Please Water Your Lawn...Responsibly

It is now time to start thinking about watering your lawn, trees, shrubs, and flowers. It’s starting to warm up and you are probably seeing a few lawns showing signs of dry spots. I watered my lawn for the first time since October on March 1^st. We want to strive to use our precious water resources responsibly which means not wasting it.

Broken Sprinkler --bradleygee

How do we waste water? Some people may over-water their landscape because they never shut it off during the winter months. Others may water during rainy periods. Some may have poor sprinkler coverage and water extra to help hide the weak spots. Others may not over-water, but they have sprinklers that spray driveways, walks, and city streets and water ends up in the culverts instead of the lawn. Some sprinklers are being blocked by plants and do not hit their intended targets, leaving a dry spot a few feet away, while at the same time, leaving a swampy lake at the base of the plant. Unfortunately, many homeowners turn on their irrigation clocks in March or April and turn them off in October or November with no seasonal adjustments addressing the temperature changes or the plant’s needs. Then there is the obvious geyser that is the result of broken lines, risers, or damaged sprinkler heads that roar through large quantities of water day after day until someone takes the time to fix it. These problems do not take care of themselves...really!

Okay, so where do you start. The very first day that you turn your irrigation clock to the on position, you should take the time to observe every sprinkler or emitter on every station. Note the patterns, coverage, and especially look for leaks or non-functioning heads. These need to be fixed immediately and checked periodically throughout the season. I would also recommend looking at the running time on each station to see if it is appropriate for the season and plant type. You should note if any runoff occurs and certainly make adjustments when you see the soil is too wet or too dry throughout the season. The City of Fresno and our website has information on the correct minutes per week broken down by month as a conservation guideline.

Water rates will soon climb much higher, so I would highly recommend looking at switching to more efficient smart time clocks and precision nozzles. The smart clocks and moisture sensors can help make logical seasonal adjustments to the plant’s needs and save significant amounts of water. Plants really don’t like too much water, or too little. The new lower precipitation nozzles really reduce runoff and have much higher water efficiency, especially over traditional spray nozzles.

We live in a desert and water is essential for growing plants and people. Let’s not waste it. For free assistance with sprinklers you may call the City of Fresno or Aqua Man, our new irrigation division. You can call Aqua Man at 475-7777, Weed Man at 266-1624 or check out our website at Fresno.WeedManUSA.com to find out more about irrigation or weed control.

Bermuda Grass – Is it Wonderful or a Weed?

We are all familiar with Bermuda grass.  It thrives in our Central Valley climate.  Bermuda is a strong lawn choice in the Valley as it can take the heat and tolerate moderately low levels of irrigation.  If you are trying to grow Bermuda as a lawn grass you probably like the fact that you can treat it sparingly and it will survive, or you can water, fertilize, and mow on a regular basis and it will provide you with a good looking lawn for years to come. 

Bermuda grass does have its limitations though.  It tolerates almost no shade and it goes dormant in the winter months leaving a tan landscape of dead leaves and stems. It has no ability to compete with winter weeds as it lies dormant making it a mottled mess if no measures are taken to prevent the weeds.  Bermuda is very invasive and able to mend open spots through rhizomes and stolons. Surprisingly it does not out-compete crabgrass though.  Keeping Bermuda in bounds and out of the nearby flowerbeds and the neighbor’s tall fescue lawn is a challenge as well.

A weed is a plant out of place.  This describes Bermuda when it is growing in what is supposed to be a tall fescue, bluegrass, or ryegrass lawn (or flower bed).  During the summer months Bermuda grass can progressively invade a lawn unnoticed as both the grasses are fully green.  As temperatures drop and the Bermuda becomes dormant, the realization of the damage is fully seen.  The key to managing the Bermuda population is to identify it early and take steps to suppress it with Turflon or spot-treat it with Roundup and reseed or sod. Applications should be applied to actively growing plants from April – September.  Once the Bermuda makes up more than 25% of the grass mix you can live with it and let it go, or at some point, kill off areas and start over.  Bermuda is not easy to kill once established, even with multiple applications of Roundup.

If you have a Bermuda lawn and it receives plenty of sunshine, I think it makes a great lawn. It should receive regular feeding, watering, mowing, and necessary weed control throughout the year.  If you have it and you love it, but the trees have grown and the shade is so heavy that you have more dirt than grass, it is time to change grasses or shrink the shape of the lawn to what areas are growing well.  If you have Bermuda and hate it and want tall fescue instead, you will need to apply Roundup 3-4 times over a period of 2-3 months starting in August.  After putting in the new lawn you will need to watch carefully for emerging Bermuda stolons and treat every 2-3 weeks with Turflon to suppress the Bermuda selectively. 

If you have any lawn questions please call Weed Man at 559-266-1624, visit our website at Fresno.WeedManUSA.com or check out our Facebook page at Facebook.com/fresnoweedman

Is your Lawn Looking Sad?

Spring is just around the corner and many of you will want to get out and work on the yard. To your dismay, your lawns may fall short of perfection due to “bald spots” or thin turf as a result of pet damage, weeds, sprinkler coverage, fertilizer spill, or any other number of things.  I would like to say “That’s easy.  Just sprinkle a little seed out there” and all will be well, but it is a bit more complicated than that.

First I would determine what it was that caused the turf to thin out or disappear altogether.  If it is something that you did wrong then I would be sure to not do it again and maybe hire a professional.  If it thinned out due to shade then you need to find another grass or plant material that can tolerate the increased level of shade or open up the trees to allow more light in.  Grass does not grow here without adequate water, so be certain your sprinklers cover well.   I know this sounds really basic, but these are the problems that are often ignored and we repeat the same thing year after year and get the same mediocre results.

The next step is to determine what kind of lawn you have and learn what makes it happiest.  Tall fescue, ryegrass, and bluegrass lawns generally stay green year-round if they get fed, watered, and mowed regularly.  They thrive on 50-75 degree weather, tolerate some shade, don’t spread well or none at all if damaged, and don’t compete well with warm season grasses like bermuda.  Bermuda thrives on 70-100 degree weather, but can spread by rhizomes and stolons to repair thin turf under good growing conditions.  Don’t try to reseed bermuda in the winter, early spring, or fall because it will have little chance to establish.  Don’t seed tall fescue in the middle of summer or winter either for similar reasons.

Pet Damage (dog spot)

Finally there is the matter dealing with the threat of crabgrass.  It will out-compete all lawn types from March through September.  It starts to germinate mid February and if there is a history of crabgrass in the lawn I would not feel good about the chance of successfully seeding a lawn during this time frame.  For cool-season grasses like tall fescue, I would delay seeding efforts until October 1.  If I had bare spots or thin weedy spots I would consider resodding those areas February through early May to allow establishment prior to our hot summer months.  Bermuda can be sodded most any time, and it does have the ability to fill in by itself under good conditions and without seed or stolons in many cases.

If you are not sure about what to do with your lawn we will give you a free evaluation quickly.  Call Weed Man at 559-266-1624 or visit us at fresno.weedmanusa.com to learn more or schedule a free evaluation.

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Dandelions, Clovers, and Stickers…Oh My!

We are quickly approaching the time of year that I love.  Days are getting longer and temperatures are slowly moving up to near perfection. Flowers will be blooming and trees will be pushing new growth.   I can just imagine the smell of the freshly cut grass.   Life is good isn't it!

Dandelion

From my perspective this is also a happy time for many of our favorite weeds.  As soils warm up crabgrass will be popping up in late February.  The winter weeds including dandelion, clover, prickly lettuce, groundsel, henbit, chickweed, sowthistle, cheese weed, filaree, mare’s tail, wild celery, fleabane, Poa annua, and others will enjoy this burst of sunny days as well.  They will start to grow rapidly, flower, and go to seed in order for them to spread into next year.  It’s great for them and for us as a weed control service as well.  Like long hot summers in Fresno, we can pretty much count on weeds year after year.

Weeds are invasive plants that just find opportunities to thrive in lawns and landscapes.  In some cases there are decent pre emergent products to prevent their germination, but others will be missed.  Some weeds like clovers are often an indicator of soils that are low in fertility.  Because they are legumes and can fix their own nitrogen, they are able to have a strong competitive advantage over dormant or neglected lawns.  Have you seen many of the school’s lawns lately?

Selective post emergent broadleaf weed control products can offer effective relief from a majority of the broadleaf weeds.  Greater plant safety is often noted on tall fescue and ryegrass lawns over bermuda lawns that are waking up from dormancy where some caution should be taken.  Weeds themselves should be actively growing and not freshly mowed at the time of application.  Irrigation or rainfall following the application in the first 24 hours may reduce effectiveness as well.  In some cases a second or third application may be needed to achieve complete control.

Not all lawn care products are alike and certainly not all landscaping providers are alike. I know when I am looking for help, I want to talk to live people that know what they are talking about, they’re honest, and they keep their promises and stand behind their work.  Weed Man lawn care is fully licensed and has all technicians nationally recognized as Landscape Industry Certified Technicians by the end of their first year. Results are guaranteed.  Feel free to call us for a free lawn analysis and quote at 559-266-1624 or visit our website at Fresno.WeedManUSA.com.

Crabgrass Management Starts Now

Crabgrass is a pesky annual grassy weed that loves irrigated lawns here in the Central Valley. It gets really large and very apparent in lawns by mid-summer, but by then it is much more difficult to control. Left unchecked, crabgrass can rapidly take over a nice lawn in a matter of a few years.

Here’s the problem.  You will not find an effective product for controlling existing crabgrass or dallisgrass on your store or nursery shelf.  MSMA, found in Weed Hoe and Trimec Plus, is no longer available to homeowners and was the only product that actually worked on the removal of unwanted crabgrass unlike the products offered now.  There are several products now on the market for homeowners for post-control of crabgrass and they all contain quinclorac.  I have not had good success at all in the Central Valley of California getting any significant control using these.  Maybe you will be lucky and make one of them work, but my guess is that they won’t and you will be out both the time and expense you have invested. 

Prevention is the key to crabgrass management especially without a reliable product for managing actively growing crabgrass plants.  Ideally, a pre emergent herbicide should be applied at the proper rate prior to Valentine’s Day.  There are a number of products out there (some better), but unless they are applied before seed germination at the right rate and uniformly the results could be less than desirable. We actually apply two applications to ensure better results.

What is the future for crabgrass control?  There are some products in development and a few that could be useful in certain cases.  There is a product called Tenacity that has some decent early post emergent control of crabgrass, but it is only recommended for cool season turf as Bermuda will turn temporarily white following application.  Other herbicides have also shown some respectable control of 1 to 2 leaf crabgrass (tiny) as well.  A sharp knife works well, too unless you have hundreds or thousands of plants. 

Why risk your lawn to crabgrass invasion when the cheapest and most effective solution is prevention with pre emergent herbicides.  Have your lawn treated either by yourself or a professional today.

New Year’s Resolution – “I Will Treat My Lawn Nicely”

Lawns are often taken for granted or even neglected and certainly don’t make most people’s resolution list.  I think it is time to change that and start by spreading a little wealth and effort in the direction of one’s lawn and landscape.  The lawn, trees, shrubs, and flowers are a vital part of the home and they certainly add to the value of the property.  Industry experts say a nice landscape can add 15% to the value of a home and for most of us with a home, it is the largest asset we have.  The experts did not say how much an unattractive landscape impacts the home’s value, but you can be sure it is not positive.

What can be done to have a better lawn and landscape in 2013? First I would recommend taking inventory on the current condition of the yard.  That would mean checking the sprinkler system, the shading/sunlight and exposure, the soil condition and drainage, etc.  Landscapes change over time.  The wonderful hybrid bermuda lawn you had 10 years ago may now be only a thin, spotty stand now due to heavy shade conditions as a result of your trees growing up.  The great sprinkler coverage you once had may now be compromised due to plants covering heads, dirty nozzles, or reduced water volume or pressure.  Many times it was never that good in the first place.

Assuming that you now have conditions suitable to grow healthy lawns and plants you are ready to attend to their needs.  Like you and I, they need to be fed regularly.  Proper nutrition helps them grow at a healthy rate and compete with pesky weeds, diseases, and insects competing for their space.  Proper mowing heights and regular mowing encourage a dense turf that can better compete with invasive weeds.  Some weeds like crabgrass and spurge can forge their way into most any lawn; good or bad.  Pre emergent products should be applied starting in February in order to keep them out.  Other weeds like invasive bermudagrass and nutsedge need to be dealt with on an individual basis. 

By the way, did you know that homeowners no longer have access to any products that work well for the removal of existing crabgrass or dallisgrass since the removal of MSMA products like Weed Hoe in 2012?  This year, 2013, is the last year that professionals can use MSMA so PREVENTION is the word from now on….period.

You need to decide if your lawn and landscape is important to you.  It cannot take care of itself.   If you want good results without all the hassles then call a professional that knows what they are doing.

Should You Leave the Leaves Alone?

It looks like summer finally gave way to fall and the leaves are really dropping.  Leaves end up everywhere including the roof, gutters, walks, flower beds, and the lawn.  In some cases they can get pretty thick depending on the surrounding trees.

The question is what is the proper thing to do with all those leaves?  Are they beneficial or harmful? It depends. The leaves are a good source of carbon and can help enrich soils as they break down and feed all the little soil microbes.   When the accumulated leaves reach a point where the lawn or flowers are completely buried, or worse yet, wet and matted, then you risk thinning and damaging the plants below.  Extended periods of low or no light will result in yellow, thin, and elongated leaves.  You see, they need light to carry out photosynthesis and make green chlorophyll.

How should you manage the leaves then?  I would suggest that leaves be allowed to accumulate and decay in flower beds if you are okay with the look.  It can help build healthier soils, reduce weeds, and retain soil moisture.  Green plant material should not remain covered for more than a week and perhaps shorter in the case of wet, matted, leaves.  For cool-season lawns that do not go dormant, I would recommend mulching the leaves into the lawn with a mulching mower when the lawn and leaves are dry enough to do so.  If the leaves are too thick, they may need to be raked off.  Another solution during leaf fall is to mow more frequently to allow the mulching mower to effectively mow the grass and leaves without leaving piles of debris.  If clippings pile up during the mowing process the accumulated clippings could be mowed again, raked, or blown, to distribute the piles and keep the turf healthy.  Dormant lawns should have the leaves mulched in or raked off during the winter prior to spring green up.

While leaves can be good for soils, they must be managed.  Do not let them form a dense mat on desirable plant material like flowers or lawns as they can cause thinning, yellow leaves in lawns and flowers.  Removal or mulching are your best two options and must be done regularly during heavy periods of leaf drop.