How Frequently To Water, Part II of Watering Your Lawn

Most lawns are watered by some type of automatic sprinkler system or you may have the manual kind which would be you.

One thing to remember, Florida receives on average 60 or more inches of rain a year. Common sense tells you, if it’s raining outside, you don’t need to water. You don’t know how many times I’ve been mowing in the rain and up pop the sprinklers. Not only is that costing homeowners money but what a waste of water. I know some of you have been driving down the road and see all the sprinklers on at a commercial site, while in the pouring down rain.

The answer to the main topic. The University of Florida call for watering lawns as needed basis. So you ask how do I do that? Well it’s determined by observing the signs of drought. Some of those signs would be leaf blades are folding, the grass is blue gray tint, and the big clue is when footprints of tire tracks remain visible after being made.

One important factor in all this would be to watch the weather. If they are calling for rain for the whole week, shut those sprinklers off and save some money!

Let’s look at the amount of water you should use on your lawn. When watering, you only want to wet the turf grass root zone. You don’t want to saturate the soil. Most soils in Florida hold 1 inch of water in the top 12 inches of soil. Generally grass require no more than 1/3 of an inch of water per day. Of course winter is a different story. Grasses only need a fraction of that. So if the grass is showing signs of drought you should water about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. Water about two times a week. Remember if it’s raining this does not apply.

There you have it, I hope all this information is helpful, and please come back for the next article… as all ways thanks for reading, please leave your comments.

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Watering your Lawn Part l

So your wondering about watering your lawn? I will be putting this information out to you in a couple of different blogs… so don’t forget to come back and read the following blog..

All plants require water for metabolic and physiological functioning. Although some lawns require less water than others. So remember to much water can also damage the lawn more than promote growth. Watering to much can promote your lawn to have soft spots which will cause your mower or the lawn service mower to leave ruts. Ruts are a whole other story or blog. I will be working on how to get ruts out of your lawn soon. So keep coming back for more information. Back to the topic at hand. Watering to much can also create a fungus on your lawn. Remember that the majority of homeowners over irrigate or irrigate incorrectly. Too much water damages the turf grass and often is the cause of lawn failure. If you have St. Augustine and you are over watering, you may see some excessive thatch, and is also susceptible to disease and insect infestation.

Short but to the point, and Part II is coming so please return to read, thanks again..

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Fertilizing?

Are you asking yourself these questions? Am I fertilizing enough? Is this the right fertilizer for my lawn?

Well I will try to answer some of these question here. So first lets look at the types of fertilizer you can buy. Fertilizer can be identified by their brand name. They are known by their grade such as 14-4-8 or 15-2-15.
The first number is the Nitrogen (N), second number is the Phosphorus (P), and finally the last number is the Potassium (K). These three are commonly called the primary plant foods. If all three are present this is a complete fertilizer. There also may be other plant foods in the fertilizer but these three make it a complete one.
The yearly fertilization program usually is a combination of one or two applications  of multiple nutrient fertilizers and supplemental applications of an N fertilizer.
K influences root growth and water, stress tolerance. Potassium should be applied at equal or one half the amount of N, such  as in a 15-2-15.  It is now recommended that  no more than half pound of nitrogen in the application be in soluble form. This means you should use a product containing no more than fifty percent of the total N in soluble form.
Let me just say that all my resources recommend a soil test before any fertilizer is used.
Moving on I have two different types of spreaders, first one is a drop type and the other is a rotary type.
Drop spreader has a advantage of applying a exact pattern. The rotary has a wider and less uniform distribution pattern.
Ok so I hope this helps with your fertilizing needs. Please comment because there is a lot of information on this subject and I will follow up on any questions you have. Thanks again for reading….

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Mowing Your Lawn

Mowing is one of the most important aspects of maintaining a good quality and healthy lawn. Mowing increases density, which provides a better defense against weeds. Mowing can determine the success or failure of a lawn.

Cutting Height

The height is determined by the growth and the leaf width, I think it’s mostly on how much your grass grows. If your grass grows horizontally, it can be cut shorter than if it grows upright. Narrow blades of grass can be cut lower and grasses with wide blades should be cut higher. Although if you have Bahia grass this would not apply, Bahia grass need to be cut at higher heights because of the open upright growth habit. If you cut to short you will notice a scalping effect on your lawn, which I call burning the lawn, this can produce long term damage to the lawn. Mowing height also influences rooting depth. Mowing below the recommended heights can cause your lawn to eventually die off.

Clipping Removal

Never remove the grass clippings. The clippings hold the lawns nutrients and water that you have spent so much time to put down.

Ok so that’s it, hope you learned something here, please comment and follow this blog to read the new blogs that I post. thanks again for reading.

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Fertilizing Your Florida Lawn

I know everyone wants to know all about fertilization. I am currently working on the article, it will be coming soon to my blog near you….please come back within the next couple of days I will be adding it to the blog. Thanks for reading and as allways please comment and follow my blog.

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What type of lawn should I put in?

So you want to put in a new lawn? First you need to determine what type of lawn you want to maintain. Are you looking for a average lawn or a lawn that is manicured neatly and carefully tended for?

Questions that will help determine this:

Is there any limitations to the yard?

Do you have water limitations?

Can you mow easily?

What kind of soil do you have?

How much shade do you have?

The two most popular lawn grasses that you will see is the Bahia grass and the St. Augustine/Floratam.

Let’s look at Bahia first. This grass has a mowing height of 3 to 4 inches. Bahia will last through a very dry season, so it’s a hardy grass. Bahia has a low shade tolerance, and if you plan on walking on it allot, it’s wear tolerance is very poor. This grass is very low maintenance and you can either seed or buy this grass on the pallet. Each pallet will cover approx. 500 to 600 sq ft.

Moving on to St. Augustine. This grass has a mowing height of 4 to 5 inches. St. Augustine needs water, so if you have water restrictions be sure to find out if you will be able to maintain this type of grass. It has a very low tolerance for drought seasons. Grows well in shaded areas. Based on my own experiences St. Augustine grows about every 4 to 5 days in the summer but it goes dormant in the winter months. St. Augustine has a low tolerance for wear. I don’t think that there is a grass out there that will withstand you walking on it continuously. You can plant St. Augustine either with sod which comes in 500 to 600 sq ft pallets or use plugs. I would not recommend plugging any lawn, please see my recent blog on plugs.

Advantages of Bahia
It forms a extensive root system. Grows very well in infertile, sandy soils. Bahia grass does not need allot of fertilizers. This type of grass only has one primary insect which is the Mole Cricket.

Disadvantages of Bahia
On a personal note, this type of grass slips through my blades and I spend more time going over and over the lawn to get a clean cut, which makes ruts in your lawn. If you have this type of grass and you notice spots of grass that are not cut, this is why. The best way is to lower your blades and cut shorter for this type of grass and this will usually fix the problem. Bahia also has a low tolerance for cold temperatures. It turns yellow from a iron deficiency. This can be overcome by using a fertilizer with iron in it. One of the main problems with Bahia is that it has a open growth habit, which means you have more weed growth. The problem is most herbicides don’t work on these weeds. Try to mow shorter and you will be able to handle the weeds better.

Let’s move on to St. Augustine grass. This is, as you might of guessed the most common turf grass in most parts of Florida. St. Augustine needs water and fertilizer to grow.

Advantages of St. Augustine
It has a good salt tolerance. Good shade tolerance. It’s perfect as soon as you put it down. Establishment from sod to a lush green lawn is quick and easy.

Disadvantages of St. Augustine

The most common problem with this grass is pest control. Bugs love this type of grass, so it must be good. The most popular insect for this type of grass is the Chinch bug. Please see my latest blog on Chinch bugs. St. Augustine grass produces excessive thatch. If your saying I don’t have St. Augustine, I have Floratam. Well over time the insect has overcome the grasses resistance and is now a problem for Floratam as well.

The best time to plant these two types of grasses would be spring or early summer months.

Ok, so there you have it. I hope you can know make a better decision on what type of lawn you put down. From a lawn business owner, I speak for myself, St. Augustine is the better choice for reasons like, less weeds, thicker and greener year round. Remember Bahia will die off on top as soon as winter comes. St. Augustine will stay green through several months of winter if well taken care of. I can mow St. Augustine grass at 4 to 5 inches where Bahia I have to lower my blades down to 3 to 4 inches. Which is harder on the equipment. Also consider whether or not you will be using a lawn service or not.

Last but not least ASK THE NEIGHBORS!

See if they like the type of grass they have and how hard is it to take care of.

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Oil spill and your lawn….

So are you asking yourself this question….”If this oil spill comes to shore will it damage my lawn?”

The answer is no, the oil is not going to be in your water even if you have a shallow well. The oil sheen is not currently expected to impact domestic wells. Here is some information on this matter. I also have a few question and answer information.

Public water systems in the Gulf region are not currently expected to be impacted by the BP Spill. If you have any concerns about your water, contact your water utility company.
 
Your water supplier must notify you by newspaper, mail, radio, TV,or hand-delivery if your water doesn’t meet EPA or state standards or if there is a water borne disease emergency. The notice will describe any precautions you need to take, such as boiling your water. Follow the advice of your water supplier if you ever receive such a notice.
 
If you have any concerns about your water, you should contact your water supplier. The oil spill is not expected to affect drinkingwater. If your water supply does not meet EPA or state standards your water supplier must notify you by newspaper, mail, radio, TV,or hand-delivery.
 
Why is EPA sampling and monitoring the water?

EPA is tracking the prevalence of potentially harmful chemicals in the water as a result of this spill to determine the level of risk posed to fish and other wildlife. While these chemicals can impact ecosystems, drinking water supplies are not expected to be affected.
 
The oil itself can cause direct effects on fish and wildlife, for example when it coats the feathers of waterfowl and other types of birds. In addition, other chemical compounds can have detrimental effects. Monitoring information allows EPA to estimate the amount of these compounds that may reach ecological systems. When combined with available information on the toxicity of these compounds, EPA scientists can estimate the likely magnitude of effects on fish, wildlife, and human health.
 
I hope I helped a litttle with this information, I know I’m a little off the subject of this blog but if anyone needs this kind of information here it is.
 
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The Perfect Flower for Florida

So you are looking to plant some new flowers for your flower beds, I did a little looking around and found this web site which had some very useful information for all my readers. So take a look and comment , let me know if you like the information so I know whether or not I should continue to use their web site. Thanks again for reading please leave your comments and sign the guest book.

Annuals
Most of the flowering bedding plants sold during Florida’s Fall, Winter, and Spring are annuals. Annuals usually bloom continuously for months and are then killed by the increasing heat and humidity as we pass into Summer. They are often used as companion plants to perennials or bulbs (which bloom for a much shorter period). If you want a lot of Fall, Winter, and Spring color in your garden, be sure to include plenty of annuals in flower beds and in containers. Although they must be replaced each year, annuals cannot be beat for their lengthy show. And because they come out at the start of the season, you have a chance to work on soil improvement and change color schemes and plants each year.

Buying Plants
When shopping for annuals, look for plants with healthy leaves and only a few buds or blossoms. Most of the annual bedding plants sold are compact selections and the mature height and spread of the plants varies with variety. Check plant tags for recommended spacing and make sure you buy enough plants to fill the space you have in mind. It usually takes one or two flats to make a colorful splash. Keep plants well watered until you plant them in your garden

Transplanting Tips
• Gently remove transplants from their containers by turning them upside down and squeezing from the bottom rather than pulling them from the top. If some roots have grown out through the drainage holes, you can pinch these off to make it easier to remove the plants from the containers.

• Set plants at about the same depth that they grew in their containers. Make sure that the topmost roots are covered with about 1/4 inch of soil, but avoid piling soil or mulch up around the main stem.

• Thoroughly soak the bed with water after you have finished planting. A thin mulch of pine needles, shredded bark, or other attractive material will help control weeds and keep the soil cool and moist.

All this information was pulled off the Florida gardener website. Here is the link if you have any other questions or you can comment and I will get back to you… thank you again.

http://www.floridagardener.com

Lawn Jokes!!!

Her are some random jokes all about lawns and lawn mowers of course. I pulled these off the Internet for a little laughter on the site…take a look you just might smile, for this morning is not all bad…

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“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.”

“Why are husbands like lawn movers?”
“They are difficult to get started, and then they don’t work half the time.”

“There’s one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbors.”

My daughter Renee asked if she could use my lawn mower. I told her of course she could, so long as she didn’t take it out of my yard!”

“The key to a nice-looking lawn is a good mower. I recommend one who has short shorts and a tank top!”

The Lawn Mower

Last year, when the power mower was broken and wouldn’t run, I kept hinting to my husband that he ought to get it fixed, but somehow the message never sank in.

Finally I thought of a clever way to make the point. When my husband arrived home that day, he found me seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. He watched silently for a short time and then went into the house.

He was gone only a few moments when he came out again. He handed me a toothbrush. “When you finish cutting the grass,” he said, “you might as well sweep the sidewalks.”

The doctors say he will probably live, but it will be quite awhile before the cast will be off!!!

Of course that’s just a few of them online that I did a simple search for. I hope you liked and please leave your comments and sign that guest book please… and thank you..