HOME & GAR DEN
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
A9
Lawn care made simple
What grass wants: feeding, mowing, watering
By Angel Carpenter
Blue Mountain Eagle
The sun is out and so are
the lawn mowers.
Achieving that lush green
yard comes down to a few
basics, and OSU Extension
Agent Shanna Northway of
John Day has some tips to
help Grant County residents
keep their lawns looking
great.
Feeding the lawn
Northway said there is
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
a balance when it comes to Grant Union PE students play volleyball Thursday at the
fertilizing lawns.
school’s athletic field.
“Over- and under-fer-
tilization of your lawn can at the wrong time of day,” way said. “Yes, you will have
drastically affect the pH of Northway said.
to mow less often because
your soil,” she said, adding
Over-irrigating will not al- your grass is stressed and
an inexpensive pH test can be low grass to grow deep roots, not growing, but if lush and
purchased at local hardware she said, and when the root green is what you are going
stores.
system isn’t healthy, grass can for, raise your (mower) deck
Lawns that are adequate- become stressed and brown up.”
ly fertilized will look better, easily during hot days.
She recommends grass
compete better against weeds,
Northway suggests water- be kept at a height of 1.5-2.5
hold up to wear and tear ing early in the morning or inches.
more easily and recover more late at night.
quickly from damage.
“This allows the water to Banishing
Northway
recommends soak into the ground before pesky weeds
triple 16 fertilizer, which is it evaporates in the mid-day
available locally. The mix heat.
To keep weeds and un-
contains 16 percent nitrogen,
Watering three times a wanted grasses out of your
16 percent phosphorous and week is recommended, but if lawn, Northway suggests a
16 percent potassium.
it’s really hot, daily watering broadleaf lawn spray from
For the highest visual turf may be needed.
the hardware store.
quality for Eastern Oregon
Have a hot spot on your
“If your lawn is full of
lawns, fertilizing in late April lawn?
clover, crab grass and dan-
and early May, then again in
“Remember, much of our delions, beware that you
late June and early July, is county is built on tailings, may have several brown or
recommended. In fall, fertil- so if you have a spot in your dead spots in your lawn as
ization is suggested in Sep- lawn that just won’t green up those broadleafs die out,”
tember with optional appli- chances are there is a lack of she said.
cation in October and early top soil in that area,” she said.
Do not apply before an
November.
“You may need to dig up that expected rain event or irri-
For a medium quality area and add top soil. If your gate for 24 hours after mak-
lawn, May and June should grass is growing over rocks ing the application, as the
suffice, with the same sched- with little soil, it won’t stay herbicides will wash off.
ule for fall.
green in the heat no matter
For more information on
How much fertilizing is how much water or fertilizer proper lawn care, call North-
needed? Each application is you pour on it.”
way at 541-575-1911 or call
assumed to be at 1 lb. nitrogen
your local hardware store.
Giving your
per 1,000 square feet.
Leaving grass clippings lawn a trim
on the lawn can enhance the
color and growth and extend
When it comes to mow-
the effect of fertilizers by re- ing lawns, the best outcome
cycling the nutrients through will be achieved using sharp
decomposition.
blades, and don’t mow it too
short.
Watering
“If your lawn instantly
turns yellowish/green after
done right
you mow, you are mowing
“The biggest mistake is too short and putting your
over-irrigation and irrigating lawn under stress,” North-
The Eagle/Angel Carpenter
David Mauseth mows a lawn in John Day.
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