Weekly Garden Tip

September 24, 2006

By Gene Joyner, Extension Agent
Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service

If you’re one of these individuals that mows and takes care of their own lawn, you know that it can be quite challenging at certain times of the year. Certainly this time of the year is one of the busiest. With regular rainfall and rapid growth of grass, you’re probably going to have to spend some time once a week out doing mowing or other turfgrass activities.

Make sure that you don’t allow grass to grow too high between mowings since this can lead to large accumulations of clippings and make mowing more difficult the next time. The rule of thumb in lawn mowing is to mow often enough that you never remove more than 1/4 to 1/3 of the leaf blade. Since the proper mowing height for commonly grown turfgrasses is 3 to 4 inches this means a mowing schedule of about once every 5 to 7 days. Use mowers that have good sharp blades, too, so the grass is cut cleanly rather than ripped or torn.

Weeds this time of year can also be a major headache, however it is still too hot to apply many types of selective weed killers. Keeping grass managed well will slow down weed invasions, particularly in St. Augustine and allow the grass to out compete all but the worst weeds.

High nighttime temperatures combined with our warm daytime temperatures make conditions very favorable for disease development and it’s not unusual for many turf diseases to be on the increase this time of year. If you see brown patches in the grass areas or the grass blades themselves spotted with brown or looking like they are beginning to rot, apply turfgrass fungicides promptly to keep the problem from spreading.

If you don’t like to work with chemicals or don’t have the proper spraying equipment, local pest control companies offer lawn spraying at reasonable rates.
If you have landscapes that have degenerated over time to the point of needing complete overhauls, this is an excellent time for putting out new sod or doing complete renovation. Area sod companies have good inventories this time of year and the quality is quite good.

Remember when putting out new sod that it must be watered daily for the first couple of weeks or longer until it becomes rooted. Do not mow or fertilize new sod for at least 4 weeks to give it time to get fully established and then follow normal maintenance schedule thereafter.

Insects can also be a problem this time of year, particularly below ground pests such as white grubs and mole crickets which chew on the root systems. These pests can devastate lawns quickly causing lawns to turn yellow and discolor followed by wilting and death if new roots aren’t regenerated. Control products for these pests are available from most local retail garden centers or you can have it treated professionally by pest control companies.

If you have questions about your lawn care this time of year, you can pick up some of the free literature on lawns available at your Palm Beach County Extension office during normal business hours. The Extension Service also offers free advice over the telephone on any type of lawn care or plant problem. Dial 233-1750 in the north and central county area or 276-1260 in the south county area.