Have you ever thought of training
your lawn? Well, you train your pets and spouse so why not the lawn too?
Lawns often get a bad rap for using so much water but maybe we are
really at fault.
Let's face it no lawn is going to look good without adequate moisture
unless you happen to like the straw-like look. Yes, no matter how
drought tolerant the claim if they do not have water at least once or
twice a week during the dry times most are going to turn brown.
But you can help stretch the times between watering by training your
lawn. What this means is withholding water until the lawn uses up most
of what is available to it in the soil. It may be a few days during the
hot weather to weeks during the cooler times of the year. Allow the
grass to start to wilt a little - it won't hurt it. In fact studies
indicate if the grass wilts a little it grows a deeper root system. By
withholding water just a little you are training your lawn.
And yes, even the St. Augustine turf can be trained to use less water.
So why are some talking about outlawing St. Augustine for home lawns?
Now here are some more of Tom's Gotta Do's for the month of May.
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Tom's Gotta-do's
for May, 2008
Select fertilizers that slowly
release nutrients to the lawn during the hot wet months ahead.
Look for yellow areas in St.
Augustine lawns to check for chinch bugs and treat if needed.
May is the last of the better sodding
months for shady areas until fall.
Select a drought tolerant grass when
adding new turf.
Apply an iron only fertilizer to
regreen yellow lawns.
Select shade tolerant grasses or an
ornamental ground cover for difficult shady spots.
Save lots of water by irrigating
trees and shrubs separately from lawns and only when needed.
Capture water from drain spouts to
use during the try times.
Maintain a mulch layer over tree and
shrub roots to help conserve moisture.
Learn to identify chilli thrips
damage as this pest affects many plants; treat as needed.
One feeding with a slow release
fertilizer could feed your plants through summer.
Make sure new plant selections have
adequate room to grow.
Feed palms with an 8-2-12 or similar
slow release palm fertilizer according to label.
Trim faded flowers from annuals to
encourage new blooms.
Create shady gardens with low light
requiring flowers, shrubs, bulbs and foliage plants.
Fertilize all flower beds and shrub
plantings as the rainy season returns.
Complete pruning of azaleas and
camellias.
Trim the ends of shoots from shrubs
as needed to encourage branching and compact plants.
Feed water lilies and lotus monthly.
Keep bananas moist and feed monthly
to have flowers by late summer.
Give citrus, grapes and other fruits
a late spring feeding.
Feed vegetable plantings monthly.
Incorporate compost with planting
sites to improve sandy soils.
Seed packets are removed from stores
during the summer; purchase seeds now for later.
Give weak and thinning foliage plants
a spot outdoors so they can recover.
