.

Uniform coverage during application is critical for the effective barrier to cover the entire area you want to protect. In order to make an even, uniform application of the pre-emergent, it is critical to follow the following steps:

  1. make sure that your spreader is calibrated properly to the rate you want to distribute on the lawn
  2. apply half of the recommended application rate moving across the lawn in a north/south pattern
  3. make a second application at half of the recommended rate moving across the lawn in an east/west pattern
  4. irrigate the application into the soil

Key points about pre-emergent applications:

  1.  Pre-ermergent inhibits the development of newly germinated weed seeds.
  2. The product does not prohibit germination, but rather prevents the development of weeds above the soil surface.
  3. It is best to apply uniformly, at the right time, over the entire area that is to be protected.
  4. Most applications need to be watered in by at least a half inch of water after the application to be effective.

If this seems like a lot to take in, don’t worry about it. The professionals at Crossroads Turf can take care of it to ensure you have the weed free lawn you deserve.

Overseeding and Fescue Maintenance

Creating and developing a beautiful, thick fescue lawn is hardly ever by accident. It requires a well thought out strategy and patience. Fall is the most important time in the development of a dense, thick fescue lawn. Actions taken in the fall (September/October) will determine the level of success or failure that you see in your fescue lawn the following season. Many folks believe that the end of summer marks the end of lawn care season, however the reality is that the end of summer marks the beginning of the real lawn care season.

Several things must happen in the fall to ensure that you have a thick, dense fescue lawn to enjoy the following season.

The first thing that must be addressed as the temperatures turn cooler in the fall is to re-seed the lawn (if the lawn is a cool season turf). Generally, the best time to over-seed fescue lawns is when nighttime temperatures are consistently below 70 degrees. In addition to over-seeding, the application of a pre-emergent herbicide should be made 4-6 weeks after over-seeding germination.

While daytime temperatures are important and play a role in plant establishment, more important are the nighttime temperatures. Cooler nights allow the soil to radiate heat into the atmosphere, thereby cooling the subsurface of the soil. Fescue can struggle in the hot, humid summers that we have here in the south.

Cooler soil is beneficial to fescue in several ways:

  1. it allows for more aggressive root growth and development from new seedlings and encourages an overall healthier plant
  2. allows for recovery by the plant from stresses incurred throughout the previous day (mowing, high temperatures, etc.)
  3. encourages the plant to reach maturity at its own pace, thereby growing a stronger plant that is more capable of resisting stress from the environment and people

This is precisely why fescue sown in the spring (when soil temps are rising) does not generally make it through the summer months. There simply is no time to reach maturity and the process is rushed.

The first thing to remember when deciding to over-seed your existing fescue lawn is to get the timing right. While trying to determine the appropriate date to begin the process, it would be wise to also begin looking for the right seed mixture. That’s right, mixture. Mixtures, or blends, take several varieties of fescue seed and combine them to provide a genetically superior stand of turf once established. Taking several fescue seed varieties allows the best parts, the strengths if you will, of those strains to shine through.

It is possible to get genetically pure fescue seed from distributors; however genetically pure seed is just that pure as it relates to one grass species. This, while it sounds good, is a weak option. Pure seed is not as genetically protected as certified fescue seed mixtures or blends are. Mixes contain several varieties of seed, all certified, and afford the consumer the benefits of multiple genetic codes.

Certified fescue seed mixtures/blends:

  1. have proven to be more genetically diverse,
  2. are able to withstand more environmental stresses,
  3. preform better in challenging environments
  4. provide better results to homeowners that do not have the time or resources to invest heavily into professionally managed turf care

That is a lot of words just for me to tell you that certified seed mixtures are the best way to go for the vast majority of homeowners.

Once the mixture and date have been determined, it is time to prepare the site for seeding:

  1. Mow the existing grass low, rake or blow off any debris, and dethatch if you can (you can rent these machines at most equipment rental stores).
  2. After the prep work is done, it is time to sow the seed. Make sure that your spreader is calibrated properly (most over-seeding rates fall in the #5-7/ thousand square feet range).
  3. Set the spreader to one half of the recommended over-seeding rate and make passes over the desired are in a north/south pattern, next repeat the process (again at one half the recommended rate) in an east/west pattern. The pattern change helps to ensure thorough coverage and good seed dispersion.
  4. Once the seed is down, a light topdressing of compost is advised to ensure good seed to soil contact (crucial for germination) and a light watering.

After the process is complete, keep the area watered for 7-10 days multiple times per day (as needed based on environmental conditions (shade, wind, temperature, etc.) making sure to keep the top layer of soil moist, reduce applied water as the new grass grows, eventually getting down to once every 2-3 days or as needed only. After establishment, fescue will need approximately 1-1.5″ of irrigation or natural rainfall each week. Only apply water to supplement natural precipitation.

Refrain from mowing the newly seeded area until the grass is approximately 3-5 inches tall. Fertilize with a balanced fertilizer 2-3 weeks after the first mowing.

For more information about lawn care techniques and methods, contact Crossroads Turf for a personalized consultation.

Irritation or Irrigation?

Grass plants are made up mostly of water and to little or too much can be cause for concern. Water is the primary mechanism for transport of nutrients, organic compounds, and gases into turf roots and throughout the plant. While most people think a lack of water will damage their lawn, overwatering may in fact cause more damage to existing turf.  To maintain a healthy, dense, and actively growing lawn, it is essential to irrigate the lawn during dry periods. It is easy to overwater a lawn.

The consequences of overwatering a lawn include: increased weed pressure (especially crabgrass), increased disease pressure, shallow rooted turf (think weak), wasted natural resources, and for most, higher water bills. When you irrigate your lawn, it is best to err on the dry side rather than be guilty of overwatering. You can always add more water if the lawn is still dry, but you cannot take excess out of a lawn.
Frequency will vary based on the appearance of your lawn. The first signs of drought stress are a blueish-green color (caused by leaf blades beginning to curl up to conserve energy) and footprints that remain in the turf after walking across it.

 

Ideally this is the point at which you should irrigate your lawn. There is no benefit whatsoever to irrigating a lawn before this point.

As drought stress increases, your lawn will wilt and have a greyish-green color. At this point, you should irrigate the affected area immediately. Turf in this stage of drought stress can recovery quickly with prompt attention on your part.

Severe drought stress causes the plant to cease all metabolic processes and stop growing. The shoots (leaf blades will turn brown and could die.

green grass and dry grass

 

Irrigating at this point helps the plant to survive, however it can take up to two weeks to see noticeable improvement and possibly longer to make a full recovery. Patience is your friend at this stage of the game.

Another common irrigation misconception is that lawns should be irrigated on a set schedule. This is not the case, as a set schedule does not take into consideration the needs of the plant, evapotranspiration rates, or other environmental conditions, however it does increase the likelihood of over watering. Also, for those with automatic irrigation systems, you should not run the same programs for the entire season. Irrigation rates and timing should accommodate the needs of the plant at any given time.

Turfgrass species vary widely in their water requirements, with most cool-season grasses using approximately 20% more on average than warm-season grasses. Most turfgrass species will require between 1-1.5” of water per week to maintain a healthy status. Factors that influence water use rates of grasses (and all plants for that matter) are: weather, soil type, slope, etc. It is best to apply this amount of water in a single cycle or two equal applications spaced three to four days apart, rather than through light irrigations daily (if you have newly seeded or sodded turf, then you will need more frequent irrigation at first). During an irrigation event, soil should be wetted to the depth of the deepest root. Shallow, frequent irrigation encourages the plant to produce shallow root systems. A shallow root system weakens the plant when drought sets in or temperatures increase and encourages the proliferation of weeds, notably crabgrass.

Hose-end sprinklers usually apply a small volume of water to a given area and must be left to run for extended periods (2-3 hours) to provide adequate moisture. See the example below:

 

Automatic systems can deliver larger volumes (depending on system and nozzle configurations) in less time.

Irrigation of the green grass with sprinkler system.

 

If you have an automated system, then you should do an irrigation audit yearly to gauge the efficacy of the system and make any needed repairs. This will keep the system operating at peak efficiency and lower your overall water usage (your lawn and water bill will thank you).

The best time of day to irrigate turf is between 4-8am. There is little wind disruption currently of day, you do not lose water to evaporation, and temperatures are generally at their coolest. Yes, 4-8 am is early and could pose some logistical challenges for most people. The next best time to irrigate your lawn is between 8pm-12am. However, irrigating at this time of day can increase the possibility of soil borne disease that affect turf if humidity levels are high (we live in the South, when aren’t they high in the summer). Irrigation that is preformed during the middle of the daylight hours is ineffective and should only be undertaken as a last resort.
Proper irrigation practices are just as vital to a healthy lawn as fertilizer, weed prevention, or mowing and should not be intimidating. When in doubt about your irrigation practices, remember, you can always add more water, but you can’t take any out.

Fescue and Southern Summers

There are two types of grasses, warm-season (Bermudas, Zoysias, St. Augustine) and cool-season (fescues, ryes, bentgrasses, bluegrasses). Many factors distinguish the various cultivars, both in the general sense and more specifically between species. While we will not get deep into the weeds (pun intended) while discussing grasses this morning, I think that a little background information might be valuable as the discussion turns more from grass type to lawn maintenance, to turf performance.

If you are reading this, then you most likely have a variety of fescue grass in your lawn. Fescue is a general name given to a species that has several cultivars. Differentiating between specific fescue cultivars and their genetic pairing with other grass types is not of critical importance for this discussion, so moving forward any reference to fescue should be taken in the general sense.

Fescue is a cool-season grass that is quite popular in the transition zone (this is the climatic zone that you live in). It establishes easily from seed in the cooler fall months, stays green year-round (usually – more on this later), and can tolerate a variety of growing conditions. Fescue is also a bunch-type grass. These are grasses that grow in bunches and do not have Rhizomes that spread laterally (think Bermuda grass). Being a bunch-type means that any injury to the turf must be reseeded to fully recover.

As mentioned above, Fescue can tolerate a variety of growing conditions. Fescue grasses generally preform best when temperatures are between 65-80 degrees for leaf growth and 68-86 degrees for seed germination. New root growth for most cool-season grasses occurs rapidly when soil temperatures are between 50-65 degrees at the 1-inch depth and will continue into the upper 80’s, albeit at a reduced rate. However, once temperatures in the soil reach 90 degrees or greater, root growth is greatly reduced, and care must be taken to protect the root system from damage.

Though Fescue can and does tolerate a wide variety of temperatures at which it can perform, it is susceptible to heat and drought stress. Fescue can tolerate the extreme summer heat that we routinely see here in the Carolinas, but it needs a break at night from those high temperatures to recover from the day’s stress and generate some new growth. Generally, Fescue requires cooler nights (< 70 degrees) to recover from high heat the previous day, if the night stays warm (> 70 degrees), then the plant cannot produce the energy that it needs to repair itself and grow the next day. Long stretches of high nighttime temperatures can be brutal on Fescue (many in the Carolinas are seeing the effects now from a brutal June weather pattern). Fescue can look devastated in the summer, and while high daytime heat is the first target of blame among many (and does share some responsibility in decline), high nighttime temperatures are more destructive, especially when coupled with high humidity.

With that information in mind, let’s examine the weather over the past month as it relates to historical averages for our area. June 2018 was on average, 5 degrees warmer than normal. Think about that for a minute….5 degrees! That is a noticeable variation and should not be taken lightly. During the month of June, we saw:

• Average High/Low: 87/65 degrees
• Actual High/Low: 91/70 degrees
• # days > average high: 26
• # days > average low: 28
• # days > 86 degrees: 27
• # days > 70 degrees (daily low): 15
• # days > 90 degrees: 19
• # days > 92 degrees: 13
• Total precipitation: 1.47″ (-3.25″)
• Average precipitation: 4.72″

As the numbers above indicate, June has been a brutal month with respect to traditional averages for the area. The result is that some folks are seeing decline in their Fescue sooner in the season than is typical. Usually we see this sort of weather begin to affect Fescue negatively in late July, this year it came a month early.
The big question we always get is what can I do to improve my lawn or what are you going to do to make it better? There is no easy answer for these queries. While there is a lot that can be done to mitigate the effects of extreme growing conditions (the last two weeks of June come to mind), there is little that we can do to counteract mother nature. Reversing course once damage appears can be quite challenging during a Carolina summer. All hope is not lost though.

Fescue may turn brown/tan, but can often survive periods of drought by going into a state of semi-dormancy, and will struggle in hot/dry summers (have you been outside). During periods of extended hot/dry conditions, fescue will require significant water, in excess of 1″ per week. Many homeowners irrigate their lawns in some form or fashion, however unless you have a professionally installed irrigation system that is programmable and have had it calibrated to meet your watering requirements, there is not a practical way to get that much water on the lawn in a given week without some assistance from mother nature.

When we do irrigate our lawns, it should be to avoid wilting, but only to supplement natural rainfall, not to replace it (unless it just is not rainy, like the last month was). We should also be mindful of our irrigation timings. Early morning is the best time to irrigate our lawns (before sunrise is ideal 3-5 am). On established lawns, deep infrequent irrigation is key to strong deep roots. Deep and infrequent means water longer cycles with more days between waterings, wetting the soil to a depth of around 3″. On lawns that are not quite established (newly sodded or seeded), we want to water as needed. Since the root systems are not as strong in a newer lawn, we want to water more frequently to nurse the grass through the days until we get a break in the weather.

If you have questions about your irrigation practices, let us know and we can help you develop a plan.

Fertilizer this time of year is NOT THE ANSWER. When temperatures are like they have been lately, turfgrass root systems are limited in their uptake ability and there is no need to stimulate a stressed plant that does not want to grow under adverse climatic conditions. If fertilizer is applied to a fescue lawn now, you will accelerate its decline. Patience here will pay dividends later.

Fescue may be allowed to go dormant (a natural process that is used as a defense mechanism by the plant) if heat and drought set in, and you will be surprised at the recovery once there is relief from the stressor, even if the grass was completely tan.

The best course of action right now for those with stressed Fescue is to trust your turf professional, consult one if you haven’t, and be patient (I know that is not what you want to hear), things will improve but it will take some time and cooler weather.

The weather will break, and recovery will happen. It only takes a few cooler nights to notice a significant improvement in turf quality, so hang in there for the time being.