MAY 27, 2007

Many area lawns are not looking as pretty as they should due to our water restrictions and the stress from the high temperatures. People that don't have efficient irrigation systems find out very quickly when they start to lose portions of their turfgrass or have sections that turn a nice toasty brown.

It's important that you manage your irrigation system on a regular basis and see that it works properly. Replace clogged heads or change out heads that are not operating efficiently with better ones. Also remember that you need to water according to the times that you are allowed to and when watering water thoroughly so that you wet at least the upper 10 to 12 inches of soil and encourage roots of not only your grass but other plants to grow more deeply.

Another problem with lawns this time of year is mole crickets and grubs have a lot of activity. These soil inhabiting insects chew grass roots and can easily root prune most of the roots within small areas. This causes the grass to decline quickly because of lack of functioning roots and lack of nutrients getting up to the top of the grass.

If you think you have these pest problems, it's easy to make a quick test. Go to the areas that are declining and attempt to pull out some of the turf. If it lifts out real easy and there's no roots or very few roots, you've probably got one or both of these pests. If the grass is browning out but still firmly anchored, definitely you don't have mole crickets or grubs and it could be due to some other pest problem or disease.

If you want to replace or re-sod lawns, we can do that this time of year if you're able to supply water during the establishment period. New sod must be watered once or twice a day for at least 3 to 4 weeks or until it is well rooted. If you have only small areas that need repair or replacement, make sure when putting out new sod that the new sod is dug in at the edges at the same level as existing lawn so you don't have a bump there where you're mowing which could create scalping of the grass.

Weeds are a perennial problem in lawns, but right now it's too hot for many types of weed killers to work effectively. Hopefully as we move next month into our summer rains grass will grow more aggressively and be able to out compete many of the weeds that might be in place now.

In the next week or two it's time to fertilize turfgrass again for the upcoming summer season. Use a good quality turfgrass fertilizer and make sure it's spread evenly so you don't get any streaking in the lawn. Most people use a rotary type fertilizer spreader if you're doing it yourself. Drop down type spreaders are also good, but they cover a smaller width and it takes longer to do a large square footage of lawn.

Even though it's hot and people don't want to be outside during the daytime, it's still important that you keep lawns mowed regularly and most people that's going to be a once a week chore. Maintain at 3 or 4 inch heights on the grass when you do mow and mow it often enough that you don't remove more than 1/4 to 1/3 of the blade length at one time.

If you have questions about lawn maintenance this time of year, you can pick up some free information on turfgrass management at the Palm Beach County Extension office during normal business hours. You can also call the Extension office at any time for helpful advice. Dial 233-1750 in the north and central county area or 276-1260 in the south county area.

GJ/nr