Edge Lawn Care Flashcards
To sharpen the knowledge of lawn care
Why is nitrogen fertilizing important for lawn care?
Nitrogen is of vital importance to the physiology of plants. It plays a critical role in the process of photosynthesis by which plants manufacture their own food from sunlight. Further, nitrogen is essential in plants’ manufacturing of proteins and in virtually every other aspect of plant physiology. Plants that are deficient in nitrogen grow poorly and develop yellowing leaves.
Why is Phosphate important for fertilizing and lawns.
oot Growth
Phosphorus stimulates root growth and enhances plant vigor early in the plant’s life. Phosphorus is most important when grass is first establishing, and remains important as new blades of grass continue to grow. The presence of phosphorus helps keep the lawn lush and thick. Healthy grass roots are better able to absorb nutrients from the soil so the grass grows faster and more efficiently and well-fed grass becomes a soft, thick lawn. Not enough phosphorous in the soil results in weaker grass roots and weak roots may result in the grass dying.
Too much phosphorus in the soil can create other problems. Phosphorus clings to soil particles and moves slowly through the soil. Grass and other plants need phosphorus, but in general they do not need much. If there is already phosphorus in the soil, adding more may damage the lawn and cause broad-based environmental issues. For example, run off from excessive phosphates in the soil causes the growth of algae and weeds, the dissolution of oxygen, and even the death of fish and other aquatic animals in nearby lakes.
Why is potassium important for a lawn?
Adding soluble potash (K2O) to the soil helps grass withstand stress,drought, and disease. Specifically, potassium helps maintain turgor pressure in the cells of the plant resulting in a positive influence on drought tolerance, cold hardiness, and disease resistance. As a result, potassium deficiencies in turf may cause and increased susceptibility to drought, winter injury, and disease.
Why is sulfur important for lawn care?
Sulfur is one of the nutrients that plants need to maintain regular growth. In most cases, the relatively limited amount of sulfur that plants use is naturally supplied from the soil. If your soil is deficient in sulfur, applying elemental sulfur or another source of sulfur can improve the health of your plants. Sulfur is also used to decrease the pH of soils. If your soil pH is too high, it can prevent your plants from using iron, zinc, manganese and other nutrients in the soil. Plants that are growing in soil with a high pH often show signs of chlorosis. Chlorosis is a nutrient disorder that causes yellowed or discolored foliage. As symptoms become worse, it can spread to the entire plant, and may cause foliage to curl and turn brown in severe cases.
What causes weeds to grow within a lawn?
Annual grassy weeds such as bluegrass, crabgrass and goose grass grow, produce seed and die within one season. They return the following year if this cycle is not interrupted. Grassy weed seeds fall from the plant in autumn and germinate in spring when the soil temperature is between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Conditions that cause the growth of annual grassy weeds are overwatering or light, frequent watering, a mower blade set too low or compacted soil. Grassy weeds take hold in lawns that are mowed to a height of less than 2 inches.
What are some signs that a lawn is over watered?
Squish:If you watered your lawn hours ago and it still goes squish under your feet, that’s a good indication that you should lay off the water.Runoff:If you are watering your lawn aggressively enough that the soil can’t absorb the water and water is instead running off into the street or other parts of your yard, once again, scale down the sprinkling.A wilted lawn:This one can be confusing because some of the signs that your lawn needs water–like not springing back up when you step on it, and blades of grass curling up–can also be signs of overwatering. Use common sense. If you’ve been dousing your lawn and it still looks like it “needs water,” it’s most likely wilted from overwatering.Fungus:Fungal lawn diseases take advantage of moist conditions to spread and thrive. If your lawn has a blight, mold, or patch problem, you’re probably overwatering. You could also be watering at the wrong time of day (early morning is best, so moisture can evaporate, as opposed to night, when moistures sits on the lawn for hours before the sun rises).
A deep soak a couple of times a week should be all your lawn needs. If you’re watering more than that, cut back and see what happens. A little less water may be the ticket to a healthier, greener lawn.
What is crabgrass?
Crab grass is an annual weed, but it acts like a perennial. It has what is called an indeterminate growth pattern. Most annual weeds grow until mature enough to produce seeds, then they die. They have one shot to reproduce.
Getting rid of crab grass is difficult because it keepsgrowing all season, spring through fall. New plant growth, developing seed heads, and mature seeds will all be present on a plant throughout the warm seasons.
Mowing the crabgrass won’t stop it, or even slow it down. It will grow more flat, rather than upright. But it keeps producing seeds, week after week, until you kill it or cold weather arrives.
Crab grass is prolific. It can produceover 150,000 seedsper plant. These seeds won’t germinate till the next season. It may seem like new plants are popping up from the current seeds. Actually, this just reflects the long window in which crabgrass will start to grow. Any attempt at getting rid of crab grass has to take this into account.
Seed germination depends on certainsoil temperatures, anywhere from 50 to 75 degrees. When this happens will vary in different parts of your yard. It is affected by sun exposure, shading, moisture content, and more.
The one thing to realize from this is that the longer you wait in the season to kill crabgrass, the worse your problem will be next year. If you do nothing during the growing season, plan during the winter for an early start to your battle for control
What is the best way to mow a lawn?
Stick to the 1/3 rule — never remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade length at any one time. A healthy lawn can survive an occasional close cut. Repeated close mowing produces a brown lawn and has several harmful side effects, including:
Injury to the crown, where new growth generates and nutrients are stored.Reduction of thesurface area of the blade,making the blade surface insufficient to produce food through photosynthesis.Increased vulnerabilityto pests and disease.An increase in the sunlight reachingweed seeds, allowing them to germinate.Risk of soil compaction.
Also remember to:
Mow when the grass is dry. The bladeswill beupright and less likely to clump when cut.Avoid mowing in the heat of the day to prevent heat stresson your grass and yourself.Keep mower blades sharp and balanced. Ragged cuts made by dull blades increase the chance of disease and pests.Change the mowing pattern each time you mow. Grass develops a grain based on your cutting direction, tending to lean towards the direction you mow. Alternating the pattern causes more upright growth and helps avoid producing ruts in the lawn.Mow moving forward, whether you’re pushing a walk-behind mower or sittingbehind the wheel of a lawn tractor.Discharge the clippings (unless you bag them) towards the area you have already cut.Leave clippings on the lawn unless they form clumps or rows. This technique (known as grass cycling) returns nutrients and nitrogen to the lawn.Consider using a mulching mower or mulching attachments.If you bag your clippings, consider composting them.Mow grass higher in shaded areas under trees. In these areas grass has to compete with tree roots for water and nutrients.Reduce mowing frequency and raise the mowing height of cool-season grasses when hot, dry weather slows their growth rate.Follow the proper fertilizing schedule for your type of turfgrass.
Mowing new grass
Newly-seeded grass needsthree to fourweeks to get established after germination before you should mow it for the first time. The grass blades are tender and easily damaged and the foot and mower traffic could compact the soil, especially if the soil is moist. Mow when the new grass is 3/4 inch to 1 inchtaller than its recommended regular mowing height.
When is it a good time to water a lawn?
The best time of day to water your lawn is in the early morning, from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Watering in the morning gives wet blades of grass time to dry out over the course of the day, reducing the possibility of fungal problems. Morning is also the coolest and least windy time of day, which means that the water you apply is less likely to be lost to evaporation.
What are the worst times to water a lawn?
if you water in midday when the sun and temperatures are highest, much of the water you intend to give your lawn will be lost to evaporation. Watering in the evening leaves your lawn wet through the night and can increase the risk of fungal diseases. Watering during windy weather increases water loss through evaporation and makes it difficult to water evenly. To conserve water, avoid watering your lawn heavily during droughts.
What are annual weeds?
Annual weedsspread throughout your garden by seed.
They may self-seed or they may be brought into the garden by birds, 4-legged animals or by sticking to your clothing as you walk by.
Examples of annual weeds include: bindweed, chickweed, crab grass, knotweed, lambs-quarters, mallow, pigweed, purple deadnettle, groundsel, nettle (common), purslane, speedwell, spurge and yellow oxalis
Just as with other plants, there are weeds that favor cool weather and cool-season annual weeds, and there are warm-season annual weeds.
Cool-season weedssprout any time from fall through spring. They’ll go to flower in late spring / early summer. The plant may disappear when the weather warms, but you’ll see even more of them germinating the following fall.Warm-season weedstend to start growing in the spring and hang around all through the growing season. Either way, the only way to get control of annual weeds is to get rid of them before they go to seed again. Luckily annual weeds are very often shallow rooted and can be easily hand pulled or cut off with a hoe.
Hopefully, you will see less and less annual weeds as the season goes along, but new seeds will always find their way in and some seeds remain dormant in the soil until ideal conditions present themselves and they germinate, so weeding is an ongoing process. If you can get in the habit of doing a little weeding each time you work in your garden, it won’t become an overwhelming task.
What are perennial weeds?
Perennial weedsare the most difficult to get rid of. They spread by both seed and creeping roots and if you don’t pull the entire root, the plant can actually reproduce from every little root piece left behind. You’ll have similar problems with perennial weeds that grow very deep, hard to remove taproots This means hoeing and tilling are not good choices for removing perennial weeds. Hand weeding will work if you are very thorough about getting the whole plant and root system. Sometimes herbicides are the only solution for eradicating tough perennial weeds likepoison ivy, ground ivy, and brambles.
Examples of perennial weeds include: bindweed, burdock, dandelion, dock, ground ivy, horsetail, Japanese knotweed, plantain, poison ivy, purslane, quackgrass, thistle, ragweed
Tip:If you can handle the cold, perennial weeds pull out most easily in the early spring, when the ground has recently thawed.
What are biennial weeds?
Biennial weeds complete their life cycle in two years, germinating and forming rosettes their first year and producing flowers and seeds their second year. Examples of these types include: bull thistle and garlic mustard.
Why is magnesium good for a lawn?
It is touted as a safe, natural product that can be used to increase everything from seed germination, nutrient absorption, growth, and general health of lawns and plants
Why is iron good for a lawn?
A favorite secret weapon of lawn care professionals and golf courses, iron supplements help to impart a lush, deep, blue-green color to lawn grasses.
Iron is particularly effective with fescue and bluegrass, helping these grasses stay deep green during the hot summer months without the increased growth (and subsequent water needs) caused by nitrogen fertilizers. Iron also helps control moss. The best time to apply iron to your lawn is in the spring, when temperatures are in the 60s to 70s F. Avoid spraying or applying iron during hot weather.
