With winter ending we open our windows, bringing in the
welcome smell of fresh flowers and freshly cut grass. The wonderful aroma of
spring also reminds us it’s time to turn our attention to some outside home
maintenance. While walking my dog enjoying this beautiful weather I have seen
people raking their leaves in preparation to mow their lawns. What are the best
lawn maintenance practices I wondered?
So here is what my research turned up; land area collectively occupied by U.S.
lawns equals a land mass greater than that of Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode
Island combined. Wow that is a lot of lawn to mow and rake! What about all
those leaves and grass clippings, do we really need to rake them and have them
hauled away and place into landfills? Actually studies show that
mulching fallen tree leaves into your lawn is good for the grass and good for
the environment. Some homeowners and municipalities compost leaves and yard
waste which can later be used as an amendment to flower beds or spread out over
lawns. Composting is a great use for this organic matter. Mulching
the leaves into the lawn also helps with those pesky weeds.
The best method for weed control is mowing the leaves with a
mulching mower and letting them fall to the soil, right where they are. The
repeated mowing needed to mulch the leaves actually thickens the grass by
encouraging it to grow laterally. Healthy grass will push weeds out of the
lawn. Grass clippings are also good to mulch into the lawn. Grass clippings
contain an estimated 4% nitrogen that can be returned to the grass plant if
they are allowed to remain on the lawn.
The health of a lawn is very dependent on the health of the
soil. The best defense against weeds is a healthy lawn, and a health lawn needs
healthy soil. A soil lacking in specific nutrients can promote weed growth, and
death of the grass. A soil test provides information on the soil’s actual
nutrient status. How does one know what the nature of your soil is? Contact
your local County Cooperative Extension office. They will tell you how to take
a soil sample, and they will examine the soil and let you know what is needed
to promote the growth of healthy grass, or shrubs, or flowers. In our Savannah
area you can contact the Chatham County Cooperative Extension office
(http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/chatham/)
at 124 Bull Street or the
Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens located in Southwest Chatham County on Highway
17. There is an $8.00 fee for each routine sample, but the cost is well worth
it.
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