Spring is a terrific time to sod! Beat the summer heat and install sod now when the temperatures are cooler. In spring, the root systems of Bluegrass and other cool season grasses will come alive and will root quickly. The warm days and cool nights create a perfect environment for growing and knitting new sod together; ideal conditions for developing a root system before the summer heat hits. New sod uses less water this time of year. Irrigation cycles in spring will be shorter, and it will be easier to keep your new sod damp during its first critical two weeks. During summer, watering becomes a critical issue as new sod can dry out quickly.
Frost or snow will not harm new sod.
Don’t worry about snow or freezing temperatures. Once the ground is unfrozen and soil temperatures are above 32 degrees, Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall Fescues, Texas Hybrids, and Fine Fescues start to grow. Frost or snow will not harm new sod. Colorado spring snowstorms will actually insulate new sod and help it grow. If we do get a cold snap, it will be short lived. So, if you are considering installing new sod this year, spring is one of the best times to establish your new lawn from sod.
Now that the snow has melted from north facing areas, we are seeing gray snow mold. These matted areas occur when your grass is covered with snow for prolonged periods of time and temperatures are slightly below freezing.
Freeze thaw promotes snow mold
The freeze and thaw that takes place under the snow is what causes this disease to form in the spring. The damage caused by snow molds is seldom serious. Now that the snow is gone, the best thing to do is gently rake the matted turf allowing it to dry. Gray snow mold activity stops when the temperature exceeds 45° F or the surface dries. In a few weeks, your grass will be green and healthy.
If you are seeing strange patterns in your snow covered lawn or discovered tunnels through your grass blades, you may have Voles. Voles or Meadow Voles live along the Front Range and are a small mouse-like creature, 3 to 8 inches long. Voles like to make tunnels in your lawn when it is covered with snow and remove all the grass blades leaving dirt trails. These little rodents like damp marshy areas and will come into your lawn from open fields. Voles eat a variety of grasses, trees and shrubs, especially during the fall and winter. Most damage occurs in the winter when voles move through their grass tunnels under the protection of snow. Their excellent burrowing and tunneling ability gives them access to sensitive areas without clear or early indication.
Voles Reproduce Quickly
Voles reproduce very quickly and have average litters of 5 to 10 youngsters. Due to this short reproduction cycle, vole populations can grow very large within a very short period of time. A single pregnant vole in a yard can result in a hundred or more active voles in less than a year. Voles eat succulent root systems and will burrow under plants or ground-cover and eat away until the plant is dead. Bulbs in the ground are a favorite meal for voles.
Snow Covered Lawns
So, if you see tunnels in your snow-covered lawn, break them up and remove any piles of snow. Damage to lawns can be reduced by close mowing in the fall before snow arrives and by removing tall grassy cover near lawns. If the problem is extreme, mousetraps can be placed in the tunnels or near burrow holes. The most effective control is to remove the snow from the lawn and they will retreat. To repair tunnel damage in your lawn, rake up the dead grass, fertilize with 20-20-10 and water the effected areas early in spring. This will help the bare areas re-grow from the roots deep in your lawn and it will fill in.
Mushrooms in your Lawn? Don’t panic. We are getting a break from the hot and sunny weather with monsoonal thunderstorms. The cloudy cooler weather and rain is bringing on mushrooms in turf areas. Finding mushrooms in your yard is a sign your lawn is too wet. This is common in newly sodded lawns, especially when the weather cools down and it rains for a few days. When temperatures are in the high 90’s and you are establishing new sod, it can be tough to water just the right amount. If mushrooms show up, back the water off a little bit. If you are getting rain, turn off the sprinkler system. Once your lawn starts drying up, turn the system back on. You also may need to adjust your sprinkler clock when it cools down for a few days, using the seasonal adjust to decrease lawn watering.
Where do they come from
Mushrooms come from fungi that live in your lawn’s soil. The mushrooms you see in your yard are the fruiting body of naturally occurring fungi living within the soil. Mushrooms grow up very quickly and are a great indicator that your lawn is too wet. Let your yard dry out and the mushrooms will disappear quickly. Never eat lawn mushrooms because some are poisonous. If you have children or pets in the yard, you can rake them up or pull by hand to insure your yard is safe for play.
Lawns in Denver are starting to green up and if you have not fertilized your yard, it’s time. After winter dormancy and a dry winter, your yard may be hungry. Fertilizer is food for your lawn and the last time it had any nutrition was probably last fall. Cool season grasses like to fill in this time of year and an application of fertilizer goes a long way to improving your root system and filling in weak spots. Spring fertilization will set your yard up for summer. Your lawn gets nitrogen from rain and snow. After a dry winter, give your yard some nutrition. Have a look at your yard and rate it. Good condition (even and dense), OK condition (could be thicker with a few problem areas), or Poor condition (thin & bare, not healthy). Now, let’s talk about fertilizer.
Understanding Fertilizer
There are many different types and brands of lawn fertilizer, but one aspect they all have in common are the 3 numbers on the front of the bag. The 3 numbers represent the ratio of the three nutrients that make up most fertilizers. This is called the N-P-K ratio. A 20-20-10 is made up of 20% Nitrogen, 20% Phosphorus and 10% Potassium.
N for Nitrogen, makes grass grow and become greener. This generally is the most important nutrient to having a nice lawn. Traditional release nitrogen will work fast but only stay in the soil for a few weeks due to plant uptake and leaching. This is not necessarily bad if your lawn is hungry. Slow release nitrogen stays around a few months and feeds your lawn more evenly. Organic Nitrogen sources feed very slowly and may take 1 to 2 months to see results.
P for Phosphorus, stimulates roots and new plant development. Phosphorus is important to the root system and will help thicken up your yard. Phosphorus will stay in your soil for at least a year.
K for Potassium, promotes disease and drought tolerance. Potassium prepares your lawn for the heat of the summer as well. Potassium stays in the soil for several months.
What type of Fertilizer?
There are many lawn fertilizers to choose from. Look for a fertilizer that is made for Colorado soils. Using a fertilizer with 20% nitrogen is easier to spread evenly than a fertilizer with 46% nitrogen because you have more products to work with. Smaller bags of fertilizer (10 lbs. to 20 lbs.) tends to mean higher nitrogen numbers, less Phosphorus & Potassium numbers, cost less, are not as effective in our dry climate.
Traditional, Slow Release and Organic lawn fertilizer
20-20-10 1fe
This is a fast release fertilizer that has a fast release Nitrogen with plenty of Phosphorus & Potassium. Full analysis or balanced fertilizer has close to all three nutrients stated by the numbers, the N-P-K. If your yard is in Poor or in OK condition, or if your yard is in Good condition and you want to green it up quickly, use a full analysis fertilizer. This is a good safeguard because now your yard is getting all the nutrients and will not have a nutrient deficiency later. Remember, Phosphorus and Potassium stay around in the soil longer than nitrogen. Iron (fe) and sulfur are good for you lawn as well.
20-5-5 1fe Slow Release
This is a slow release fertilizer. The nitrogen source in this fertilizer is half slow release and half traditional. Also notice the Phosphorus and Potassium are only 5’s. This is because if you fertilize 2 to 3 times a year, your soil should have enough P and K in it. Slow release fertilizers promote even growth so you do not get a growth surge right after you fertilize. Use slow releases fertilizers if your lawn is in Good condition. If your yard is in OK condition and you’re not concerned with winning the best yard on the block award, this is also a good choice.
8-2-1 100% Organic
Organic nitrogen in this case, is derived from dried poultry manure, releases very slowly over months and may be around for up to a year. Notice it is 8% nitrogen meaning you will need to use more products to get the same amount of food for your lawn. There is less nitrogen in this fertilizer and it will release very slowly over months. When you use an organic fertilizer, it takes a while to see the results and you will use more pounds of fertilizer to make up the difference. Organic fertilizers can be used with traditional lawn fertilizer to help condition and build nutrients into your soil. One more thing, the earth’s atmosphere consists of 78 percent nitrogen. Now get out there and feed your yard!
March is the time to apply preemergence if crabgrass or weeds were a problem in your yard last season. Use a preemergence herbicide or “Crabgrass Preventer” now before weeds and grassy weeds start germinating. Temperatures are very warm this March and lawns are greening up. This means weeds and grassy weeds will be showing up soon.
How it works.
Crabgrass preventers stop most weed and grassy weed seeds from germinating. These products keep all the unwanted seeds that end up in your yard from sprouting. Most of these products last 6 to 8 weeks, so a second application is recommended in May, especially if your yard has a history of various weed problems. After you apply this granular product with a fertilizer spreader, water it in to your yard within a day. If you have not turned on your sprinkler system, use a hose and water in by hand or apply before we get some precipitation. A quick application of Crabgrass control will cut down on spring lawn care and let you enjoy your lawn this spring!
Canadian Geese in the Denver area love to feed on turf grass lawns and can create quite a mess. If left unattended, geese can do some serious damage due to over grazing and smothering your lawn with goose droppings. If Geese have moved into you yard, try to break their habits and keep them off the yard when it is wet. This is when the most physical damage will occur. If goose droppings become thick enough to smother the lawn, simply remove the droppings with a rake or a leaf blower. Canadian Geese on your lawn is only a serious problem if they graze the turf down to the dirt and harm the base or crown of the grass plant. So enjoy the new company unless they really start making a mess.
