 |
||||||||||||||||
|
The Truth about Lawn Care
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
| Timing in Life is Everything When it comes to timely lawn care, many of you are led in the wrong direction. Some of the lawn care companies gear their business success on seven to eight visits to your lawn. At least four of these visits are in the spring to help their early cash flow. They start treating your lawn with fertilizer in February to early March before your lawn even wakes up. Why? Their income! Same goes for do-it-yourselfers and the four step programs. Fertilizer manufacturers ship their 4 step programs to retailers in late winter. The retailers get June dating on the invoice. The retailers get to sell the 4 steps and earn early cash flow. What’s wrong with all of this? Timing! Lawns don’t want to be fed a lot of nitrogen, the main ingredient that grass plants require, in the spring. The latest studies out of Ohio State University and the Ohio Turf Grass Assoc. states the following. “Grass fertilized in September and again during October, November or |
||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||
| December is generally shown to possess better fall and winter color than grass that was not fertilized at that time. In addition, signs of spring green-up have been shown to occur two to six weeks earlier if the grass has been fertilized the previous fall. Most importantly, the enhanced rate of spring greening is realized without stimulating excessive shoot growth that accompanies the early spring nitrogen applications called for in most grass fertility programs”. The study goes on to say that the only fertilizer your lawn needs in the spring is a light feeding in mid to late spring. So why do some lawn service companies not follow the experts sound advice? Just follow the money! Attention Do-it-Yourselfers Now let’s discuss the 4 Step programs as they now exist. Step #1 contains lawn food and crabgrass preventer. The bag states to put it down in early spring between March 15th and April 15th. Step #2 contains more lawn food and a selective broadleaf weed killer. The instructions say to put down Step 2 sixty days after putting down Step 1. That means you want to put down Step 2 sometime between May 15th and June 15th. But wait, the dandelions are blooming in mid-April. We both know what most homeowners do. Right; they put down Step 2 when the dandelions are blooming, putting way too much fertilizer down over a short period of time in the spring when the grass doesn’t want all that plant food. The results are weak growing grass plants that you can’t mow often enough due to spring rains. Step #3 is more fertilizer with either a bug killer or a fungicide added. Chances are pretty good that you won’t have a lawn disease or bugs, but guess what you will have, even more late spring fertilizer, which your lawn does not need. Step #4 is a fall fertilizer that has good timing, but not enough fertilizer for fall. Remember the studies. You should do two feedings in the fall with at least 1 lb of quick release nitrogen per thousand square feet with each application. Why do 4 Step Programs Exist as is? Fertilizer companies have concluded that consumers are more likely to purchase the complete 4-Step Programs when they have spring fever. The basic problems with 4-Step programs are that the timing of the applications is wrong and that you are putting down chemicals that may not be necessary. It all comes down to money; you spend it and they take it. |
||||||||||||||||