Your Hungry Lawn...Fertilization Schedule for Illinois

A lush green lawn is the goal of most homeowners, including my lawn-jockey brother-in-law, who's grass is akin to green velvet. Not only is the emerald area beautiful, it is also healthy. Healthy soil equals healthy grass equals fewer weeds and, in the long run, less effort to maintain.

In central Illinois, we are instructed to use the following schedule for fertilization (not applying weed killer) to our lawn. This schedule is written directed by how many times per year you decide to fertilize:

September 1 - If money is tight, this is the most important fertilizer application of the year. Cooler weather insures that the Kentucky Blue Grass is growing rapidly, allowing the roots to become healthy and robust.

May 1 and September 1 - If you can fertilize only twice per year, this is the schedule to follow. Feeding the lawn in the early spring while it is still cool and the grass is rapidly growing insures it will have the energy to make it through the upcoming hot spells of summer.

May 1, September 1, and Late October - Three fertilizations per year may sound like overkill, but it is strongly suggested that the lawn gets one last boost of energy to keep the roots healthy and happy over the winter. During mild winters grass may continue to remain green.

May 1, June 15, September 1, and Late October - The June 15 suggested feeding is the least important of all, but gives your grass the extra boost to keep it healthy during the dormant hot summers.

Remember that all of these dates are approximate but try to stick to the schedule as much as possible. During mild autumns, I have been known to fertilize as late as Thanksgiving. If the spring has been hot and dry, avoid the June feeding.

Most importantly, more is not better! Applying too much fertilizer will burn your grass, leaving big holes in the yard that weed seeds will find for sure.

May your grass be healthy and happy.

shel

Mower Washer Invention and the Man Behind It

I am honored to cyberknow (will I see this word in Webster’s Dictionary in the next few years?) a resourceful gentleman that possesses intelligence, imagination, common sense, talented hands, and an armory of power tools at his disposal.

Ken Bryden o f Vancouver, Canada is always brainstorming how to “build a better mousetrap.” He has created bubblers and filters for his water garden to assist in water clarity, built exquisite furniture from downed trees, and constructed an ingenious device that should be in every lawn jockey’s shed.

Ken has unselfishly sent instructions on how to build his contraption used to clean the freshly mown grass from the underside of the deck of your mower.

Per Ken:

1. “Build the “mower wash” wide enough to accommodate your rotary mower, with wood on either side and end to keep the mower from rolling off. It shows the hose on top of the cross piece but it is safer to have it under that cross piece. This way the sprinkler head can’t hit the blade.
2. Start the mower.
3. Turn on the water and in a minute, all the cut grass is washed from the underside of the deck.

This way the underside of the deck doesn’t get plugged and doesn’t rust out.
DON’T USE IT ON ELECTRIC MOWERS! ZAP!!”

Thank you, Ken, for sharing your invention. A clean lawnmower is an essential factor for a perfect lawn!

(I have very clever mice that have invaded my home over the long, cold winter months…how about a better mousetrap?)

shel

Garden talk

The heat has finally hit central Illinois and my gardens are feeling it. The container plants are looking rather wilted, even with deep waterings every single day. My banana tree and elephant ear are actually thriving at this point. I'll have a nice tropical feel in the sunroom when I bring them into the house in a few short months.

'Alaska Nasturtium' is one of my favorite annuals. Earlier in the spring I soaked the hard, large seeds in warm water for two days. Then I stuck my finger into the soil in my planters, dropped in the seed, and pushed the soil back over it. Easy as pie. I am now rewarded with jewel like blooms in vibrant red, yellow and orange. The real star of this annual, however, is the leaves of the plant. The 3" round leaves are splashed and segmented with creamy white on the yellow green. Planted in a hanging basket with bright pink Wave petunias and 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia (trust me...you must plant this next year), my nasturtiums are a sight to behold. I'll try to download a pic of one of the baskets.

I've stopped pruning back the mums and asters. Quite a few years ago I learned from a pro that the best way to prune them is to use your hedge shears and just whack the tops off about four times in the season, with the last time being the first part of August. This will give you a spectacular professional show in October.

The black-eyed susans and echinacea are blooming like crazy. I love the "messy" comfortable look that they give the gardens. I do need to deadhead them because they will completely take over the world...okay, the garden...if I let them all go to seed. The goldfinch love to eat the seeds, but so many get away that I end up pulling out starts each year.

Have you seen the commercial elderberry 'Black Lace'? It's an interesting plant. I don't have one, however...instead, I have a love-hate relationship with the elderberries that are so generously planted by the birds. I love the elderberry jelly my mom makes, but I hate the mess that they make in the gardens. I consider elderberries a noxious weed. Same with poke weed. Be careful that you don't mix up the two plants. Elderberries are clusters of berries that are pointed UP, and each berry has its own stem. Poke berries are extremely poisonous. The hang down in clusters like grapes do. Avoid them at all costs.

I need to mow the lawn again. The mower blade is set at the highest setting. I keep the grass higher so that it can shade the roots and retain moisture. It also keeps weeds choked out. Well, most weeds, anyway. Creeping Charlie is pretty hard to discourage.

The good thing about the heat is that it will help the tomatoes ripen. It will also give them that great home-grown flavor that we have all been missing.

I can't wait to have a BLT.

Happy Gardening,

shel

Fertilize, Fertilize, Fertilize

Notice to my family members that may want to read my blog:
STOP! If you're not interested in fertilizing, don't waste your time. Call me instead and we'll have a chat about the latest craziness in my household.

Notice to garden fans:
This may bore you, but it's important!

The standard procedure for fertilizing lawns in central Illinois is to haul out the old broadcast spreader and purchase lawn fertilizer and weed killer four times a year. The first week or so of September (remember Labor Day) is one of the most important times for the fertilization. Grass, especially our Kentucky Blue Grass, is back in it's full glory of brilliant green since the weather has become cooler and the rains have started again. Keep in mind that you don't have to buy an expensive name-brand product; instead, compare labels. I happen to be running late this year, but I will definitely do my lawn soon.

Be sure to also fertilize around Thanksgiving. This will allow a good root system to develop for your lawn to help hold it over the winter.

If you have a score to settle with a bad neighbor, sneak over in the middle of the night with a bag of fertilizer and use a scoop to pour out fertilizer so that you spell something, like "My dog poops in your yard." It's almost like writing "wash me" on a dirty windshield. (I'm just kidding here, although I considered writting a bad word on a neighbor's lawn when we lived in Bloomington...but really, don't do it!)

When the time comes, we'll talk about the spring fertilizing.

shel
p.s. I try to not use a lot of chemicals, but I do take good care of my lawn. There's just something about walking barefoot on a velvety lawn that makes a person's heart happy. (Just ask my brother-in-law, Rick. Happy Birthday, Rick! Happy Lawns to you!)