Follow 3 rules — get a great lawn
by S T E V E H U N T E R
of Th e O u tlo o k s ta ff
Some home lawns look like
golf courses while others ap
pear to be weed farms
It is easy to grow weeds,
but how does one try to
achieve a lawn that looks
like a golf courses?
Feed, water and mowing
are the three main steps to
maintain a lawn. But each
step requires certain pro
cedures.
Bill G riffith , Northwest
T u rf Care and Scott Carter,
S o ter C o m p an ies , In c .,
s h a re d so m e of t h e ir
knowledge about proper
lawn maintenance.
Both experts said before
you begin to feed, water and
mow vour lawn, it must be
d eterm in e d w hether the
lawn needs to be thatched.
“ It depends on the thatch
lay er,” said G riffith about
the m aterial that builds up
between the grass and the
soil. “ When it gets over one-
half of an inch thick — it
becomes a problem because
water and nutrients can’t get
to the roots.”
Carter said if a lawn is
brown now it needs to be
thatched. He recommends
thatching once a year if you
do not catch your grass clip
pings and every other year if
you do use a catcher
Spring is the best time to
thatch, which means to cut
the grass as low as possible
and then use a thatching
machine to remove the dead
layer. Next, the lawn must
be watered and fertilized
and it takes about two weeks
for it to become green and
tall again.
But to keep it green, you
must regulary feed, water
and mow
Feed — Carter believes to
get the best performance
from fertilizer, it must be us
ed every six to eight weeks
fro m
A p r il
th ro u g h
November.
"Most people just fertilize
three times a year because
of financial reasons,” said
Carter. “ But for the best
looking lawn you need to
feed it more often to m ain
tain it and to keep diseases
aw ay.”
G riffith said A pril and
May are the ideal months to
fertilize weeds because the
dandelions and others are
just starting to grow.
Fertilizers are available to
kill just certain types of
weeds and others combine
weed killers and nutrients
for the grass.
In order to get the grass
green and make it grow, a
balanced fertilizer that con
tains nitrogen, phosphorus
and potassium should be us
ed now on the lawn. The
nitrogen greens the grass
and the other two minerals
help it grow.
W ater — G riffith said the
key is not to water too much
because that is more h arm
ful than water too little. He
suggests to water in the ea r
ly morning, definitely before
noon.
“ Don't water in the hottest
part of the day,” said G rif
fith. "The heat and water
combined can burn the roots
of the grass The evening's
OK, but the lawn stays wet
all night, which may cause
disease.”
Carter said a device called
a core rem over can be
bought and used to deter
mine whether the lawn needs
to be watered. It pulls up two
to three inches of soil and if it
is dry and crumbles — water
is needed
“ We have a real clay soil
in this are a ,’’ said Carter,
“ th at’s real slow to absorb.
If you overwater, i t ’ll wash
everything into the street.
So. short cycles are the
best.”
Mow — C arter recom
mends to cut the lawn once a
week and never cut more
than one-third of the grass
leaf surface, which helps to
thicken the grass and saves
it from burning.
G riffith said if the grass
gets too long, the lower part
of the grass leaf cannot get
any sunlight to help it grow.
He also said to make sure the
mower blade is sharp and
well-adjusted.
“ While cutting, it is better
to vary the traffic pattern,”
said G riffith. “ I f you mow
the same direction it tends to
lay the grass down. I cut it
about three different ways.”
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Trees, shrubs need extra
care after a hard winter
Trees and shrubs in the home landscape
are often left the worse for w ear after being
exposed to w inter wind and ice damage
Ray M cNeilan of Gresham, an Oregon
State University Extension home gardening
agent, says damaged trees and shrubs stand
a better chance of healthy recovery if given
prompt care
Where broken limbs are concerned — if
the limb didn't tear the tree bark when it
broke off — the damage is comparatively
minor, McNeilan says. Remove any portion
of the lim b that is still attached to the tree
trunk using proper pruning procedures.
Repairing injuries where limbs have
broken off the tree and damaged the trunk
a re m ore co m p licated, according to
McNeilan. The rough edges of the trunk
wound must be smoothed down and
straightened with a sharp knife. Then shape
the wound into a vertical oval to perm it a
smooth flow of sap around it. This will pro
mote faster healing. A wood chisel m ay be
needed to smooth the exposed sap-wood.
There are many sealing compounds
available for sealing trunk wounds.
McNeilan suggests checking with local
garden or nursery stores for recommenda
tions on the most effective types.
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