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- Category: Past Issues
When the weather starts to warm up, and it's starting to look green instead of white white and more white outside, the urge is to rake and fertilize your lawn.
Yard work is very therapeutic after being been cooped up all winter, and left to shovel snow all winter, but hold on, said Kimberly Kelly, Master Gardener coordinator at the Windham County Extension Center in Brooklyn. She urges gardeners chomping at the bit to use restraint.
She said, "Feel free to pick up sticks and stones that have made their way into your yard, but raking too early when the soils are cold and muddy will unnecessarily uproot many healthy grass plants and contribute to soil compaction. Follow the ‘golden rule’ staying off wet muddy soils in your garden applies to your lawn as well. Rake when the soil begins to dry out and is no longer soft and muddy."
Kelly said now is the time to deal with the piles of salt, sand, and deicing salts that were used on streets, driveways and sidewalks. Look for bands of narrow dead grass along or adjacent tot hard impervious surfaces. Usually a few good spring rains or a couple of good soaking with the garden hose will take the concentration down low enough to seed or sod the dead areas.
Physical damage to your lawn can come from voles that have been busy in their runways all winter. You will see winding trails or tunnels where they have been feeding on grass blades and roots. Do not mistake them for moles, Kelley said, as the moles are primarily inactive during the winter and actually tunnel below the surface. Grass will regrow slowly in where the damage from the trails and tunnel areas, and if need be, with a little grass seed spread on top. Larger damaged areas may need to be completely reseeded.
Snow mold damage will be visible now as the snow has receded, she said. There are gray and pink snow mold, which is visible as matted crusty looking areas. As condition dry out, the mold itself will disappear, but may leave weak or dead turf. Snow mold damage can vary from year to year, but certain areas seem to be frequently affected. Conditions that may contribute to repeat appearance of snow mold are: Excessive use of water soluble nitrogen in the early to mid fall, excessive thatch, shade, poor drainage, large amount of debris left on the surface of the yard( leaves straw etc). Large piles of snow, which we had plenty of this year, can also be prone to snow mold. For more information on snow mold please go to: http://www.ladybug.uconn.edu/snowmold.htm, she added.
Generally, fertilizers are best applied after April 1. Select fertilizers that contain slow release nitrogen sources. These will be listed on the fertilizer bag as sulfur-coated urea, methylene urea, IBDU, triazone, or as a natural organic fertilizer. Do not apply more than 1 pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. For example, 5 pounds of a 20-5-10 fertilizer are needed to apply 1 pound of actual nitrogen, she said.