Hello 2015! January Landscape Thread!

[tejasrulz]

Thank you for the advice SHA. I can send you the pics but I'm pretty sure it's not grub worms since I have treated for & yes, they are pretty much circular. So looks like I'll be trying the Peat Moss.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Thank you for the advice SHA. I can send you the pics but I'm pretty sure it's not grub worms since I have treated for & yes, they are pretty much circular. So looks like I'll be trying the Peat Moss.

The peat moss is just to stop the advancement. You will still need to treat and probably do so again from time to time.

 

[dmanderson21]

Hi SHA - like everyone else, I really appreciate the landscape threads! I have a quick question regarding the top dressing.

My front lawn is pretty much a postage stamp on a hill. I believe the soil is leaving a lot to be desired as the grass doesn't seem to really take root and any water/rain just quickly runs off and doesn't soak in. I know aeration would be good but I'm having trouble justifying the rental cost for a 5 minute job. Is it possible and/or acceptable to skip that step and phase in a top dressing over time? That is, do a light layer now, another in a couple weeks, etc. My thought is as the top dressing settles in it'll improve the soil but I know I don't want to do too much at a time and kill what grass there is. I just don't know if it'll settle without the aeration. I'd appreciate your insight

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Hi SHA - like everyone else, I really appreciate the landscape threads! I have a quick question regarding the top dressing.

My front lawn is pretty much a postage stamp on a hill. I believe the soil is leaving a lot to be desired as the grass doesn't seem to really take root and any water/rain just quickly runs off and doesn't soak in. I know aeration would be good but I'm having trouble justifying the rental cost for a 5 minute job. Is it possible and/or acceptable to skip that step and phase in a top dressing over time? That is, do a light layer now, another in a couple weeks, etc. My thought is as the top dressing settles in it'll improve the soil but I know I don't want to do too much at a time and kill what grass there is. I just don't know if it'll settle without the aeration. I'd appreciate your insight

It sounds like you have some erosion issues and that you've slowly lost your topsoil via the erosion.

Back when I was a do-it-yourselfer, I would contact some neighbors and see if they wanted to go in with me on renting an aerator. That worked well for me, we split the costs, took turns using it for the one day.

If you want to top dress heavy, you can. Just make it a point to rake the compost around so it disperses into the turf and doesn't clump up in spots. You can also do it in two applications, as you described. It will settle without the aeration. It's not necessary to aerate every year unless you have heavy foot/pet traffic.

Long-term, you might consider terracing the lawn somehow to slow/stop that erosion issue.

 

[dmanderson21]

It sounds like you have some erosion issues and that you've slowly lost your topsoil via the erosion.

Back when I was a do-it-yourselfer, I would contact some neighbors and see if they wanted to go in with me on renting an aerator. That worked well for me, we split the costs, took turns using it for the one day.

If you want to top dress heavy, you can. Just make it a point to rake the compost around so it disperses into the turf and doesn't clump up in spots. You can also do it in two applications, as you described. It will settle without the aeration. It's not necessary to aerate every year unless you have heavy foot/pet traffic.

Long-term, you might consider terracing the lawn somehow to slow/stop that erosion issue.

Thanks for the quick reply! I think it's less am erosion issue and more a "the builder took out all the decent soil" when they cleared the lot for the house (as its only 2 years old and I've never been able to get the roots to really set deep). Only seems to be an issue on the front lawn.

If I do a heavy top dressing do I not need to worry about suffocating the grass? Should I be waiting until the grass starts to come out of dormancy before the top dressing?

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Thanks for the quick reply! I think it's less am erosion issue and more a "the builder took out all the decent soil" when they cleared the lot for the house (as its only 2 years old and I've never been able to get the roots to really set deep). Only seems to be an issue on the front lawn.

If I do a heavy top dressing do I not need to worry about suffocating the grass? Should I be waiting until the grass starts to come out of dormancy before the top dressing?

No, one of the reasons topdressings work so well when you do them now is because your turf is still dormant. So nothing you'll do now will hurt the turf. When it comes out of dormancy, it will just grow through the compost . . . which by then should be well dispersed into the soil.

If you do your own mowing, make sure you're not bagging the clippings. With a soil issue, you need all the help you can get. Recycling the clippings back into the turf puts more organic matter into the equation and those cut blades of grass have nitrogen in them that will be returned to soil to be used again.

Longer waterings will help set deeper root growth.

 

[dmanderson21]

I really appreciate the insight SHA! I have a mulching lawn mower that should help over time but I just got it last year so I'm trying to help it along with the top dressing

 

[Sirhornsalot]

I really appreciate the insight SHA! I have a mulching lawn mower that should help over time but I just got it last year so I'm trying to help it along with the top dressing

One other tidbit. When you fertilize, use a product that is high in potash. That will encourage deeper root growth.

How do I recognize a high potash fertilizer? There are three numbers in every fertilizer product. Each is separated by a dash. For instance, 12-8-6.

The first number is nitrogen. The second number is Phospherous. The third number is Potassium (potash).

So a fertilizer with an 18-18-18 ratio would be ideal for your lawn with a rooting problem.

Do not apply before April 1.