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The Trouble With Turf
By Mary K. Stickley
Why do you have a lawn at your home? Is it because you and your
children play outside, filling your afternoons with bocce ball and croquet? Or maybe you have a dog that needs
a place to run? How about large lawn parties?
Most likely, you have a lawn because it came with your house.
It is estimated that in 2005 alone, Americans spent $40 billion on their lawns, for fertilizers, weed sprays,
insecticides, water, and gas and oil for their mowers. And on average, a homeowner spent 150 hours a year working
on the lawn.
In addition to time and expense, the lawn has huge ecological issues. It provides little habitat for native species.
It can create soil compaction, water and nutrient runoff, and pollution from fertilizers and mowers. Insecticides
kill beneficial insects as well as pests. And there is support for the theory that birds and other insect-eating
animals are affected by these pesticides as well.
So having a large lawn, when cared for in the customary way, makes little sense. But does this mean we can't have
a healthy lawn that doesn't hurt the environment? Of course not. Beautiful lawns can be had without so much cost
and environmental hazard.
The first step is to be deliberate about where your lawn is located. It should be in full sun in a well-drained
area. And any spaces that don't fill those criteria should be planted in something else.
Next, amend that soil. Plant beds are enriched, and this is equally important in a turf area. The goal is to grow
turf grass roots that are deep and strong. And four to six inches of good topsoil is essential to this goal.
Also test the soil for the nutrient levels. Optimal nutrient levels provide your turf with what it needs to grow
rich and strong. Another advantage is that many lawn weeds require different nutritional levels. So, not only are
the grasses really happy, but the weeds are not. They don't like the soil and it's harder for them to compete with
the sod. This translates to a thicker lawn with fewer weeds.
Also, be sure to apply fertilizer in the fall. In this way, you feed root growth. Feeding in the spring causes
the plant to send all the nutrients into the foliage, which you cut off over the next six to eight weeks. It does
the plant very little long-term good.
In the spring, put down about an inch of rich compost as a topdressing for the turf. This will help replenish the
soil naturally, attract beneficial insects, and help reduce soil compaction caused by mowing.
Mowing gets a lot of bad press because of pollutants from mower emissions. But recent studies show the lawn sequesters
far more carbon than the mowers emit. In other words, a well-maintained lawn is ecologically friendly.
Make sure mower blades are kept sharp. Dull blades chew the leaves rather than cutting them cleanly. Not only will
this cause the surface of the lawn to brown out, but it can also provide areas for disease to enter the grass plant.
Also make sure you choose a mulching mower, which cuts and re-cuts the grass blades into tiny pieces to go back
into the lawn. The most recent studies have shown that leaving the mower clippings for the lawn can be key for
nutrition. Researched lawns needed supplemental nutrition for no more than the first three years, if clippings
were left to re-fertilize.
There was once concern that clippings cause a layer of thatch at the soil surface. But it is realized now that
thatch comes from annual leaves which have died over the winter, and if they are not being reabsorbed and composted
quickly enough, your soil is probably too compacted.
Soil compaction is probably the real problem caused by mowing. Always walking in the same patterns in the same
tracks with the wheels in the same ruts, over time can press soil particles together so that water and roots can
no longer penetrate. So each time you mow, walk in a different pattern. An annual application of compost topdressing
goes a long way to prevent this as well. But you may occasionally need to aerate the soil, should compaction become
too severe.
Another tip is to mow your lawn very high. Experts used to say at least three inches, but now are advocating numbers
as high as six inches. This not only reduces the number of times one must mow per year, but also provides plenty
of leaf blade to produce food for the plant, which creates stronger plants. In addition, the added height helps
to shade out many weed seedlings.
Irrigation should be long and deep. Two inches of water applied over a six-hour period every ten days to two weeks
is best for this region. This will allow water to seep into the soil deeply and slowly. It also gives time for
the soil to dry out between applications.
Deep soil watering encourages roots to grow deeper, which makes them stronger and more able to withstand drought
and disease. Shallow watering keeps soils moist and encourages the growth of fungi and bacteria that create many
disease and health problems. It also keeps roots at the soil surface, where they are likely to be damaged by weather,
disease and soil disturbance. Deep watering also uses less water than frequent, shallow irrigation.
Done right, a lawn can be a beautiful benefit to your home landscape. And you really can have a lovely, healthy,
weed-free lawn in an ecologically responsible way. So, get out the croquet set, call all your friends and go out
and have fun.
Mary K. Stickley is the Manager of Gardens and Grounds for the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, Va. |
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