Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 17, 1994 TAG: 9404180167
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: John Arbogast
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A: In addition to the physical wear and tear that destroyed the grass that grew in the trails, the pets have caused the soil to become compacted. This is the same thing that happens around schools, college campuses and parking lots. Soil compaction can be a real problem in re-establishing or maintaining grass.
Of course, the re-establishment of grass in those spots will be your ultimate goal. However, it's a little late now for spring seeding to produce permanent turf, because young grass plants might not survive summer heat stresses unless those plants are well established before it gets and stays hot. The best time to seed grass is late August or early September when days will still be hot but nights will be cooling. There are jobs that need to be done now and in the coming weeks in preparation for the late-summer seeding.
One of the first things to do is to start alleviating the soil compaction. If the pets have used these JOHN ARBOGAST paths for months or years, causing that soil to be very compacted, run a core aeration machine over those areas now and again in late summer immediately preceding the reseeding. You can rent a core aerator and do this work yourself or hire a lawn company to do it. The severity of soil compaction can be judged by the ease with which a pointed shovel can be thrust into the soil.
Sometime soon, take soil tests from those areas where new grass is wanted. With soil test results, any necessary adjustments in the soil pH can be started.
If new grass is to be successful, it will be necessary to keep people as well as pets off the spots once the seed is sown and the grass begins to grow. You have the next four months to plan just how foot and paw traffic will be kept off the areas. If there is no way to prevent future compaction in some areas, a good spring or summer landscape project would be to construct walks or areas of mulch, edged with timbers, stones or plastic, in those spots, and forget the grass.
If you want instant lawn in those bare paths, and if money is no concern, you can install sod after the steps mentioned previously are followed, and water faithfully.
However, if money and sod availability are concerns, circle your calendar for late August or early September to install grass seed in those bare areas. This assumes that you will have done the work suggested previously by that time. Select quality turf seed to match the grass type in the rest of the lawn. Scatter the seed immediately after the spots have been core aerated. If you use a bluegrass mixture, use 2 to 2 1/2 pounds of seed per 1,000 square feet. Sow tall fescue seed at the rate of 4 to 6 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Water the seeded areas lightly by hose one or two times per day until germination. Then use a lawn sprinkler to water the new grass two to three times per week during the fall and possibly next spring and summer during dry spells.
Q: Please advise me as to when (or if) I should cut back my mums. I would like them to grow bushier instead of tall and thin. D.W., Moneta
A: Yes, it is advisable to cut back the growing tips of garden chrysanthemums repeatedly to force the mum plants to become bushy. This practice is referred to as "pinching," since the operation can be quickly done by removing the growing tips by pinching them between the thumb and forefinger.
To achieve the bushy mum that will have an abundance of fall flowers, in the first pinching remove half an inch of each growing tip when the spring mum shoots are about 8 inches tall. Then, when the growth that follows that first pinching is about 8 inches long, again pinch off half an inch of each tip.
Some chrysanthemum varieties may need a third pinch, but this usually must be done by mid-July to allow time for fall flower bud formation.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants or insects to Dear John, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered each week. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples or pictures.
Gardeners' checklist
(Jobs to be done in mid to late April)
Check developing broccoli plants for green worms feeding on the leaves and around the heads. Apply the biological control sold as Thuricide, Dipel, Bactur or SOK-BT. Repeat as suggested. Follow directions on the label.
Grow your own dried flowers: start seeds of statice, globe amaranth, strawflowers and other everlastings to provide flowers for this year's arrangements.
John Arbogast is the agricultural extension agent for Roanoke.
by CNB