Have the best looking lawn in the county

Whether your goal is to have the best-looking lawn in the county, or to have a healthy lawn that requires the least amount of mowing, let’s go over some good practices to help you achieve this. 

First and foremost, as we begin talking about any kind of grass growth, the most important aspect is a good-quality soil with the proper pH and nutrient levels. Hopefully, you have taken a soil sample last fall or winter and have applied the proper ingredients for your lawn; however, in this case, it is better late than never. 

After you have established a good soil base, you need to decide the desired turf grass for your lawn. There are several varieties of turf grass that are suitable for Camp County. One of the most common and easiest to manage is Common Bermuda; however, there are also St. Augustine, Centipede, and Zoysiagrass, along with others. There are several factors to look at when picking a variety of turf grass such as: sun vs. shade, water requirements, disease potential, traffic tolerance, mowing frequency, and leaf texture. Each one of the different varieties seems to thrive in one or more of these circumstances, so take the time to look into your situation before making a decision. 

After establishment, you are on the downhill slide. You now need to focus on keeping the enemy (WEEDS!) out and provide the proper amount of water. As with everything nowadays, we want the simplest method with the least amount of effort. Luckily we have irrigation systems available to us that water automatically. It is very important though, if you do not have a system that reads the soil moisture, don’t simply turn on the system in April and then turn it off after the first frost. 

There are a few ways to measure the amount of water your system is putting out. 

One of the easiest ways is to place empty tuna fish or cat food cans throughout your lawn, and time how long it takes your system to fill the cans with one inch of water.  Your lawn should be receiving an inch of water at a time; if not, you will need to adjust your system so that you are applying an inch of water per irrigation period. Any amount over an inch will mostly run-off and become a wasted resource. Attention to this detail will show you whether you need to shorten the amount of time your system is running, or let it run a little longer to achieve the correct amount. 

The next question to address is how often you need to water your lawn. A good trick to tell when your grass needs a drink is to walk across it and look back. If your footsteps quickly pop back up as if you never walked through it – perfect! If your steps remain in the grass, you need to water your lawn.

The final topic in discussion is defending your lawn against invaders. The word “weed” has several different meanings today. However, I like to use the definition of my Merriam-Webster Dictionary – “a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants.” There are several ways to combat weeds. 

1.  You could walk around with a plastic bag and pull up every weed and place it in the bag, then dispose of the bag with your weekly trash pick-up.

2.  Take “the Jerry French approach!” and spray every single weed with a non-selective herbicide, and let the Bermuda work its way back in eventually.

3.  Or back to the simplest method with the least amount of effort -- use the chemically controlled method.

However, to successfully combat weeds, you must first identify the species and then find an herbicide that kills the targeted weed which will not harm the turf grass. For those of you with St. Augustine grass, pay special attention when selecting an herbicide. It is very important to read and follow the label directions when using herbicides, aside from it being the law it can be very dangerous and harmful to misuse the product. 

If you have any other questions, please call the Extension office at 903-856-5005, or come by the office.