December is a great time to
do things to our cool season lawns. The weather looks great for doing the
following items:
*Apply gypsum at 50#/1000 ft
sq to prevent salt damage. We don’t see salt damage usually till next spring,
so applying this now will prevent us from seeing it at all. You can apply this
to the base of evergreen shrubs, or any bed areas, as well.
*Mow up leaves or remove
them. The Oaks and Bradford Pears have been losing leaves like crazy lately.
Don’t let them stay on the lawn all winter or you will have bald spots next
spring. Bald spots will grow weeds eventually.
*Winter fertilizers should
still be applied. 1# of nitrogen or more is still OK to apply. Doing so now
will insure a nice green up next spring.
*You may consider a combo
application of fertilizer with a weed pre-emergent if you want to prevent winter annuals (chickweed and henbit the
most). Dimension or Barricade are great products to use if those weeds have
been a problem in the past.
*I have not winterized my
lawn mower yet. Looking at the forecast makes me think a good 2-2 ½ inch mowing
will be necessary next week on my cool season lawn. Early spring green up is
usually the reward here!
*Be sure you don’t do
anything on the lawn until it dries out! If you can see or hear water forming
around your feet as you walk on it…STOP! When we walk on frozen or wet ground,
we are causing harm to the grass and or the soil.
The year sure did seem to go
by quickly. The older I get, they all seem that way lately. I wish you all a
Merry Christmas, Hanukkah and Happy New Year. Taking life One Day at a Time is a resolution I will carry with me into
2015…and beyond.
Remember folks…it’s just
grass!
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