NEIGHBORHOOD GARDEN FOR AUGUST 8, 2009 ************************************************************ GARDENING IN AUGUST BY GEORGE EDGAR 1. August 20th to September 20th is
the best time of the year to plant new grass or overseed your lawn with
Turf Type Tall Fescue (Tall Fescue Lawn Calendar, NebGuide #G558.) and
September 1st to October 15th for Kentucky Blue Grass.(Kentucky Bluegrass
Lawn Calendar NebGuide #G517). This time of year you will not have
competition from lots of weeds waking up, and the soil temperature is warm
so grass seed will germinate fast. If you are overseeding your lawn, core
aerate to open up the hard clay soil, wait a day or so, and then sow your
seed. Rake the seed or pull a piece of chain link fencing over the lawn so
the seed drops in the holes. The worst thing
that can happen to the new seed is for it to dry out before germination.
This time of year you will have to water at least once a day and if it is
hot and dry probably twice a day. Keep the seed moist but not sopping wet.
Mulch or some kind of row cover or burlap will help to keep it moist and
avoid poor germination. Buy the best
seed you can afford as your lawn will never look any better than the seed
you plant. Buy quality seed
that is for our Midwest area and disease resistant. If you use disease
resistant cultivars you will save money over the long run since you will
not have to purchase lots of fungicides to combat disease problems. Look
at the package and check the label for the % of crop seed (looks like
weeds in your lawn) and weed seeds. And get a blend of 3 or more cultivars
so if a disease wipes out one cultivar it won’t wipe out the whole yard.
Grass seed purchased from a local garden center or a local supplier will
most likely grow better in our 2. Do not fertilize most trees and
shrubs after the first week of August. Fertilizer on trees and shrubs will
prompt new growth that will not mature by the time we get a frost and thus
will not be hardy enough to withstand a normal Also, after a
tree is 5 years old usually it does not need additional fertilization, if
growing under normal circumstances. In If your tree is
in the lawn area, every time you water your lawn you are also indirectly
watering your trees, and your trees need a lot less water than your lawn.
Just be careful when watering and do not allow your sprinkler to hit the
trunk, especially if you have an automatic system. Just under the bark is
the cambian layer where all the nutrients go up and down. You can injure
that cambian layer and impede the flow of nutrients up and down the tree
if you have an impulse sprinkler that hits the tree in the same place
twice a week or even once a week over 10 years. Most trees that are
outside your yard where you water, do not need additional watering unless
we are having a severe drought. By this I mean it has not rained for 4 to
5 weeks. 3. July 1st to August 15th is not a
good time to put a high nitrogen fertilizer on your lawn, especially
fescue. Low nitrogen with high iron content (10%) is ok and will green up
your grass. If you have adequate nitrogen, iron is what will make your
grass green in our clay soils. Make sure every application of fertilizer
you put on has iron in it. This makes a big difference in our clay soils. I used to
recommend the application of a “Weed and Feed” product about Memorial
Day. However, this application on Turf Type Tall Fescue grass may promote
disease. If you applied a pre-emergent crabgrass preventer with slow
release fertilizer, that is usually enough for the spring and summer. Turf
specialists at the The nitrogen
content in most “Weed and Feed” products is from 28% to 32%. If you do
decide to use it, do not apply after the Fourth of July. The hot weather
during the summer time encourages your lawn to go somewhat dormant and the
application of a high nitrogen fertilizer in July or August may burn your
grass. Then you have the cost of re-seeding. This time of
year set your mower as high as it will go so the hot sun does not dry out
or burn the crown. Let the taller grass provide some shade. Remember the
shorter you mow your grass the more often you have to mow it because
cutting your lawn stimulates growth. Your next application of fertilizer
should be around Labor Day. Copyright 2009
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