Thursday, June 25, 2009

Gee, McGuinty, thanks a lot for all the new weeds and grubs

Ottawa Citizen

June 24, 2009 Wednesday
Final Edition

Gee, McGuinty, thanks a lot for all the new weeds and grubs

BYLINE: John Angus, The Ottawa Citizen

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A13

LENGTH: 340 words
I would like to thank Dalton McGuinty for the legislation banning herbicides and pesticides from our lawns. For the past two years, I hired a lawn care company in the summer to dump herbicides and pesticides to reduce weeds and grubs. This had the effect of enormously altering my lawn's health and appearance. I particularly noted a reduction in grubs, which were everywhere.
Now, thanks to this legislation, I can't use herbicides or pesticides so my lawn is again half covered with weeds, and is a playground where the grubs and ants roam free.
Yet my neighbours, many of them elderly, are much more active now, frantically attacking weeds on their previously immaculate lawns with various implements of destruction. It's true that some of them will probably have health problems, as a result, but that will only provide extra work for the health care industry.
As for us middle-aged folks, particularly those with bad backs, well that's what sick leave is for.
McGuinty must be receiving all kinds of complaints about the ban --God knows my neighbours despise him for it.
But I think his decision to please activists and take the decision away from city councils, which can be swayed by the wishes of homeowners, will surely pay political dividends down the road. He knows what's best for people -- or he knows what his advisers tell him is politically advantageous.
Children will soon be able to run and play amidst the weeds, grubs, ants and thistle, without fear that the grass that used to be there has been treated by a herbicide rigidly tested, controlled and approved by Health Canada. Chemicals are bad, every single one of them, and with Mr. McGuinty's help, there will soon be fewer of them in our lives.
Oh, the homeowners may curse him now, but one day they'll come to love their new weed lawns, and when Liberal candidates come visiting next election, they'll be gifted with the wondrous greenery of our suburban world.
I may not wait, in fact. I may ship Mr. McGuinty a box of dandelions to brighten up his work day.
John Angus,
Ottawa

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:
or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Leaner green lawns

If you're looking for ways to tighten your budget, make landscaping and lawn care a DIY project.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)
If you would like more information, please Contact us
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Copyright 2009 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.

Another Yellow Flower to Watch For


Most people are aware of and know what a dandelion flower looks like. And it's okay if you like them because you're into dandelion wine or just pretty yellow flowers

Bird's foot trefoil is a lesser know yellow flower. It it not often found in lawns. You are more likely to see it along the roadsides. Especially roads without sidewalks, just near the rural boundaries or along the edge of a field.

What is the significance of this flower? It's what we call an indicator plant. When birds foot trefoil is in bloom, it indicates the chinch bugs are at the height of egg laying.

Of course, after the eggs come the baby chinch bugs or nymphs. These little guys like to suck the sap out of grasses. Enough of them can do a lot of damage to a lot of lawns.

Chinch bug Article in Library.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:
or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)
If you would like more information, please Contact us
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Copyright 2009 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.


Friday, June 19, 2009

Why do some people get chinch bugs?


A homeowner asked, "Will I need chinch bug treatment every year?"
And, "Why do I have chinch bugs and my neighbour doesn't?"

Chinch bugs like warm, sunny conditions. They're like "fair weather" enemies. You are most likely to find them in the sunniest spot on your lawn. Check for them on the south facing lawns, away from trees, shrubs, even fences. Any where that there isn't any shade.

Chinch bugs overwinter in the bushes, along the house foundations, anywhere they can hide for the winter. They are back on the lawns now. (a bit earlier this year than most years.) We are finding them now. This picture is not very clear but it show how small the chinch bugs are.

With the new organic treatments for chinch bugs, not all chinch bugs will be eliminated. We can achieve a level of control that permits the lawns to not show visible damage. This means a few chinch bugs will survive to come back another year.

There are a few things you can do to reduce chinch bug damage and populations.
1. Mow the lawn high. We recommend 3" mowing height. The longer grass blades shade the soil and keep it cooler. A little bit extra shade may be enough to discourage the chinch bugs.
2. Water deeply and infrequently. A stronger, healthier lawn will withstand chinch bug damage better. Chinch bugs suck the sap from the grass. Damage is always worse, for instance, on bentgrass, which is a shallow rooted variety. Deep watering encourages deep roots.
3. Overseed with perennial ryegrass with endophytes. Short version- endophytes discourage chinch bugs. So by having more endophytic perennial ryegrass in your lawn = less chinch bugs.

And the neighbour- maybe he has more shade and is doing all the right things. Sometimes, though it's the neighbour who neglects his lawn that seems to avoid chinch bugs, while you look after your lawn and why do you get the chinch bugs?

I guess, you have to look at it from the point of the chinch bugs. If you were a chinch bug looking for a lawn to feed on, would you choose a neglected lawn or would you choose the green, succulent one that a homeowner can take pride in? Since chinch bugs are sucking insects, small wonder they pick the nice lawns. One of the downsides of having a nice, green lawn.

Chinch bug Article in Library.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:
or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)
If you would like more information, please Contact us
Follow us on Twitter  http://twitter.com/turfkingofgreen
Join our Facebook page  

Copyright 2009 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.