Gardens

Lawn Care 101

Steps to Green Up Your Grass

    Sure, the grass could always be greener, but, unfortunately, turf grass is the most misunderstood and abused plant in the garden. And so taken for granted.
    Our expectations for lawns are huge: They must remain a lush and thick carpet, stay a rich, deep green in color, remain weed-free and all the while suffer critter abuse, big and little feet tromping all over it, random watering practices and all manner of toxic sprays and granules dispensed with little regard to its needs.
    We all seem to forget that a beautiful green lawn is a living thing and deserves the same care and attention as that prized rhododendron, Japanese maple, bed of pansies or organic vegetable garden.
    All plants process their life-giving food by the photosynthesis process through the leaves, and we just keep cutting and cutting and cutting. What’s a poor lawn to do? A simple step of adjusting the mower to cut the grass at 3 inches to 4 inches will go a long way to a healthier lawn that is better able to process nutrients with less maintenance. The taller grass will also help conserve moisture and help crowd out weeds. Rather than tossing the clippings into the can, leave them on the lawn to decompose—this nitrogen is a free lunch for the grass. Lightly rake the clippings so they drift down to the soil level. An old practice that needs to be revived is to spread a 1-inch layer of organic compost over your lawn every spring and fall—just use a broom to sweep it into the lawn. This feeds the soil and gives the lawn a slow release of much-needed nutrients. This may be all the fertilizer a healthy lawn needs, but in our sandy soil, several supplemental applications of organic fertilizers in late winter and late summer might be called for.
    What about watering? Over-watering not only wastes a very precious resource, but it can also actually harm your lawn. Shallow, frequent water keeps the roots shallow and consequently unable to withstand quick or harsh changes in temperature or moisture. Waterlogged soil deprives the plants of much-needed oxygen. Water deeply several times a week, less in cool weather and not at all during the rainy season. Make those roots follow the water table down deep into the soil. Give your irrigation system a maintenance checkup every spring to insure it is doing its job properly. If “by hand” is your watering system, remember that in order to water a lawn to a depth of 12 inches, it usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes, so do not just make a quick pass with that nozzle.
    Location, location, location: Just as in real estate and with all the other plants in your garden, the location of a lawn is critical to its success. Not all grasses are created equal. Most, if not all, need at least five to six hours of direct sun to flourish. It is possible to get grass seed blends that are a combination of different seeds, some that are more tolerant of a little shade than other. This works well in areas where the direct sunlight is variable. Our lawn at home gets full sun from May through August and virtually none from November through January. We have found that a shady blend works well here, but we still have to replace it every four to five years, and fortunately, it is the size of a postage stamp.
    As a general rule, we don’t have a big problem with lawn insects here in Alameda; however, having said that, if you find that grubs are an issue in your garden, the beneficial nematodes are a wonderful natural solution. Actually, these little good guys are a great solution to many of our garden pests that live in the soil at some point—flea larvae, grubs, earwigs and even coddling moth larvae.
    Now that we are all aware of our carbon footprint, I think it only makes sense to evaluate our landscape every now and then to see where we can improve our relationship with nature. Lawns serve a very useful purpose aesthetically and environmentally, but as with many other things, moderation, modification and education should be our guides in how to use and care for them.