Horticulture Hotline 03/27/17
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
We are getting some beautiful days to work in the yard, and
after a weird winter, the yard need a little attention.
Oh, those lovely oaks and their leaves and their tassels.
Time to rake, blow, and / or mulch your leaves to get them off your lawn areas.
Leaves trap moisture and block sunlight from your turf areas, which is great in
beds (we call it mulch), but not so good for lawns. When talking to lawn care
companies, it amazes me when they tell me that they went to ten yards and could
only treat six because the leaves in the yard.
Over the next month, many of us will be applying (or have
someone else apply) different products to the lawn for fungus, weeds, and to
fertilize, so having the leaves up will insure a uniform application of
product.
One part of my job at Possum’s is working with athletic
fields and it always amazes me how much difference the field looks verses the
surrounding area. The grounds superintendent puts out a preemergent herbicide
and the field has little to no winter weeds. Right outside the fence in the
untreated area there are all kinds of winter weeds. Kill these winter weeds now
before they compete with your grass emerging from dormancy and before they
produce mature seeds that will be next year’s crop.
The same goes for mole crickets. Right off of the playing
surface, there are mole cricket tunnels everywhere. Be sure to treat for mole
crickets in your yard. Mole cricket mating season is now and they are doing a
lot of tunneling near the surface causing damage to turf. The grasses we have
in this area slough off their roots as they begin to grow in the spring, so the
last thing the grass needs is a mole cricket separating its young new roots
from the soil and drying out the grass plant.
Since our grasses slough off their roots at this time, our
(Possum’s) 04-00-10 (Perk) and SeaHume are great to apply. We spray a growth
regulator designed to grow roots onto this 04-00-10 and enhance it with humic
acid (also helps to grow roots), so your turf and plants get off to a healthy
start. The SeaHume is full of minor nutrients, gibberellins, and other
bio-stimulants that will make the young grass plant (or any plant) healthy,
ready for adversity (fungus, salt, lack of water, insect attack) and ready for
another season.
Fleas have been really active all winter. Treating inside
your house with a growth regulator before you have an issue can go a long to
avoiding the flea battle. Treating your
pet with Prefurred One or Prefurred Plus will keep the fleas at bay.
Fire ants are numerous and visible because of the rain. A
product like Bug Blaster or Sevin will help with fire ants, mole crickets, and
fleas.
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is a Federal Law.
