The Rural Voice, 2000-05, Page 43e
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It
one inch per week. So set your
swing /reciprocating sprinkler on in
the early morning or early evening
and to help you measure set a can in
the ground to collect the water from
the sprinkler. Watering during the
heat of the day is a waste as the water
evaporates almost as quickly as you
apply it. Try to avoid watering late
' into the night as it will encourage a
host of diseases.
Cutting. Now that rates a
discussion in our household every
week and more often during the hot
summer. Teens hate to cut grass and
if it is a little longer in the semi -
shaded areas it is felt that the whole
lawn needs cutting. One idea that I
have been trying to alter is that
shorter is better. Not so.
Grass likes to be
about three
inches long.
This
enables it
to
support ov
a
strong
healthy root system.
Keep your lawn mower
blade sharp. Dull blades
and cutting grass during the
moist evening or after a rain
will leave open wounds pnd infection
will set in. Cutting more often
stresses the grass plant as does
cutting off more than a third of its
height at one time making it more
vulnerable to injury.
The next discussion surrounds
clippings. There are some snazzy
mowers that pick up the clippings for
you to dispose gf in your compost
pile. Great idea, but what is feeding
the lawn? Clippings, if left on the
lawn, will break down and become
compost for the grass. Excessive
piles of clippings will smother the
grass and if that is the case you will
have to remove them. Raking is
another matter. We only rake to
remove debris like fine stone from
the snowblowing, twigs and dog
matter. Thatch is a buildup of dead
grass material and can pose a
problem if deeper than half an inch.
Then a brisk raking and reseeding
Gardening
will fix that problem.
I learned last year at a workshop
sponsored by the Huron Stewardship
Council that lawns need regular
aerating. A family of four with a pet
create enough compacting of their
lawn that you could aerate about
three times a year. Aerating allows
air and water into the compacted
ground. You can use the tines of a
fork, or run around with garden
spikes strapped to your shoes. Heavy
aeration machines leave cores on
your lawn that you can break up but
often their weight does more
compacting.
Another issue is grubs. The past
two summers have been hot and
unusually dry,
Q creating ideal
conditions for cinch
bugs and beetles.
These lawn pests
rt have been
Ir,t wreaking
r., havoc in the
lawn world
— eating
grass roots
and killing not only
patches of grass but
whole lawns. Grass seed
suppliers are having a
heyday, and guys who
spend hours cutting
grass, spraying,
fertilizing and trimming must
be pulling their hair out.
A healthy lawn is much harder to
destroy so I recommend the
following grass seeds for when you
are reseeding during the next few
weeks: turf -type perennial rye grass,
tall fescue, fine fescue and check out
some of the shorter varieties of
clover. Next month I will tell you
about the wide variety of critters that
enjoy your lawn and what you can do
about themA
Rhea Hamilton -Seeger and her
husband raise two children at their
home near Auburn. She is a skilled
cook and gardener:
TE -EM
V FA RM
Where wonderful ideas
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The greenhouses are a sight to behold.
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A must stop for the gardener who
appreciates top quality and selection
Bring your containers and we will lovingly
fill them with the plants you like.
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Sat. & Sun
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482-3020
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MAY 2000 39