Thursday, October 31, 2013

Lawn Care Advice- Watering lawns on a Well

Hi Norm 
In response to your questions about "being on well water not always being able to keep up with the watering regimen."

Here are some suggestions.

1.  First and foremost- mow the lawn at a high setting. Mow no shorter than 3 inches. You could go to 3 1/2 to 4 inches even. First of all, the longer grass blades will create more "shade" on the soil surface and reduce evaporation of any moisture that is there. Secondly, the depth of grass roots are proportional to the the length of the blades, so the longer the grass blades, the deep the roots will be. Soil moisture is always greater deeper in the soil.

2.  If you do any watering, do it when it is least likely to evaporate. Thus early morning is the best time. At noon on a sunny day, some of the water will evaporate before it has a chance to percolate into the soil.

There are some treatments that work best with water - for instance, nematodes to reduce grubs. After a treatment such as this, water the most important parts of the lawn first. You may say, if I can keep the front lawn protected, that is more important than the back lawn that fewer people will see. 

3. Increase the water capacity of the soil. Sandy soils are very poor at retaining water. Clay soils will retain moisture to a point, but once they get dry they are hard to accept moisture. In either case, the best is to add more organic matter. Organic matter will increase the water holding capacity of sandy soils, and will help to break up clay soils so that the water will become more available to the lawn. Organic matter is best added after a core aeration, so that the organic matter has a better chance of getting into the soil profile. Organic matter sources can include black soil, peat moss, composted manure, as well as other mixtures that have been formulated for lawns. 

We do have dry compost that is spreadable with fertilizer spreaders.

4. Sometimes the best way to use water is to wash the car. That always seems to bring rain soon after.



Saturday, October 26, 2013

Turf King Hamilton shared an Instagram photo with you

Hello,

Turf King Hamilton just shared an Instagram photo with you:


view full image

"#fall #lawns need #lawncare "

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Turf King Hamilton shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,

Turf King Hamilton just shared an Instagram photo with you:


view full image

"#autumn #fallgrass "

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Turf King Hamilton shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,

Turf King Hamilton just shared an Instagram photo with you:


view full image

"#fallgrass #autumn "

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Turf King Hamilton shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,

Turf King Hamilton just shared an Instagram photo with you:


view full image

"#Springblooming #forsythia #blooms in #October "

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Turf King Hamilton shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,

Turf King Hamilton just shared an Instagram photo with you:


view full image

"More #grasses in#autumn"

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Turf King Hamilton shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,

Turf King Hamilton just shared an Instagram photo with you:


view full image

"#symphoricarpos albus #snowberry outside the restaurant window #nativeplant"

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Turf King Hamilton shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,

Turf King Hamilton just shared an Instagram photo with you:


view full image

"#catchfruitflies with this #simpleremedy of #vinegar #soap #honey #fruitfly"

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Keep Grass seed Moist

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Turf King Hamilton shared an Instagram photo with you

Hi there,

Turf King Hamilton just shared an Instagram photo with you:


view full image

"#lawncare in the autumn #mulchleaves to a depth of 2" to add #organicmatter to your #soil"

Thanks,
The Instagram Team

Why Not Water your Lawn in the Evening

Harry asks
An inspection was done. One recommendation is
' Avoid watering in evening'
Please explain the reason. I always thought this would minimise evaporation.


Hi Henry
 
Watering in the evening can lead to a higher incidence of turfgrass diseases.
When the grass is damp heading into the night time, the pores of the blades are more likely to be open. This increases the risk of fungal spores entering and infecting the plant. Most fungus diseases are more prevalent in moist conditions.
 
Avoid watering late in the day that will result in the grass blades being wet going into the night time. Although this cannot always be helped when the weather causes it, we can reduce the risk of infection if we can choose to water at other times.
 
Yes, less water is lost to evaporation in the evening, but mornings would give similar conditions.
 
There may be times when the weather is dry enough that watering can be done after supper, but the grass blades will be dry before night falls.
 

Before and After photo


Lawn care works.
As you can see from the before photo in April, this lawn was totally toast.
After seeding in April, the lawn has recovered, but then the neighbour's car in the driveway did a number on the tree and the lawn
--
Gerry Okimi
Turf King Hamilton Halton Haldimand
95 Hempstead Dr Unit 14, Hamilton ON L8W 2Y6
905.318.6677
Website: http://www.turf-king.ca/
Email: hamilton@turf-king.ca