January Landscapes – Setting the tone for the growing season

[Sirhornsalot]

WHAT WE DO IN JANUARY SETS THE TONE FOR THE WHOLE SEASON!​

What in the world could we have to do in the landscape in January? It’s winter, right?

That is what a lot of people think however they could not be more wrong. What we do this month will have an effect on the whole season coming up.

What I’m speaking on is the annual aeration and topdressing of our lawns and beds. This is a project we do in mid to late January each year. The aeration revives our soils by allowing more oxygen into the soil through the thousands of holes created in the lawn.

Aeration also helps combat compacted soils, such as black clay soils that we have in North and Central Texas (blackland prairie). Where you have foot traffic, you will have compaction and turf will recede from these areas. Aeration can bring them back.

If you’re the do-it-yourselfer, make sure you do some extra passes with your aerator over high traffic areas and areas where grass has historically had trouble growing.

Lawn aeration can be done at any point in the calendar, but why would you do this in Fall when your turf is going dormant? By doing this in late winter, you’re providing a benefit right at a time when it will reap the biggest reward – as the turf comes out of dormancy.

How do you get started? Simply rent a core aerator from a machine rental place. You likely will only need it for a couple of hours. It will likely require two people to load/unload this machine. The aerator will have 4-inch round, tubular tines that punch holes into the ground.

As the aerator moves across the lawn, it will deposit the 4-inch soil cores that are punched out by the tines. These will slowly disperse back into the soil with a few rain events.



Stay away from spike aerators and also shoes with spikes built into the soles as a way of walking the lawn while aerating. These types are not real effective. The core aerator is what you want.

Before you begin aeration

Do not begin your aeration until you have placed small marking flags at every sprinkler head location. This will assure you will not damage them with the aerator tines during aeration.

It is best to do your aeration in the few days following a rain event or irrigation cycle. You want the soil to be softer so wetting it will achieve that.

Aeration is the first step in our three-step process. The next part is the topdressing.



Cotton Burr Compost Topdressing

Topdressing can be done with practically any type of compost. But I have found that cotton burr compost is the most nutritious compost I have found. It also has natural clay softening properties which is helpful in black clay soils.

But first, what exactly is topdressing? Topdressing is when a ground-up compost is spread over the lawn. This is not a complete coverage as you will still be able to see the grass. A good coverage will fill everything in between the blades of grass. This is often done by tossing the compost using a shovel and wheelbarrow then raking through it once you’re done tossing it.

So what makes cotton burr compost so special? Understand, the compost is made from 100% cotton plant waste. This is gathered after a cotton growing season. They chop it up and compost it.

The cotton plant is unique in that is a nutrition hog. It sends roots in all directions seeking out as much food (vitamins, minerals, etc) as it can and that nutrition is captured and stored inside the stems and leaves of the plant. So naturally, when this material is broken down, what is left are all of those vitamins and nutrients and beneficial enzymes.

The cotton plant produces cotton that clothes us and the compost that helps feed us. Its compost corrects soil pH and breaks up clay soils.

This process revives the soil, restoring nutrients after a year where the soil was frozen, then washed with rain, and then baked with sunshine through the last spring and summer growing season. Each year your soil takes a beating. This replenishes what is taken away and then some.

Once the aeration and topdressing are done, begin the third part of this project which is applying pre-emergent.

Pre-emergent

Spring weeds will begin germinating in mid to late February. Putting down the pre-emergent well before that time will help deter weeds in your lawn. Pre-emergent should not only be applied to your lawn, but also your beds, too.

There are two reasons why you should not aerate your lawn. First, if you have drip irrigation in the lawn you should not consider aeration. Doing so would cause real damage to the drip irrigation. Secondly, you should not apply pre-emergent to a bed IF you have plants there that are dependent on spring germination, such as Bluebonnets.

Pre-emergent has one simple function – to sterilize soil so that seed germination is prevented from occurring. It will not harm plants, shrubs or trees in any way. The more you apply, the more protected your lawn will be.

Most pre-emergent products have a 4-6 month residual, meaning it keeps working long after you apply it.

Putting the pre-emergent on the top will ensure that any new seeds that blow in as well as any seeds already in the soil below are dealt with.

 

[BigL]

Any recommendations for pre-emergent for the Austin area? Something that I can buy at walmart, HD, or online?

 

[BWilk55]

More of a spring question. I have a right of way that when I moved into the house was just gravel - it was bascially used for parking. I planted a little gem magnolia in the space which has stopped me or anyone else from parking on it. Since that, some thin weedy type grass has grown over the gravel. It's not great but looks a lot better than before.

Any advice for a ground cover or anything else that might grow nicely with gravel underneath? I bought some creeping thyme seeds and plan to give that a try this spring.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Any recommendations for pre-emergent for the Austin area? Something that I can buy at walmart, HD, or online?

I've never found anything worthwhile in the Walmart landscaping dept.

You can find it at Lowes or Home Depot, but it will be labled "Crabgrass Preventer" instead of pre-emergent. But it's the same thing.

Should be a 0-0-7 formula. Some products will try to combine a fertlizer with a pre-emergent, leaving you thinking you can't kill two birds with one stone.. Don't fall for that BS. We don't want to fertilize until April. Pre-emergent is needed now.

Online, you can get it on Amazon in most cases. You should search for "dimension pre-emergent" Dimension is a product name, so if you see other products that are "like Dimension," you can do that as they're usually cheaper. But its the same stuff.

Dimension and Barricade are products that landscapers use. Barricade is best for Fall application (grassy winter weeds) while Dimension is more effective on the broadleafs we see in spring and summer.

Pre-emergent will have a 4-5 month residual, if it's a good product.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

More of a spring question. I have a right of way that when I moved into the house was just gravel - it was bascially used for parking. I planted a little gem magnolia in the space which has stopped me or anyone else from parking on it. Since that, some thin weedy type grass has grown over the gravel. It's not great but looks a lot better than before.

Any advice for a ground cover or anything else that might grow nicely with gravel underneath? I bought some creeping thyme seeds and plan to give that a try this spring.

Is this a full sun location? Or is there shade?

If the area has been used for parking, then the soil has become compacted. Nothing will grow in that. So you need to break up that rocky area and perhaps add some compost to make the soil healthy again. If you can find it, use cotton burr compost.

The rocks can often help as they will conceal moisture and plant roots benefit from that.

For a sunny location, try Homestead Verbena. They are sold in flats. They spread in all directions and produce large clusters of deep purple blooms. Verbena is native to Texas. Also comes in red blooms varieties.

For shadey locations, you can use Purple Heart or Asian Jasmine. Purple Heart is perennial but in the Austin area they may not go dormant at all. Purple Heart at least gives you some color.

 

[BWilk55]

Is this a full sun location? Or is there shade?

If the area has been used for parking, then the soil has become compacted. Nothing will grow in that. So you need to break up that rocky area and perhaps add some compost to make the soil healthy again. If you can find it, use cotton burr compost.

The rocks can often help as they will conceal moisture and plant roots benefit from that.

For a sunny location, try Homestead Verbena. They are sold in flats. They spread in all directions and produce large clusters of deep purple blooms. Verbena is native to Texas. Also comes in red blooms varieties.

For shadey locations, you can use Purple Heart or Asian Jasmine. Purple Heart is perennial but in the Austin area they may not go dormant at all. Purple Heart at least gives you some color.

Thanks SHA

I do see a lot of purple heart and Asain Jasmine around the neighborhood here in New Orleans.

 

[Texasbigfoot]

put down sunniland pre-emerg last night lets goooooo!

 

[Sirhornsalot]

put down sunniland pre-emerg last night lets goooooo!

Good man, and right on time.