Gerry's Blog

Search

905-318-6677

We were in Lincoln Nebraska to attend a graduation. Of course, I am curious to see the lawns in that area. The leafing of the trees is ahead of Southern Ontario. I even found a crabgrass seedling starting to sprout in the middle of the sidewalk. Of course, the sidewalk is warmer than the lawns. Crabgrass likes to grow in warm soil. And sidewalks and driveways warm up and hold the heat sooner and longer than the soil under your lawn. But it was also starting to grow in an open area in a boulevard.

To help reduce crabgrass problems in your lawn, here are 2 suggestions:

1.Keep your lawn thick and healthy. The thicker the lawn, the less likely it will be to allow crabgrass a chance to sprout.

2.Related to the above, is to mow your lawn at 3 inch height. The longer mowing height means there will be more leaf blade to shade the soil. The more shade, the cooler the soil. The cooler the soil, the more the lawn grasses will like it. The cooler the soil, the less likely it will be that crabgrass will grow.

A note on phenology. I didn’t see very many flowering trees or shrubs in bloom while in Lincoln. I was trying to see how the weather related to what we have here in southern Ontario. On the last day, we were walking down a different street and I came across a Mock Orange in bloom. “Aha”, I said. The Mock Orange in our garden usually blooms around the July 1st Canada picnic that we usually have with our family. And crabgrass is usually just starting at that time ofyear here in southern Ontario. So, therefore, the crabgrass sprouting in the sidewalks of Lincoln makes perfect phenological sense.

 

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care - get The KING OF GREEN – The Lawn Care Experts

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

If you would like more information, please Contact us

Follow us on Twitter  http://twitter.com/turfkingofgreen

Join our Facebook page  http://www.bit.ly/FacebookTK

Copyright 2007 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.

 

Thistles- A Lawn Care Problem

There are two main kinds of thistles that get into lawns. One is the Scotch thistle and one is the Canada thistle. One is easy to remove and eradicate; the other is very difficult. Both can be a pain to the barefoot in the grass folks. They both have sharp thorns. The pain of walking on them is not pleasant but it is worse if the thorn breaks off and ends up as a sliver in one’s skin. How do you get rid of them?

The Scotch thistle is the easy one. Although if left to flourish it can reach a height of 3 feet, it normally will tolerate being mowed. Its purple flowers are large and interesting. It is dark green in colour and has a wider leaf than the Canada thistle. It grows as a single plant and one could dig it up and remove it. It also is easy to control with the usual lawn weed killers.

The Canada thistle is the toughie. It has a lighter green foliage that is narrow. It can also reach heights of 3 feet and also has purple flowers. Both thistles have seeds like dandelions that can blow in the wind. In the summer, I have been driving along some city roads when the air is full of the seeds blowing in the wind, much like dandelions parachuting their way into new territory. I know they are thistles because the seed heads can be seen along the roadsides where the weeds have not been cut.

Canada thistle spread by underground rhizomes. Rhizomes are underground stems. If you see one Canada thistle, it is likely attached by a rhizome to another plant a little distance away. If you are planning to dig out the Canada thistle, make sure to dig out the rhizome. If you don’t it will regrow, and you will still have thistles. Canada thistle does not respond well to herbicides. The plants will be killed off, but often the rhizomes continue to live and soon they will send up new sprouts from underground. Only continuous attacking of the Canada thistle will suffice to eradicate this pest from your lawn or garden.

This morning, I went to pick up the paper.  At the road, as I came towards the house, I found about a hundred leatherjackets on the driveway. (No, it wasn’t Friday, the thirteenth and my driveway doesn’t go to Port Dover).

I’m not sure why they were crossing the road. Was it because they like damp areas, and the lawn on the right is wetter than the left. Leatherjackets do prefer the damp, moist areas. When we are trying to assess a lawn to see if they are present, we look in the low spots or under the down spouts, because the leatherjackets are more likely to be found where there is more moisture. On the other hand, maybe it’s because it’s supposed to rain today. Often leatherjackets will come up out of the soil during a heavy rain. People then call because their driveways or patios are teeming with thousands of leatherjackets that have come up out of the waterlogged soil. (They like damp soil, but not if it is waterlogged.) I’m thinking to myself, that these are the leatherjackets who have weatherman’s arthritis. You all know the people who can feel it in their bones. “Yes, sir. . . rain’s coming at 3 o’clock.” Maybe these particular leatherjackets had the ability to know that it’s going to rain, and came up out of the ground to avoid the rush.

By the way, leatherjackets are the larvae of Crane flies. They can damage lawns by eating the blades, roots or crowns.

 Leatherjacket Larvae can feed on Lawns

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care - get The KING OF GREEN – The Lawn Care Experts

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

If you would like more information, please Contact us

Follow us on Twitter  http://twitter.com/turfkingofgreen

Join our Facebook page  http://www.bit.ly/FacebookTK

Copyright 2007 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.

 

Here's our Facebook Page

Help! Grubs!

See the lawn library. Click here.

Turf King

Lawn care makes a difference. Click here.

Free Estimate

Request a quote. Click here.

Anniversary Savings

See our video for savings! Click here.

Login Form