Proper Lawn Irrigation / Watering
A full paper on lawn irrigation / Watering. Not all inclusive but should contain the essential points.
Proper Lawn Irrigation / Watering
Dish Soap in your lawn?
I know of many people that use dish soap as a surfactant for spraying chemicals. What it is supposed to do is help the chemical “stick” to the plants surface. In theory and, as many people claim, in practice this makes total sense. If you are going to spend money on chemicals then they should work to the best they can and any thing that can make them more effective is great.
If you think this is something you want to try remember these things.
1. Use a very very small amount, 1-2 drops (much less than a tsp.) per gallon of water.
2. Read the label on the product your using. If it doesn’t say anything about adding a surfactant (dish soap or otherwise) then you probably shouldn’t. Just like mixing per directions (not using more or less than what is recommended) the people who made the chemical know how it will work the best and how it will work the safest.
If you couldn’t tell, this is something that I have not and probably will not do. I have had great luck mixing per label directions and getting the results I think I should.
Lets get some discussion in the forums at: Dish Soap in your lawn?
Real Lawn Sense - Episode 19
Discussion of the current topics on the website, plus some expansion on them.
The worst weed ever - Poa Annua (annual bluegrass) Part 2
Great news for everyone! Those that have been affected by the recent poa outbreaks will soon be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Here in the midwest we have finally had several days in the upper 70s to mid 80s and the poa isn’t taking the heat. What was once abundent in certain areas is turning yellow and then brown.
Just remember if you thought it was a problem this year, be sure to put down a preemergent in late July to keep all the annual bluegrass seeds that are in your yard from germinating this fall. Although you will need to put off overseeding, dethatching and aerating until spring if you want to keep the barrier effective.
Slugs and Snails love Hostas
I know this is mainly a lawn site. However, I like my landscaping mainly of shurbs and ornamental trees.
If you are noticing that the lower or even upper leaves of your Hostas are getting holes ate in them that seems to be insect damage it is probably slugs or snails. There are other insects that like to chew on hostas, but the slug and snail will be the prime candidate in the spring. There are many granular pesticides that are targeted at these slimy critters and any of them should do just fine. Be careful when using these around pets and children as these “baits” are toxic. Also I would not recommend late night “as-salt-ing” of the slugs with kitchen salt. You can cause an unfavorable condition in your soil with too much salt content.
The worst weed ever - Poa Annua (annual bluegrass)
I’m currently in the middle of a knowledge hunt on Poa Annua. This is a weed for all intents and purposes. This worst part about this weed is that it is also a grass which makes it a very challenging weed to control. Because of its similarity to regular bluegrass, creating a herbicide that will kill it but not harm cool season lawns is next to impossible.
The current recommended control for Poa Annua is to apply a crabgrass preventer in late July. This will leave a germination barrier up for when the temperatures start to cool off and the annual bluegrass seeds will be able to germinate once more. Germination of this weed happens in the fall and then overwinters to grow and spread in the fall. Even short cutting won’t stop the propagation of this weed due to it’s ability to produce seed even when cut at very short lengths.
Please leave a comment on this if you have information on controls of this nuisance. I hope to have a full article up on this weed as soon as time allows.
