Part of having a beautiful home to live in is a nice lawn. For some of us it comes easy. We just apply a four step product we buy at the store and it looks great all the time. For the rest of us, it does not come so easy. Many of us have gone through trial and error and wind up hiring a treatment contractor only to end up with more problems. We see weeds that we're sure we've never had before. Unusual brown or dead spots and a host of other things. With our ever changing weather in Ohio, and a host of variables, we can expect to have various problems arise from time to time. Let's go over some basics needed for a great lawn

                                                                         GRASS TYPES

Many varieties of turfgrass out there. Each has its upside and downside.  Most lawn have a mixture of the following grass types. Pull up some blades and identify them according to the pictures below.

KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS: 

 Probably the best looking of all the varieties. Within this type, there are many cultivars or varieties. Some have a thicker texture. Some are thinner. Some green up quickly while others need warmer soil to come to life. Some are prone to diseases which will become active under the right conditions.  They usually withstand heat stress better than the other types. It tends to create a thick thatch layer over time which causes decline.

RYEGRASS:

This grass can also look very nice in a lawn.  It needs more fertilizers than bluegrass to stay green. It also needs plenty of water to stay actively growing. It usuallu looks good in the spring and fall, but will decline and easily go dormant in hot, dry weather.Notice the veins on the leaves and the shiny  backside.

BENTGRASS:

 This grass was widely used many years ago before weed controls were used. It grows in a creeping fashion and is able to be peeled back easily exposing the soil. This grass is not a desired type of grass to have, yet most everyone of us seems to have it to some degree. It is noticed as a lime green circle of turf that grows wider each year. It is often the first to brown in the summer and suffer disease and insect damage. It is a voracious grass that will invade most lawns eventually. It can come in as seeds or start to grow from tiny roots from within the soil from years past or in top soil brought in during revovation Notice the circular growing pattern of Bentgrass.

FINE FESCUE:

This is a very fine textured grass. The blades are more thread-like" than other grasses.It does best in the shade. It also tends to create a thick thatch layer which causes decline over time. Fine fescue has color limitations, reguardless of fertilization.  It tends to dry out quickly in hot, dry weather. This type of grass is prone to disease and insect damage. NOTICE THE FINE TEXTURE:

TALL FESCUE:

The K-31 variety is basically a weedy grass found growing wild in fields. In more recent years, a turf type tall fescue has been developed. It has the coarse leaf blades but grows straight up instead of sideways like crabgrass. It has a very dark green color and is resistant to many insects and diseases. It tolerates drought very well and needs little water to look good.  Notice the wider blades of Turf type Tall Fescue.

                                         SOIL

SAND

Sandy soils are a problem in many areas. The grasses suffer stress due to the stone content which heats up the roots, and leeches water past the root zone quickly. It also prevents pre emergent weed controls from staying at the surface where they need to be when crabgrass germinates. You can tell if you have sandy soil by pinching some of it between two fingers. After wetting it, rub the fingers together.Iif it feels gritty, it's sand soil.

CLAY

Clay soils tend to retain water which is good under normal rainfall. But too much rain will saturate the soil and cause decline. When dry conditions are present, clay soil hardens. This starves the roots from water and air also causing decline. To find out if you have clay soil, pinch some of it between two fingers. Wet it and rub the fingers together. If it feels slippery, it is clay. Core aerations should be mandatory in clay soil lawns.Compacted soils will not allow air, moisture and nutrients to penetrate properly. To find out if you have compacted soil, try to push a screwdriver into the soil. If it is very difficult to do so, it is compacted and aerating is needed.

LOAM

Loam soils are the best soils to have. Not too much clay or sand. This soil wil produce the best lawns.Do the pinch test. When wet, it will not feel gritty or slippery. It will break apart and dry out.

                                                                         SOIL pH

pH stands for potential for hydrogen. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 10. A pH of 7 is the neutral zone and allows lawns to thrive. A low pH indicates acid soil.  Applying fertilizers will acidify the soil over time.This condition will result in thinning turf, weed infiltration and moss growth. Acid soil can cause up to 70% of the fertilizers applied to be lost. If you have acid soil, you can correct it over time with the application of limestone. It can take up to 9 months for lime to work its way down to the root zone. It can take anywhere from 20 to 30 lbs of lime per thousand square feet to correct acid soil. It may be necessary to apply each fall for a couple of years to correct. You can actually create acid conditions in the soil by mulching up leaves in the fall. This should NEVER be done. Leaves, especially OAKS should be removed. Evergreen trees and shrubs drop needles and also acidifies the soil.To find the soil pH, request a test from Abbeyshire...it's FREE. If you have a lot of moss, it may require an iron treament to control it. A high pH reading indicates alkaline soil. It is rare in Ohio. To lower soil pH, apply sulfur   

                                      THATCH

Thatch is an accumulation of dead grass matter. It appears as a thick, spongy layer just above the soil line. In most cases, a thatch build up is caused by over fertilization. Lawns made up of fine fescues and bluegrasses experience the most thatch problems. It is not normally caused by leaving grass clippings, unless they are thick from cutting off too much grass at one time. When you cut off 1/3 of the grass blades, then the plant matter decomposes and returns nutrients back into the soil. Thatch causes many problems for a lawn. First, it acts as a sponge which absorbs water. This prevents the water from reaching the roots. It also is a perfect environment for insects and disease spores to thriveTo find out if you have thatch, spread the grass apart. If you can see bare soil, you have no thatch. If you cannot see the soil, you are looking at thatch. The best way to maintain thatch is regular core aeration. De-thatching IS NOT RECOMMENDED. This process causes damage to existing turf and requires excessive clean up.

                                   ENVIRONMENT

SUNNY

Full sun lawns can do well with the right grass types and soils. They can suffer heat stress in hot, dry weather and require adequate moisture. The first signs of stress is when you walk on the lawn and the footprints stay visible

SHADED

Heavily shaded lawns tend to be thin, Especially when ryegrass is present. Some bluegrass cultivars can do reasonably well, but fine fescue is best. It may be impossible to grow grass in these areas with no sunlight, as it is needed for healthy grass growth.Thinning trees to allow sunlight is strongly suggested.