Is your green lawn suffering from brown spots no matter how hard you try to keep it healthy? A very common problem for homeowners is reoccurring brown spots in grass. Revive is proven to help restore your lush, green lawn by getting rid of those pesky brown spots in no time, but here’s some common reasons why those spots keep showing up: Brown Lawn Care: Reasons for Dying Grass and How to Treat If you’re wondering about reasons for dying grass and how to revive a dead lawn, there are numerous possible causes and no easy answers. The first step to brown lawn care is figuring out why it happens in most cases. Reasons for Dying Grass So can a brown lawn be saved? Depending on your particular circumstances, generally, yes. That being said, you should try and pinpoint what is causing the browning in the first place. Drought: This a big problem across much of the country these days, and drought is one of the primary reasons for dying grass. Many people opt not to water their lawns during the summer, but this may be a mistake when there isn’t enough rain to keep the roots alive. Grass naturally goes dormant after two to three weeks without water, and most lawns can tolerate drought for four to six weeks, although it will turn brown. However, extended periods of hot, dry weather may kill the lawn. How to revive a dead lawn? Bad news: If the grass is totally dead due to drought, there’s no way to bring it back. However, reviving brown lawns that are simply dormant usually occurs within three to four weeks of regular irrigation. Thatch: If your lawn turns brown in spots when summer rolls around, you may have a problem with thatch – a thick layer of decomposed plant matter, roots and partially decomposed stems that builds up under the roots. Thatch usually isn’t caused by clippings, which decompose quickly and add healthy nutrients to your lawn. To determine if you have too much thatch, dig a 2-inch deep chunk of grass. A healthy lawn will have about ¾-inch of brown, spongy thatch between the green grass and the surface of the soil Improper Mowing: Mowing the lawn too short can stress the grass and cause it to turn dry and brown. As a general rule of thumb, remove no more than one-third the height at each mowing. Although a length of 2 ½ inches is okay, 3 inches is healthier during summer heat. Mow regularly and don’t allow the grass to become too long. Improper Watering: Water your lawn deeply about once a week, or when the grass looks slightly wilted, providing about an inch of water each time. Avoid frequent, shallow irrigation which results in weak roots that can’t tolerate summer heat. Don’t water if the lawn doesn’t need it. Insects: If your lawn is brown, pull up a small area of turf. Pest-infested grass pulls up easily because the roots are damaged. Pests tend to invade overly watered, excessively fertilized lawns or neglected lawns. Keep your lawn healthy, but don’t pamper it. Grubs are the most prevalent lawn pest. Pet spots: If your brown grass is limited to small areas, a dog may be going potty on your lawn. Water the grass thoroughly to bring it back to health and teach your puppy to relieve himself in a better spot. Read the full article at gardeningknowhow.com Article source here: Common Causes for Brown Spots in Grass and How to Cure Themvia Blogger Common Causes for Brown Spots in Grass and How to Cure Them
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Spending time in the fresh air surrounded by nature has numerous health benefits, including decreased stress levels. Organic liquid fertilizer can help transform your lawn from brown to green and, in turn, create a better atmosphere outside for you and your family to enjoy. Because of their powers of relaxation and the tranquil environment they create, sensory and healing gardens are becoming more popular outside of homes across the U.S. Check out the following article to learn more: Nature can have a soothing, restorative effect, and some gardens are designed to heighten this feeling. Sensory and healing gardens, traditionally part of children’s or botanical gardens as well as health care facilities, are now becoming more widespread. They are even becoming popular in private residences. “These gardens have been in use for thousands of years,” says Sharon Coates, landscape designer and vice president at Zaretsky and Associates, Macedon, New York, a landscape firm focused on residential and health care design and installation. “Both Asia and Europe have pioneered the use of gardens as healing devices long before we had any empirical evidence of their impact. In the U.S. today, the Chicago area and Portland, Oregon, in particular, have a proliferation of beautiful sensory gardens, partly because of forward-thinking people spearheading the concept.” Arcadia Studio in Santa Barbara, California, has been increasingly involved in designing sensory and healing gardens for its Southwestern U.S. clients. Bob Cunningham, a principal landscape architect at Arcadia Studio, explains the difference between a healing garden and a sensory garden. “A healing garden is any garden designed to promote healing through use of calming elements and exposure to peace, quiet, privacy and relaxation,” he explains. “A sensory garden addresses the senses, including touch, sound, smell and visual stimuli. A sensory garden can be a healing garden, but it must be designed with the user in mind. For example, a healing garden for cancer patients should not include plants or other elements that might be harmful to patients with compromised immunity. It should include only plants that are very low pollen generators or plants whose pollen is not harmful or irritating.” Sensory gardens can be enjoyed by the wheelchair-confined, paralysis and stroke victims, Alzheimer’s patients and even the blind, says Bruce Zaretsky, president of Zaretsky and Associates, who is certified by the Chicago Botanic Garden in health care garden design. “Since they are designed to be interacted with, you can, for example, touch the leaves, smell the flowers and listen to the wind chimes without using your sight. While we strive to design our healing gardens for physical interaction, this does not in itself make a sensory garden. In our view, all gardens are healing gardens if they make the user slow down, remain calm, spend more time outdoors and ‘stop to smell the roses.'” Zaretsky has designed sensory gardens not only for hospitals and clinics, but also for equine therapy facilities and animal shelters. He has even created private outdoor residential spaces for families of children receiving outpatient care. “It has been scientifically documented that garden views and the gardens themselves shorten the length of hospital stays, reduce the amount of pain medication needed and improve the mental well-being of patients,” Zaretsky says. “Natural habitats act as therapeutic, healing tools, lowering blood pressure and reducing stress. But these environments are not just beneficial for patients, they are also there to allow staff and patients’ families to decompress. Nature heals all it’s just that simple.” Read the full article at turfmagazine.com Article source here: The Restorative Powers of Green Lawns and Sensory Gardensvia Blogger The Restorative Powers of Green Lawns and Sensory Gardens July is Smart Irrigation Month, and to celebrate, we want to emphasize all the things you can do with your irrigation system to help save time and money. To cure brown spots in grass, it’s crucial to not overwater the lawn. In fact, not adjusting your irrigation system for each season can often turn green lawns unhealthy as lawns need different amounts of water depending on the time of year. Here are some tips for the Irrigation Association on how to save money and keep your lawn healthy with smart irrigation practices: Don’t Send Money Down the Drain Water Smart & Save Money This Summer Most homeowners overwater their yard, unintentionally wasting money every time they take out the hose or turn on the sprinklers. To raise awareness of the benefits of efficient watering practices, the Irrigation Association has named July Smart Irrigation Month. Using an automated irrigation system is one of the best ways to keep your lawn and landscape beautiful and healthy, while minimizing water waste. Make time this summer to be sure you’re getting the most out of your irrigation system, while keeping utility bills low and helping to protect the environment. Smart Planning & Planting Guarantee long-term satisfaction with your irrigation system with up-front planning. • Work with a certified irrigation designer or contractor who has experience in your local area. • Consider local climate conditions, as well as your lot’s exact features. Choose appropriate turf and plant species that have low water requirements. • Group plants with similar water needs close together and separate lawn areas from planting beds. • Plan your irrigation zones carefully. Be sure that your system will have enough capacity, now and in the future. The more irrigation zones you plan, the more you can tailor watering even if you modify landscaping. • Consult with your local water provider to see if rebates are available for water-efficient products. • Check the on-site water pressure and select appropriate sprinklers. Low or high water pressure can seriously affect sprinkler performance. • Include “smart” controls that automatically adjust watering based on rain, soil moisture, evaporation and plant water use. • Use quality components to minimize future maintenance needs and total lifetime cost of your system. Smart Installation Use components that provide the greatest flexibility. Different plants have different watering needs, and these needs may change over time. Your system should allow you to apply the right amount of water for each type of plant by the most effective method. • Always install excess irrigation zone capacity. Irrigation zones are areas that are watered by the same irrigation valve and plumbing. Installing extra connections now makes it easier and less expensive to expand your irrigation system later. • Include the right backflow prevention device as required by the plumbing codes for all irrigation systems. Backflow prevention devices prevent irrigation system water from contaminating the water supply. • Install lines deep enough to protect them from damage from aeration and other lawn maintenance. Smart Scheduling & Watering Today’s irrigation controllers allow you to easily adjust your system’s watering schedule to fit different watering needs. • Schedule each individual zone in your irrigation system to account for sun, shade and wind exposure. • Consider soil type, which affects the how quickly water can be applied and absorbed without runoff. • Make sure you’re not sending water down the drain. Set sprinklers to water plants, not your driveway, sidewalk, patio or buildings. • Water at the right time of day. Watering when the sun is low, winds are calm and temperatures are cooler minimizes evaporation by as much as 30 percent. The best time to water is during early morning hours. • Thoroughly soak the root zone (generally within the top six inches of soil for lawns), then let the soil dry. Watering too frequently results in shallow roots and encourages weed growth, disease and fungus. • Reduce runoff by watering each zone more often for shorter periods. For example, setting your system to run for three, 5-minute intervals with some soak time lets water infiltrate the soil better than watering for 15 minutes at one time. • Adjust your watering schedule regularly to account for seasonal weather conditions, plant size and other factors. Monthly (or even weekly) adjustments keep plants healthy without overwatering. Smart Maintenance & Upgrades Irrigation systems need regular maintenance to keep them working efficiently year after year. Damage from lawn equipment or improper winterization can cause leaks and other serious problems. • Inspect the system for leaks, broken or clogged sprinkler heads or other damaged components. • Check that sprinkler heads are high enough to clear plants that may have grown taller since the system was installed. • Adjust spray patterns and positions to make sure they aren’t watering “hardscapes” like sidewalks and buildings. • Evaluate pressure and adjust as needed so sprinklers work optimally to distribute the water. • Retrofit the system with a rain or soil moisture sensor to prevent overwatering. Rain sensors stop the system from operating when it rains; soil moisture sensors use long metal probes to measure moisture at the root zone and turn off the system when no additional water is needed. Weather-based controllers automatically adjust the irrigation schedule as weather conditions change. • Before upgrading your system, check to see if your local water provider offers rebates on any products you are considering.
Smart Irrigation Month is an initiative of the Irrigation Association, a non-profit industry organization dedicated to promoting efficient irrigation. Learn more at www.smartirrigationmonth.org. Article source here: Money-Smart Irrigation Techniques For A Healthy Lawn via Blogger Money-Smart Irrigation Techniques For A Healthy Lawn As temperatures continue to soar across the U.S., many people are using more and more water just to keep their green grass alive and healthy. For drought tolerant grass even in the driest of climates, use water-saving Revive. Check out these tips for other lawn and garden maintenance tips to check off your list in these hot summer months: Rainfall is scarce in July, and soaring temperatures can cause your garden and lawn to slow down and conserve energy. Vegetable gardens kick into high gear and will need some extra attention to stay happy. Other plants in your garden can benefit from special treatment as well. Here are some tips for your lawn and garden during the month of July. Trees and Shrubs • Prune dead, damaged, or diseased branches to prevent them from falling during summer storms. • Remove suckers by yanking downward to remove the growth bud. • Prune spring flowering shrubs early in the month, then leave them alone to set buds for next year. Summer and fall flowering shrubs should not be pruned unless badly overgrown while nonblooming hedges can be trimmed as needed. • Deadhead roses and other flowering shrubs so they will continue blooming. • Plants suffering from iron deficiency will benefit from an application of chelated iron. • Stop fertilizing trees and shrubs to allow them to reduce growth during the heat of summer. • Continue planting and transplanting container-grown trees and shrubs, but give them extra water and shade protection, if possible. • Apply extra mulch around the roots of trees and shrubs to hold in moisture. • Avoid digging or cultivating around shallow-rooted plants or otherwise disturbing the roots. • Take softwood cuttings of shrubs such as hydrangea, buddleia, rose, and Rose of Sharon. • Water trees infrequently, but deeply. Perennials and Bulbs • For fall blooms, shear back chrysanthemums and asters until mid month at the latest. • Give a light haircut to bushy or leggy perennials to encourage blooming. • Stop deadheading perennials if you want to collect seed pods from them. • Areas with longer summers have time for one more planting of gladiolus. • Support vines and tall plants with trellises or stakes. • Cut flowers in the early morning when the stems are plump. • Order your spring blooming bulbs now for the best selection. • Divide and transplant Oriental poppies this month. Lawns • Continue mowing as needed, at the highest setting for your lawn type (3”- 4” for cool-season grasses, 2”- 3” for warm-season grasses). • Make sure your lawn gets at least one inch of water per week. • If water is scarce, consider allowing cool-season fescue or bluegrass to go dormant for the summer. • Mulch grass clippings to help shade, cool, and feed your lawn. • Edge planting beds with a string trimmer or lawn edger, for a nice clean look. • Plant warm-season grasses and keep watered. • Stop fertilizing lawns in midsummer. • Make sure lawn mower blades are sharp, so they cut cleanly. Annuals and Containers • Water container plants daily (or even twice a day) this month. • Add a balanced fertilizer every couple of weeks. • Deadhead faded blossoms to increase blooming. • Pinch back leggy stems to encourage branching. • Start seeds for pansies and other winter annuals. --Read the full article at todayshomeowner.com Article source here: Tips For Keeping Your Lawn Green and Your Garden Happy in July via Blogger Tips For Keeping Your Lawn Green and Your Garden Happy in July |
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February 2018
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