"Lord what fools these mortals be." - Puck (III.ii.115) in William Shakespeare's Midsummer night's dream.
It is doubtful that the Bard, ever considered southern Utah landscape maintenance when he penned this classic and bawdy comedy masterpiece. However, just as a rose by any other name is still a rose, a true statement by any other interpretation continues to be a true statement.
In southern Utah, at the height of our extreme heat, clay soil and quest for green grass, we foolishly attempt outlandish to out-duel mother nature. When summer heat and stress are prevalent, we seem unable to accept the browning of grass and wilting of shrubs without a fight.
So fighting on we go. One of the normal responses to extreme temperatures this time of year is to add additional minutes and start times to our irrigation routine. This is all well and good except mother nature often foils the foolish mortal with a new and better problem.
One of the only ways to keep turf grass green this time of year is to increase water. However, regular morning watering does not allow sufficient absorption to prevent root zone drying and surface scorch. So, we add additional watering times for early evening. That mitigates the drying cycle and deepens the overall water penetration at the root zone.
Unfortunately, the night-time watering is also the final ingredient in the recipe for a midsummer night-mare. Dark, warm and wet puts the fun in fungus!
Once fungus is present, there is a protracted battle to isolate and control the condition. Preventative chemical treatment is required as is sanitation practices to quarentine spread to other areas.
If you are unsure if your brown spots are fungus or caused by some other issue, consult a local resource such as a Master Gardner, commercial landscaper, horticulturalist or other expert to help you to identify and treat for the problem.
Of course, the best way to combat fungus is to have a healthy organism in the first place. But if you see browning, and have (1) checked water delivery (minutes, frequency and efficacy), (2) ruled out other pests (grubs, dogs and contaminants), then fungus is the next likely culprit this time of year.
Anti-fungal chemicals, properly used and applied according to the application rate indicated on the label, can defineatly help your lawn look its best.
Check with your landscaper, local nursery or county extension office for more help with establishing a pro-active chemical budget. Good luck and remember:
If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended:
That you have but slumbered here,
While these visions did appear;
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend.
If you pardon, we will mend.
- Puck (V. Epilogue. 1–8) in William Shakespeare's Midsummer night's dream.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Best watering strategy for greater St. George, UT
One of the most important aspects to a great landscape result is the watering schedule.
First things first. If you maintain your own irrigation system, give your sprinkler system a tune up. Start with the clock. Taking a few minutes to read the manual will be beneficial. Familiarizing yourself with the features and controls will allow you to control the watering schedule such as which days of the week to water and how many minutes each station will water.
Next, observe the sprinklers as each zone is watering. Many times problems can be detected with a simple visual inspection. However, water delivery problems are sometimes difficult to see without an experienced eye. A good rule of thumb is to replace filters and nozzles every spring and replace heads every two years.
Check for excessive run-off. Consider the slope of terrain, thatch layer and soil composition when determining the length of time to water. Consider a plan of low duration (5 - 10 minutes) with multiple starts.
You can also check with your local County Extension office for recommendation specific to your situation and landscape.
First things first. If you maintain your own irrigation system, give your sprinkler system a tune up. Start with the clock. Taking a few minutes to read the manual will be beneficial. Familiarizing yourself with the features and controls will allow you to control the watering schedule such as which days of the week to water and how many minutes each station will water.
Next, observe the sprinklers as each zone is watering. Many times problems can be detected with a simple visual inspection. However, water delivery problems are sometimes difficult to see without an experienced eye. A good rule of thumb is to replace filters and nozzles every spring and replace heads every two years.
Check for excessive run-off. Consider the slope of terrain, thatch layer and soil composition when determining the length of time to water. Consider a plan of low duration (5 - 10 minutes) with multiple starts.
You can also check with your local County Extension office for recommendation specific to your situation and landscape.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Turf aeration
One of the questions that I frequently get is "how often should I aerate my turf grass?"
The answer is simple. Whenever it needs it. Okay, a little background. Aerating turf means puncturing the thatch and top soil layer to allow water and air to better access the root zone. In most landscape, and for a variety of reasons which shall be addressed in another post (if ever) root zones are fairly shallow perhaps 3-5" in depth.
There are different ways to aerate turf including spiked shoes (no joke), tined hand tools (think pitch-fork) and the most common, commercial aerating machines. But as to the question of frequency...
The first consideration is soil composition. Southern Utah soil is naturally sandy or contains significant amounts of clay and non-loamy material.
Sandy soil allows water to penetrate but does not retain water at an optimal root zone depth (say 8" to 24" below ground). Soil that is too sandy acts as a sieve and water is quickly lost into the ground.
On the other hand, clay soil inhibits water penetration and surface irrigation tends to stand or run off. That is bad for the grass and bad for the water budget. Normally the longer the water sits on the ground, the better depth of absorption can be achieved. Super high clay content is the opposite problem of sandy soil and will cause the water to stand too long leading to fungus, root rot and other problems. So examine a fist full of soil. If the soil has fine grainy sand, you are probably losing water and minerals. If the soil balls up like silly putty when you squeeze it in your hand you have clay. "Good soil" will hold together lightly and crumble in a nice loam.
Another method is to observe the water delivery. Allowing for slope of terrain, if the sprinkler water runoff is excessive, you probably have a high clay content in the soil and aeration may help the water penetrate and provide better water retention.
Next factor is thatch. Thatch is nothing more than a build up of organic material above the root zone. Most commercial landscapers do not use mulching mowers; instead bag and remove clippings each time the turf is cut which reduces accumulation of thatch zone. Even so, over time residual clippings may buildup faster than nature can break them down and the thatch zone may divert water laterally rather than allow for surface penetration and root zone watering. A simple way to check for thatch is to brush your fingers through the turf at the soil line. If more than an inch of thatch is present throughout, aeration can help punch holes to let the water and air do their thing.
Finally, the overall maintenance schedule has relevance for if/when to aerate. While aeration can be done in any season, I recommend late winter or early fall. The reasons are twofold. There is less mechanical watering taking place and the likelihood for damage to sprinkler heads or pipes is less severe than at other times of the year.
Also, when pre-emergent chemicals are applied, usually in mid springtime and or autumn, aeration should be avoided for 90-120 thereafter. The nature of aeration simply punctures the pre-emergent barrier and reduces the efficacy of the chemical.
So accounting for soil composition, watering and chemical schedule and thatch buildup I recommend most southern Utah lawns be aerated at least one time per year. Happy humus!
The answer is simple. Whenever it needs it. Okay, a little background. Aerating turf means puncturing the thatch and top soil layer to allow water and air to better access the root zone. In most landscape, and for a variety of reasons which shall be addressed in another post (if ever) root zones are fairly shallow perhaps 3-5" in depth.
There are different ways to aerate turf including spiked shoes (no joke), tined hand tools (think pitch-fork) and the most common, commercial aerating machines. But as to the question of frequency...
The first consideration is soil composition. Southern Utah soil is naturally sandy or contains significant amounts of clay and non-loamy material.
Sandy soil allows water to penetrate but does not retain water at an optimal root zone depth (say 8" to 24" below ground). Soil that is too sandy acts as a sieve and water is quickly lost into the ground.
On the other hand, clay soil inhibits water penetration and surface irrigation tends to stand or run off. That is bad for the grass and bad for the water budget. Normally the longer the water sits on the ground, the better depth of absorption can be achieved. Super high clay content is the opposite problem of sandy soil and will cause the water to stand too long leading to fungus, root rot and other problems. So examine a fist full of soil. If the soil has fine grainy sand, you are probably losing water and minerals. If the soil balls up like silly putty when you squeeze it in your hand you have clay. "Good soil" will hold together lightly and crumble in a nice loam.
Another method is to observe the water delivery. Allowing for slope of terrain, if the sprinkler water runoff is excessive, you probably have a high clay content in the soil and aeration may help the water penetrate and provide better water retention.
Next factor is thatch. Thatch is nothing more than a build up of organic material above the root zone. Most commercial landscapers do not use mulching mowers; instead bag and remove clippings each time the turf is cut which reduces accumulation of thatch zone. Even so, over time residual clippings may buildup faster than nature can break them down and the thatch zone may divert water laterally rather than allow for surface penetration and root zone watering. A simple way to check for thatch is to brush your fingers through the turf at the soil line. If more than an inch of thatch is present throughout, aeration can help punch holes to let the water and air do their thing.
Finally, the overall maintenance schedule has relevance for if/when to aerate. While aeration can be done in any season, I recommend late winter or early fall. The reasons are twofold. There is less mechanical watering taking place and the likelihood for damage to sprinkler heads or pipes is less severe than at other times of the year.
Also, when pre-emergent chemicals are applied, usually in mid springtime and or autumn, aeration should be avoided for 90-120 thereafter. The nature of aeration simply punctures the pre-emergent barrier and reduces the efficacy of the chemical.
So accounting for soil composition, watering and chemical schedule and thatch buildup I recommend most southern Utah lawns be aerated at least one time per year. Happy humus!
Welcome
Hi and welcome to the RainMaker All-Season Maintenance web log (blog). The purpose in having this blog is to provide information and entertainment related to the community and world we share.
Most of the time I will try to relate my blog entries to something having to do with landscaping; but I make no promises. Sometimes it will relate to what is on my mind, in the news or some misconception or frequently asked question.
Most of the time I will try to relate my blog entries to something having to do with landscaping; but I make no promises. Sometimes it will relate to what is on my mind, in the news or some misconception or frequently asked question.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
