Men's Breakfast class with Dr. Rodney St. John about lawn care.

1. Lawn Edition
Olathe Christian Church 2010

2. Healthy Yards and
Communities
• http://www.kansasgreenyards.org/
• Info to maintain healthy landscapes
and protect the environment.

3. Healthy Yards and
Communities
• Most people think that maintaining a
nice looking yard is bad for the
environment.
• On the contrary, an un-healthy, un-
managed lawn can be more harmful to
the environment than a healthy green
yard.

4. Healthy Green Lawns
• Filter air and water.
– Research shows green grass removes
pollutants from air and traps sediments
and nutrients from entering run-off water.
• Dead or Damaged lawns have more soil and
nutrient loss, polluting our surface waters.

5. Healthy Green Lawns
• Cool the environment.
– “Heat Island Affect” in urban areas, with
no grass
• Healthy Landscapes can be
maintained with little or no negative
impact on the environment.
– For more info on how to maintain healthy
yards, KSUTurf.com and
KansasGreenYards.org

6. http://blogs.ksre.ksu.edu/ksuturf/

7. Good Lawns Include 3 Things
1. Start with good soil.
2. Picking the best species and varieties.
– Get species and variety
recommendations from your local
agent and KSUTurf.com
5. Work

8. Busting Myths on Established
Lawns
• Today we won’t discuss
renovation….new soil….new grasses
• Today we will talk about the WORK
part.

9. Mowing Myths
• Always bag your clippings….they cause
thatch.
• Mow it really short in late fall and early
spring.
• Mulching tree leaves into lawn is damaging
to the lawn.
• Mowing short will make my yard like a golf
course.

10. Mowing Myths
• Always bag your clippings….they cause thatch.
– Clippings don’t cause thatch…don’t bag.
• Mow it really short in late fall and early spring.
– Maybe in spring, but could cause problems.
• Mulching tree leaves into lawn is damaging to
the lawn.
– Nope they are fine.
• Mowing short will make my yard like a golf
course.
– Nope. Special grasses, special soils

11. Mowing: Basic
Information at one
• Don’t remove more than 1/3 of blade
time

12. Don't Bag if You Don't Have To
• Clippings don’t contribute much to
thatch.
– Don’t bag your clippings!
– Zoysia may be exception but still don’t
bag.
• If you remove clippings,
– must add 1/4 more nitrogen to get same
response from decomposing clippings.

13. Mowing Regularly Makes A Difference
 Limits ability of some weeds
 Promote healthy turf by stimulating
lateral growth
 Too often, people wait too long to mow
 Grass becomes tall and less dense..it
doesn’t spread out
 Mow seedlings as soon as they are at
desired height.

14. Mowing: Height of Cut
• Kentucky Bluegrass: 2 to 3.5 inches.
• Tall Fescue: 2 ¾ to 3 ¾ inches.
• Bermuda and Zoysia: 9/16 to 2 inches.
• Buffalograss: 2 to 3 inches or no mow.

15. FERTILITY

16. Fertilizer Myths
• Lawns do not need to be fertilized.
• Fertilizing grass poisons the
environment.
• The numbers on the bag or the kind/
brand of fertilizer I buy doesn’t matter.

17. Fertilizer Myths
• Lawns do not need to be fertilized.
– Almost all lawns need some fertilizer to
maintain health.
• Fertilizing grass poisons the
environment.
– Properly fertilized lawns are healthier and
better for the environment. Once the
fertilizer is applied to the lawn it stays in
the lawn.

18. Fertilizer Myths
• The numbers on the bag or the kind/
brand of fertilizer I buy doesn’t matter.
– The numbers are percentages of nutrients
in the bag. Higher numbers=more
nutrients which means you need to use
less of that product to achieve the same
result.
– Brands and kinds are formulated different.
Garden fertilizer is not good for lawns and
vice-versa. Coop brands vs turf brands.

19. Under-Fertilization
 Most lawns require some annual
Nitrogen fertilization
 Promotes growth
 Helps maintain dense lawn
 Which prevents
weeds

20. Over-Fertilization
 Too much Nitrogen can cause over-
stimulation.
 Resulting in lush-soft growth
 That can be more susceptible to
 Traffic Damage
 Heat Stress
 Disease

21. Fertilization - Cool Season Grasses
3-5lb N / 1000sqft / year
 1-1.5lb N in Sept. Slow-release
 1-1.5lb N in Nov. quick release or
winterizer fertilizer
 If needed or desired,
 1-1.5lb N in May slow release

22. Keep It Out of the Street!!!!
• Once the fertilizer is in the lawn it
stays in the lawn, but any on the street
or sidewalk/driveway will wash into
storm sewers with rain.
• Not a major source of pollution, but do
your part to protect the environment.

23. Irrigation Myths
• The more I water the better the grass
will perform.
• Water in the afternoon to cool the
lawn.
• Water a little everyday.

24. • Promotes deep rooting
• Allows air to root system
• Allow surface to dry

25. Turf Irrigation
• Water in early morning just before
dawn.
– Less disease
– More Efficient
• Better water pressure
• Less wind
• Less evaporation

26. Thatch Myths
• Thatch is bad and I don’t want to have
any.

27. Thatch
• Some thatch is GOOD it cushions, acts like a
mulch, helps filter pesticides.
• Excessive N and water aid in thatch
accumulation.
• Too much will keep roots near surface, promote
disease.
– More than ¾ inch is too much.

28. Aerate for Thatch & for Healthy Grass
 Improves water and air movement into
soil.
 Roots need air to breathe
 More Air = More Roots = Healthier Grass
 How often?
 Depends on use of lawn.
 Kids, dogs, parties, heavy soil = every
year
 None of above, sandy soils = every 3 or
more years.

29. When to Aerate
Aeratio
n of Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Cool If you have Best
Season to Time
Warm
Season

30. Weed Myths
• I had a good lawn and then the weeds
came in and killed my yard.
• I should always use the weed and
feed.

31. Prevention of Weed Introduction
 The best defense against weeds is a
healthy, vigorous lawn.
 Weeds don't cause bad lawns, they are
the result of a bad lawn.

32. Weed and Feed
• Only needed if you have weeds all
over your yard.
• If not, then use plain fertilizer and spot
spray your weeds.
– Cheaper and less potential impact to the
environment.

33. Spring Time = Time To Control
Annual Grassy Weeds

34. Crabgrass Germination
 Germination generally coincides with
flowering of redbuds and forsythia.
 Has high light requirement for optimum
germination, thus, thick turf discourages
germination.

35. Spring Time = Pre-Emergent

36. Preemergence Herbicides
 Most products also inhibit growth of
seedling turfgrasses, and root growth of
newly sodded turf.
 You must wait before you can seed or sod
turfgrass (usually at least 60 days).
 Scott’s Step One plus Halts
 Barricade, Dimension, Pendamethalin

38. Clay Busters
• Applying Gypsum or some special
clay-busting, clay-loosening spray or
chemical will loosen my clay yard and
improve it.

39. Clay Busters
• Applying Gypsum or some special
clay-busting, clay-loosening spray or
chemical will loosen my clay yard and
improve it.
– NO! Only the addition of organic matter
will loosen clay soils. Gypsum loosens
salt affected clay soils, not our clay soil.

40. Mole Myths
• Moles eat grubs…kill the grubs get rid
of the moles.
– Nope, moles prefer to eat worms.
• Use chewing gum, castor oil, tobacco
to get rid of moles.
– Trap them. Or use poison.
– Talprid

41. Seeding Myths
• The best time to seed a yard is in the spring.
– Fall is best, but seed when you have bare spots.
• If I let my grass grow tall it will go to seed
and seed itself.
– Nope.
• All grass seed is the same.
– Not true, large differences in species and
varieties.
– NTEP.org or KSUTurf.com

42. Johnson County Extension
Office
• Lots of paper publications on lawns,
gardens, flowers, trees, cooking, cleaning,
budgeting, …almost everything.
• Soil Tests, plant, weed, insect, and disease
ID.
• 119th and Ridgeview (NW corner)
• www.KSRE.KSU.edu

44. Diseases
• Tall Fescue – Brown patch
– Symptoms appear in late May-July
– Warm and humid
– Prefers over fertilized lawns
– Usually too hot and dry in Aug

45. Tall Fescue – Brown Patch

46. Brown Patch

47. Disease ID – Plant Path Lab
• Take a sample into your local
extension office.
• Bring 3-4 inch plug with 2-3 inches of
soil.
• Bring dying turf, not dead.
• Ziploc baggie, no wet paper towels or
anything.
• Overnight mail it.

48. Common Postemergence Herbicides
• 2,4-D
• Weed-B-Gone, Weed-B-Gone Max Plus Crabgrass
Control
• Trimec products
• Products containing triclopyr –good for clover, ivy, violet
• Weed Free Zone
• Weed Stop
• Drive – quinclorac for grassy weeds, field bindweed, Clover
• Watch the ones that say Grass and Weed Killer
– They will kill your lawn too.
– Read the Label.