The Do’s and Don’ts of January Lawn Care

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for spring. Reality tells me we are only half way through winter! There are some things that should or shouldn’t be doing with your lawn right now:

*Try to avoid walking on the lawn early in the morning when frost is present and or when you step in the grass and you can see water around your shoe print. Both of these situations can cause damage to the grass and compaction to the soil.

*Don’t worry about “tanned or burnt” looking grass. A short (2 “) mowing in the spring and few warm days will change the appearance quickly.

*Blow or rake leaves that are matted into the turf. This help the lawn thicken in the spring and allow the preemergent to work better too!

*Apply gypsum at 50# per 1000 ft. sq along edges that may be getting salt damage. Gypsum won’t change the pH of the soil, but will help nutrilize the sodium being added to the lawn edges.

*If it gets freaky warm for 4-5 days in a row and you want to mow the lawn…go ahead and do it. Mother Nature dictates our mow schedule, not Saturdays on the calendar. Make sure your lawn mower is ready before and stored properly after the mowing!!!

*Fertilizer applications are OK to do…as long the ground isn’t saturated. Only do this if you missed doing so in November/December.

*Don’t do anything to zoysia lawns (except remove leaves with a blower). Do Not mow or rake vigorously.

*Snow plow damage should be fixed after March 1^st. We still have too much winter left.

The Holidays where very nice for me and my family this past season. I will hope 2014 will bring all of you physical and spiritual health.

I am a regular blood and platelet donor…please consider giving this gift when you can. There is real need for our local hospitals to get some donations soon!!!

Happy New year all,

Glenn Kraemer

Happy late Thanksgiving and early Merry Christmas!

What a challenging and rewarding year 2013 has been. I will hope and pray that your year was one to remember as opposed to one that is that can’t be over soon enough. I like to focus on the positives so here are a few of my 2013 best thoughts:

*My son Ben graduated from Mizzou and was awarded a scholarship to attend Virginia Techs Graduate program in Turfgrass Science. (Thank God he got his mothers brains)

*My daughter continues to excel in Nursing at Rockhurst University. (Mother’s brains and looks…sorry Ben!)

*My wife Liz and I celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary with a trip to New Orleans. (4 days is enough for me in that town)

*We were able to move our business into a larger location. (Page and Warson area. About 3 miles west of our old location)

*2 nieces and 1 nephews’ family are having babies in 2014.

One sad note was the passing of my Mother-in-law. I was there when she left. It was sad and a beautiful thing knowing she wasn’t in pain anymore. She will be missed, but never forgotten. She literally helped change my life.

2014 can be what you make of it. I’m going to try to get a little healthier physically and spiritually. I’m going to attend my first White House Retreat and will give the 20 Minutes to Fitness workout a try. (Thank you Kim and Alan for the push!).

Look for my once a year mailing in late February for suggestions on what to do with your lawn applications on 2014. Please send me questions or come on by and visit the new building. (we have bird seed this year to offer!) It probably won’t be very exciting, but I will make an effort to make it so!

Be safe this Holiday Season and I hope to see you all soon,

Glenn Kraemer

GR Robinson Seed & Service Co

November is Fertilizer Time!

To truly make your cool season lawn as healthy as possible for next summer, fall fertilization is very important. Next to keeping the leaves of all fall, fertilization with 100% (or as much as you can find) slow release nitrogen (U-flexx, U-Maxx, Nutralene, MESA or any organic source) is by far what I consider to be the best. At 1-2 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 ft. sq.

Try to either mow up the leaves or blow them off the grass before applying. It’s not the end of the world if you apply fertilizer over the leaves, but if you can the do the right thing and remove the leaves first, you should have better results. This application guarantees a nice fall green color and spring green up that won’t “blast” out of the soil. The nitrogen source is stored in the roots and eases out the ground. It also allows you to use little to no nitrogen in the spring. We’ll suggest using a 7-0-22 or even a 0-0-7 with dimension (crab grass preventer) next spring (March –April). Not a lot of nitrogen in either of those, but you won’t need it if you use the 100% slow release product the previous fall. It’s a “Program” not a one shot cures all approach.

Other things you can be doing this month:

*Keep mowing at 2 1/2 to 2 ¾ inches all fall

*Spot spray weeds if needed with “Ester” formula herbicides (they work very well in cool weather…read your labels for more information)

*Trap or poison moles if needed. They are really moving a lot right now and are easy to control. (Notice I didn’t say “get rid” of. All we can do is control what is there now, because more are coming not matter what we do. Kind of like “voles” as well. No such thing as total eradication, just temporary control)

*I’ll remind you to remove leaves every 2-4 days, one more time. It’s that important!

*Winterize your irrigation system.

*Plan on winterizing your lawn mower. I have a Honda which allows me to add fuel stabilizer, run it for a minute and then “shut off” the gas flow to the engine. Read your manual!

November is great month to plan your Holiday gift giving to those less fortunate. It only takes about 15 seconds to read the paper or go on line and see someone in need. I prefer to support local chapters of charities. My father-in-law always supported “Our Ladies Inn”. My wife volunteers there and has brought home some interesting stories. Between the USO and Our Ladies Inn, we have both found something that appreciates our time. I hope you can find that someday too.

Remember folks, it’s just grass!

Glenn

OCTOBER DO’S AND DON’TS FOR YOUR TURF and THE CARDINALS!

I’m tired of complaining about the lack of rain fall so I’ll tell you all how happy I am for the baseball Cardinals. Post season play is good for the city and the exposure it brings. I’m sure the DeWitt family is regretting their decision to host those football games right before the last week of the season? I hope no one on the grounds crew lost their job over a decision they had nothing to do with? So much for a “baseball only” venue! I’m sure Billy and Chad are up to the challenge. The does and don’ts for the Cardinals are pretty easy…Don’t schedule anything on the field that may ruin the career of a player or employee and DO win a championship!

Now for some really good stuff…

Warm season/Zoysia Do’s & Don’ts:

*Do keep watering until we get some substantial rain

*Do let it get a little “leggy” into the fall (2 ½ inches or so)

*Do keep the leaves removed even when it’s dormant

*Do make preventative fungicide applications now and in 30days and again April 15-30th. Do them all or none of them!

**Don’t apply any late season high nitrogen fertilizer. High POTASH is OK, but not high nitrogen (see cool season suggestions)

**Don’t aerate or power rake any more…it’s too late to benefit from these. Wait until May to consider doing this again

**Don’t pass up the opportunity to do a soil test. Fall is the best time to correct problems in the soil!

Cool season Do’s & Don’ts

*Do keep watering…especially if you have seeded in the past 30 days. We are dry despite being “above’ for the yearly average

*Do go ahead and aerate and seed still. The soil temperature is way up past normal. You can still get seed to grow, but time is running out to expect great results!

*Do plan on fertilizing with 1 pound if nitrogen per application 2 more times this year yet. 100% slow release nitrogen around Thanksgiving is still the best and most important application you should do!

*Do keep mowing at 3 ½ inches until November and then lower to 2 ½ inches for the final 2-3 cuts. It will green up more quickly next spring…maybe.

**Don’t let leaves accumulate for more then 3 days. New seedlings will have a hard time recovering after more then 3-4 days without sunlight!

**Don’t use a rake to remove leaves (unless you are very gentle), Have then blown or bagged up while mowing. If mulched, don’t return more then the ground can handle!

**Don’t skip fall fertilizations! The lawn will look good and you might think it’s unnecessary, but it is. Just do it!

**Don’t apply herbicides without reading the label! You could do more harm then good!

At the end of the day, our lawn is like our lives…the more we put into it, the better it is. I got to play golf with dad yesterday, my son turns 23 on Sunday and I’m going to Kansas City to have lunch with my daughter…it doesn’t get any better then that. I hope October brings some much needed moisture and what ever else you need in your life. Remember folks…it’s just grass!

September Warm Season Turf Care

GOT ZOYSIA PROBLEMS? PROACTIVE APPLICATIONS ARE BEST!

Ever since “burning” zoysia thatch has been outlawed, there appears to be an increase in zoysia “decline”.  Too many problems are misdiagnosed.  My feeling is that if you want your zoysia you have to be proactive (address issues before they become issues) with disease and insect applications or you will be “fixing” your lawn year after year. You have to remember zoysia is a “warm” season grass, so fixing it is best between late April and mid September.

Here a few steps you should take if you are serious about making or keeping your zoysia healthy:

*Remove thatch by power raking in the spring (April 15-May 15) or by next week (because the ground is so warm). Don’t this too early in the year because you can cause more harm then good if we get a late frost!).

*Apply fungicide like “Headway” at 4#/1000 ft. sq September 15-30, October 15-30 AND again April 15-30. If you can’t do all three, don’t do ANY of them. They all work together and pretty much useless as an each. Like so many things in life, they work together for the common good. Pretty expensive (around $75-85 per 30# bag), but very effective if you truly have a fungus problem!

*Apply a systemic (long lasting) insecticide like “Merit (r)” in Mid April and again in Mid July. This will take care of all insects for the year. It’s the “Hunting Bill Bug” that causes the most damage to zoysia and these applications will control all insects for the year.

*Spot spray weeds as needed for the next couple of weeks. By October 1^st you probably won’t be able to spray herbicides on zoysia. (read the label)!

*Apply a high Potash (last number on the fertilizer bag) fertilizer any time this month. DO NOT apply high nitrogen “winterizer” from a big box store. All “winterizers” are not created equally. Warm season lawns need totally different fertilizers at totally different times then their cool season counterparts. Know your grass type and the right fertilizer for the right time of the year and you will have a successful lawn

Remember that all of these applications work together. Any one of them can help, but not like if you do all of them together at the right time and at the right rates. I preach about knowing your grass type and making a plan to do the right things at the right time because they work! Skipping or taking short cuts don’t work.

This can be confusing, so don’t hesitate to shot me an email or give me a call and I’ll be glad to clear up the mud.

Enjoy the cool weather and pray for some rain will ya!

Remember folks, it’s just grass!

Glenn Kraemer

SEPTEMBER:RENOVATE AND RESCUE YOUR COOL SEASON LAWN

A nice 7-8 hour rain fall that would drop 1” of water would be really nice about now…we have to have our dreams!

The renovation process should go forward as long as you have an irrigation system and you are willing to run it EVERY day for 2-3 weeks (and maybe even twice a day!?). We about 5” behind in rain fall in our area. If you don’t get this free newsletter from the University of Missouri (http://turfpath.missouri.edu/reports/update09_05_13.cfm) you should. It will single handedly provide you with enough information about grass growing and when and how to do things as you can get. Dr. Lee Miller produces this and I have relied on his information to explain a lot of weather related problems. Sign up for the newsletter and you will better educated turf grass decisions!

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to renovate your cool season lawns:

Step-By-Step Cool Season Renovation Practices

1. September is the ideal month to do this. Your next chance will be March or early April.
2. Decide if herbicides are needed. Read the label and apply 2 weeks prior to seeding.
3. Remove debris in the yard and use top soil to level rough areas.
4. Mow the grass at 2”, but reset the wheel immediately back to 3.5 inches. You want to mow it all into the winter until the last cut.
5. Flag the irrigation heads and utilities so they are not damaged by the machines.
6. Spread organic matter (compost, peat moss or top soil mix) if necessary.
7. “Core” aerate or power rake the lawn. You can’t aerate too much! If you power rake, you have rake up and remove the thatch.
8. Spread your seed and fertilizer.
9. Power rake or hand rake areas to increase seed to soil contact! This insures the seed won’t wash away and birds won’t eat it. Don’t apply straw!
10. Top dress areas that may need additional compost, peat moss or top soil. Bare areas should be covered with Penn Mulch ®.
11. Water EVERY day for 2-3 week. Keep the top ½” moist, but puddle free. You may have to water in the evening as well depending on the soil and the weather.
12. Mow (with a bag) after 2-3 weeks and then you can water 3-4 days a week after you have even germination.
13. After 3-4 mowings, go ahead spot spray weeds as needed. Fall is a great time to control certain weeds!
14. Keep leaves removed all fall! Smothering leaves will kill all your new grass plants if left on the ground. Chop them up or remove them every 3-5 days!

These steps have proven to be very effective, but if you have your own spin on how to get things, then by all means do it your way. Over seed rate for most lawn seeds is 35- pounds per 1000 ft sq or 8-10 pounds when starting over! Next month I’ll give you tips on “winterizing” the lawn and late fall weed control applications!

September 11 is coming up. I always have a little trouble staying focused on that day. Immaculate Conception in Maplewood is having a blood drive from 3-7 (I believe) and I’ve made a note to donate blood on that day. I will make me feel good to visit the church and donate some A+ blood (with CMV Neg in it) to someone who needs it. I hope all who read this will reflect on that day how fortunate we are. Maybe for a day, our problems won’t be as bad?

Remember folks, it’s just grass!

Truth N’ Turf August 2013 Q & A

A question about Starting Fall renovation now for Cool Season Turf- answered by Steve, Glenn’s right hand:

Is it too soon for me to get going on a problem spot in my lawn?  We had some new concrete installed at our street corner and it is just a patch of weedy grass and bare spots.  The rest of my grass has some weeds but it’s not too bad.  When should I hire someone to aerate?

Take advantage of the cool weather and spray any existing weeds you may have., You must wait a least two weeks before making arrangements with your lawn care professional to have the yard aerated and over-seeded starting in last week of August or September. Most yards should be in above average shaped based on the summer we have had so take advantage of the great conditions to make your yard even better.

Steve