Aeration and Seeding… Is it necessary?

Fescue turf has taken a beating this summer between the heat and weeds.  Fall brings a respite to the stressed turf.  However it takes more than cooler weather to get your fescue back in prime condition and to give it back that lush look we all want and love in our lawns.  Aeration and overseeding is a process that alleviates soil compaction and replaces turf lost in summer.  With the hot recent weather in the Charlotte area, it is almost a requirement if you want to get the best look for your fescue.   

Aeration is the loosening of the soil to allow the essential elements (air, water, and nutrients) to better penetrate our heavy clay soils.  It can be done with a core aerator (a machine that pulls plugs of dirt out of the soil) or an aerovator which is a tractor mounted machine that shakes and shatters the top 3 to 4 inches of soil.  Both are effective, but where the landscape allows, we prefer to use the aerovator as the plugs left by the core aerator will be messy and shaking the soil provides a more uniform loosening effect than plugs.  In areas that are too small to maneuver the tractor for the aerovator, we use the smaller core aerator.  Either device will relieve the soil compaction, which with our hard, clay soil is essential for good seed germination.  

Aerovator and Aerator

Overseeding replaces the turf that could not survive the heat of summer.  Fescue is not a spreading grass, so overseeding fills in any bare areas left when crabgrass dies out.  Timing is important.  Typically, we try to aerate and seed in the September/October timeframe.  Doing it earlier as opposed to later gives you the opportunity to touch-up any areas that may not germinate due to a variety of factors.  

Seed and technique matter.  If you are going to tackle this yourself, make sure you are using good, quality seed and take your time to get adequate coverage with the aerator and spreader.  Be careful not to put down too much seed.  Optimally, you want the seed to be about 1 to 1.5 inches apart because as fescue matures, each seedling will form a plant about the size of your fist.  So putting too much seed in one area hinders root growth because too many plants are competing for the same nutrients.  Eventually they will choke each other out.

What can you do to help the process along? 

Before aeration and overseeding:

• Mow:  Mow your lawn at 2 inches tall to allow good seed to soil contact when overseeding.
  
• Irrigation:  If you have sprinkler heads, it is important that you mark your sprinkler heads with flags to avoid any damage by heavy aerators and aerovators.We want to prevent damage to your property as well as complete the job as quickly and efficiently as possible.
  
• Water:  A good watering the night before can make sure the soil is soft for aeration.  Better plugs allow more chance for your seed to grow.
  

After aeration and overseeding:

• Water: Once the lawn has been aerated and seeded it is vital that your lawn receives daily watering to ensure the best germination possible.  The best rule of thumb is to keep soil moist for two weeks after seeding.  Allow the seed to dry out between waterings as overwatering can decrease germination results also.
  
• Mow:  Once seeded, you want to give the young seedlings time to take hold before mowing.  We try to hold off mowing until the seedlings are at least 2 inches tall (typically 10 - 21 days.)  Mowing too soon can pull up the tender shoots.
  
• Traffic:  With newly seeded lawns, you want to avoid stepping on them as much as possible until they are established.  I know that with kids and dogs this is more difficult, but the more undisturbed time you can give the new seed to grow, the better the germination will be.
  

Weeds:  Aeration loosens the soil to allow grass to grow.  By optimizing the soil for seed growth, you also provide a good environment for weeds to grow.  However, herbicides can kill new grass.  We concentrate on getting good germination and improving the density of your fescue.  (As we've said before, the best defense against weeds is dense, healthy turf.)  It is best to wait 6-8 weeks after seeding to spray for weeds.

Just to be clear, this article applies to fescue turfs. If you have a bermudagrass lawn, aeration and seeding typically takes place in the spring before the bermudagrass growing season starts. Hopefully these tips will help you make the most out of your lawn this fall. As always, visit our website or give us a call if AA Tex Lawn can be of any help to you with this process.


Thanks,


The AA Tex Lawn Team

After the Storm… Storm Cleanup

If you live in the Matthews area, you were probably blown away (no pun intended) by the storms in the last couple of weeks. My neighborhood had several large trees felled, lost power for hours, lost our large pool umbrella, and the pool itself had more debris than at the beginning of the summer season. It's always amazing when Mother Nature reminds us who's really in charge. Just like the 3 little pigs, we hope we've built a house to protect us from the unexpected wolves (or storms) that come blowing at our door. Our landscapes on the other hand can take a beating. Rain and wind can fell trees, uproot shrubbery, sweep away mulch, and generally wreak havoc in our yards and communities.

Safety is paramount when you begin the clean-up after these storms. Here are some basic tips to keep in mind:

1. Protective gear: When working with chain saws or disposing of debris, it is best to wear eye protection, work gloves, heavy boots, chaps, and a long sleeved shirt to prevent injury from branches and equipment
   
2. Know your surroundings: Felled trees can land on or near power lines, electrical boxes or other electrical equipment. To avoid risks of shock, if you are working near a downed power line, contact the utility company first to make sure the area is grounded before proceeding. If you are worried about electricity in an area of your house, make sure you either turn off the power at the main breaker or the fuse at the breaker panel.
   
3. Read the directions for your equipment: If working with a chain saw or other equipment, follow all manufacturer instructions. We could write a whole blog on chainsaw safety, but to keep it simple, the instructions come with the equipment for a reason. READ THEM.
   
4. Structures that have been flooded can become unstable. Avoid risks by checking the stability of structures before working on or near them.
   
5. Avoid "Bounce-back": When working with trees or branches that have been bent or caught up under something during wind storms, make sure you know the spring tension for the branch. Branches that spring back can do so with enough force to cause injury to you or a bystander. If you think tension may be an issue, slowly shave the underside of the branch, rather than cutting through it to release tension slowly.
   
6. When in doubt, call a professional.
   

If you'd like our help in cleaning up after these most recent summer storms, let us know. AA Tex Lawn has the manpower and know-how to help. You can call our office at 704-849-9084 or visit our website for more information.

Thanks,

The AA Tex Lawn Team

Defeating the Armyworm

Caterpillars!  Watching them develop into moths and butterflies can be fascinating.  In small numbers they are harmless.  Large numbers feeding on your turf can damage your lawn.  Armyworms feed on the leaves of the grass. In large infestations, they can eat the turf down to the soil. While typically bermudagrass can recover, cool season grasses can receive permanent damage from these attacks.

Armyworms are the larvae caterpillar stage of a light brownish gray moth.  Their name comes from their feeding habits.  They move in groups, consuming all the grass in one area before moving to the next location.  Fall armyworms are not a constant issue in our area, but when they do attack, it can be devastating to a lawn. They are most commonly associated with late summer or fall damage to bermudagrasses, but also feed on fescue, ryegrasses, bentgrasses, bluegrass, and other turfs.



lawn damage from an armyworm infestation

 Since typically these caterpillars feed at night, it can be difficult to explain the brown patches in your bermudagrass at first. There are a few tell-tale signs of armyworms, though. If you have flocks of birds feeding in your turf, you must have something that they are feeding on and this can be an early sign of armyworms. To determine if you have them, inspect the grass for the caterpillars. If you find more than 1 per square foot, you may need to treat for them. In addition, you can do a soap flush to bring the larvae to the surface to make identification easier.

Treatment for the pests is usually effective. A sprayable lawn insecticide can be applied to kill them. Treat in late afternoon when the caterpillars are more likely to be feeding. It’s best to mow before you spray. Then hold off on mowing or irrigating for several days afterward to allow the insecticide to work.

If you think you have an issue with armyworms, give us a call and we can come out and evaluate your lawn and set up a treatment plan for you. As long as you stay on top of the problem you can avoid any cataclysmic results.

Thanks,
The AA Tex Lawn Team

Battling Bermudagrass

Bermudagrass… you either love it or hate it, depending on what type of turf you are cultivating. While it has many positive attributes, if you are trying to grow a cool season lawn like fescue, bermudagrass can become a very invasive weed. Since Bermudagrass is a warm season turf that grows naturally in the soil in this area, it thrives in the summer months when fescue is typically struggling due to the heat. Because it grows on rhizomes and stolons, it runs like a vine straight into your garden beds or through your fescue turf. It can wiggle its way under stones and barriers.

Now (in the late summer months) is the time to think about getting rid of it. If left untreated, bermudagrass will fill in areas where the fescue has failed due to summer heat stress. While this is not as noticeable in the summer months, when the fall hits and the bermudagrass goes dormant, you are left with unsightly brown patches in your cool season lawn. By getting rid of the bermudagrass, you create more seed to soil contact when you overseed in the fall. This will allow better germination of the seed, thereby creating a nice, uniform look for your turf.

How do you go about removing it? It's not easy.  We strongly recommend having the bermudagrass patches sprayed with a non-selective herbicide at least twice.  The second spray should take place a couple of weeks after the first to get any stubborn stragglers as it is hardy and hard to kill. Spraying a second time will increase your chances of getting it all. However, you want to be sure to spray only the affected areas as a non-selective herbicide like Round-up will also kill the desired turf. Once the bermuda is dead, it needs to be removed so that the soil is showing. This way when you overseed, there is no thatch to hinder seed germination. At AA Tex Lawn, we do this in different ways depending on the landscape:  we either scalp the affected area with a mower, rake out the dead bermuda, or de-thatch it.

Taking these steps does not mean you will never have to deal with bermudagrass again. The purpose is to help increase your fescue density, which in return decreases the likelihood of bermuda returning. As we've said before, the best defense against weeds is thick, healthy turf! 

If you take on this process yourself, be prepared for a battle.  We're happy to help.  If you’d like more information  or our rates, contact our office at 704-821-0708. Treatments will be done in late July/early August and then again two to three weeks later.  Thanks,

The AA Tex Lawn Team

Playground Mulch: How Safe Are Your Children?

When you are young, imagination is a wonderful thing.  Slides aren’t simply slides, they are mountains to be scaled or to rappel; swings are not just swings, they are planes that fly you to the sky so that you can parachute down to earth.  Even the parents of the tamest kids will eventually find them scaling the outside of the playground equipment.  It’s inevitable.   But as the mind dreams up these wonderful adventures, sometimes the body is unable to carry them out and pays the price.  So as parents, what can we do to keep our kids safe on their playground adventures?

The Blue Max website says that on average, more than 200,000 children are treated in US Emergency Rooms for playground injuries.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying we should stop kids from playing.  With childhood obesity rates on the rise in the United States, it is more important than ever to get our kids outside and away from “screen time”.  However something as simple as mulch can do much to help prevent and reduce injuries incurred from falls from playground equipment.

While most public parks and playgrounds have equipment installed over some sort of mulch, the majority of residential backyard playgrounds are installed over grass and dirt.  There are a variety of playground surface options available.  Anything from sand to mulch to rubber products all provide some level of protection from critical falls.  We recommend and install Tumblesafe Playground Mulch.  This is an engineered wood fiber that is 100% natural.  It is cut at an angle to prevent sharp points and helps absorb the impact from a fall from playground equipment.  We feel it is the best value for the money.  It meets and exceeds the head impact criteria set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and is the product that state regulated daycares use.

While Tumblesafe Playground Mulch holds up well, any type of mulch can become a casualty of spring and summer storms.  If you have already installed mulch under your backyard playground, make sure the wind and rain we’ve had recently have not washed it away.  We recommend a minimum of 4-6 inches installed.  If you have not installed mulch, it is something you should consider.  My neighborhood has already seen two broken bones from playground accidents this season.  Here’s to an imaginative, but safe summer.

Thanks,

The AA Tex Lawn Team

July is Proclaimed Smart Irrigation Month for NC

For the second consecutive year, Governor Beverly Perdue has officially proclaimed July as "Smart Irrigation Month" for North Carolina. Water is a precious resource. With the ever-growing population and the droughts of recent years, it is even more important to make sure we are conserving where we can and getting the most of the water we are using. Here are a couple of tips to help with that:

Water at the Right Time – ideally, you will water your lawn during the hours that the lawn is wet from dew. As it is cooler, it will minimize evaporation.

Don't Overwater – different plants have different needs. One size does not fit all when it comes to irrigation. Here are some stats from savingwaternc.com: On average:

• small shrubs need 5 gallons water/week
• large shrubs need 10 gallons/week
• trees need 2 gallons per inch diameter (measured at 4.5' above the ground)/week
• flower beds need 5 gallons of water/10 sq. ft. (1 minute of water at medium pressure)
• lawns require about 1/2-1" water per week, depending on the grass type. High-use turf areas may need more frequent irrigation.

Install a Rain Sensor – there is nothing more inefficient than a sprinkler system running in the rain. Besides manually controlling your irrigation system timing, (and who wants to schlep out in the rain to do that?) what can you do to stop your sprinklers from coming on during or after rain? Install a rain sensor. It monitors rainfall and turns your system off when Mother Nature has provided enough precipitation. There are other "smart" controller options that take into account plant requirements and local weather. We can help you know your options.

Hand Watering – Drip systems use 50% less water than a typical sprinkler in addition to applying water directly to the root zone where it is needed. If drip irrigation is not available, use a water breaker (the attachment for your hose that acts like a shower head) on the end of your hose to deliver an even, gentle flow to the base of the plants. It's interesting to note that a typical garden hose delivers 5 gallons of water per minute. You can also use a 5-gallon bucket with small holes in the bottom to slowly water your beds and prevent run-off.

Think Ahead when Planning your Landscaping – Group plants with similar water and soil needs. Then you can use drip irrigation or zoned irrigation to most efficiently water your plants. The use of native plants, trees, and shrubs helps, too. Since these plants occur naturally in our area, they are adapted to local conditions including climate, soil, and rainfall.

Audit Your Irrigation System – Have your system audited by an irrigation tech to check for leaks, adjust the heads, and make any necessary repairs. (Make sure you're not watering the pavement!)

Even with our summer storms, most of our state has had below average rainfall this summer. If you use water-wise habits, you'll have a healthier landscape, conserve water, and reduce your water bill. Let's make every month Smart Irrigation Month! For more information on this topic, check out http://www.savingwaternc.com

Thanks,

The AA Tex Lawn Team

Why is Soil PH Important?

Remember those high school chemistry classes? We learned about acids, bases, and PH, elements and the periodic table. Did you ever think you'd need to know those things to take care of your grass? The health of your grass depends greatly on the components in your soil. For all grass types, a soil test should be done at least every two to three years to determine the amounts of lime, phosphorus, and potassium needed by your established lawn. This is called a PH test. Soil PH determines how efficiently your lawn will be able to absorb and use the nutrients it receives. In short, if you want healthy, lush turf, adjusting the PH is vital.

To perform this test, soil samples are taken and sent to Cooperative Extension offices. They analyze the elements in the soil to determine any nutrient deficits and the acidity of the soil so that we can more accurately tell the amount of fertilizer, lime, or other elements needed to keep your grass healthy.

Typically, North Carolina soils are found to be quite acidic because our warm, humid weather causes calcium, potassium, and magnesium to be leached from the soil. That leaves an overabundance of hydrogen and aluminum, two very acidic elements. If your soil is too acidic, it can be toxic to plants. At AA Tex Lawn, we use a product called Solu-cal which is a water-soluble calcium to neutralize the acidity of the soil. It corrects the soil PH better and faster than the lime we used in the past.

There is science behind grass. You don't need to be a chemist to grow grass, but understanding your soil is the first step in getting the lush green turf we'd all love to have. For more info on adding Solu-cal to your turf, please give us a call.

Thanks,
The AA Tex Lawn Team