The grass is always greener...

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7 • POSTED ON April 14, 2005
The grass is always greener...
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Is your lawn more like a sea of emerald brown patches? Is it sporting an abundance of weeds? Read on, as Rene Trim unravels the secrets to a healthier, greener lawn. It's all in this edition of Start Gardening, our weekly gardening column.

Our gardening column is published every Tuesday on OttawaStart.

The grass is always greener ... on your side of the fence! Well, it will be once you have read this week’s column.

The lawn is what we will be looking at this week - the beautiful sea of emerald green that ties our borders together and offers a splendid foreground for the abundance of colour our plants offer us all through the season.

Ah, I can almost hear you mutter to yourself: “Yeah, right….my lawn is more like a sea of emerald brown patches and what little green there is, comes from an abundance of weeds”. If this is the case, then you should definitely read on as we unravel the secrets to a healthier, greener lawn.

Let me start off by totally discouraging you. For those of you who have not figured it out for yourselves yet; getting your lawn in “golf course shape” is one of the hardest tasks a gardener is presented with. If you think caring for roses is complicated, try getting a lawn to look beautiful (and then keep it that way). Golf courses look so neat and tidy because an enormous amount of time and money is spent on maintenance.

Think about it; we expect a lawn to look thick and luscious – preferably weed-free - even though we walk on it on a daily basis, let our kids (and pets) play on it (or – in the case of pets – do other horrible things to it) and cut it approximately 25 times throughout the season. The key to perfection is a mix of the right amount of sun, water, fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides (weed and insect control). Is it worth it, do we really need “the ultimate lawn” in out backyard? Well, you are the only one to answer that question. Some feel it is an absolute must-have, while others believe it is not worth all the trouble.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume you are satisfied with a lawn that – albeit not totally perfect - looks decent enough to allow you to walk through the neighbourhood without hearing your neighbours chuckle or notice them pointing their fingers at you behind your back. As is often the case, prevention is the best cure for problems.

Most of you will have heard or read the term IPM or “Integrated Pest Management” without really knowing what it stands for. The main principle of IPM is problem prevention; instead of using pesticides or herbicides to attack diseases or weeds, make the garden (or the lawn) stronger and better equipped to deal with these problems. As mentioned in this column before - and chances are that it will be mentioned again in future columns - a good soil condition is the secret to a great garden. The same rule applies to the lawn.

Health Canada’s PMRA (Pest Management Regulatory Agency) is responsible for registering all pesticides used in Canada. Together with provincial and territorial governments, PMRA has created a national “Healthy Lawns Strategy”. Under this strategy, information encouraging homeowners to adopt environmentally sound lawn care practices, such as using pesticides only when necessary, has been developed. A well-maintained, healthy lawn is less likely to suffer from pest problems or need pesticides.

The following information was taken from Health Canada’s website:

Good soil, with ample depth and organic matter, and improved drainage in wet areas will help prevent problems
Regular inspections will give you early warning of potential problems
Be sure you correctly identify a pest or problem since beneficial insects may be mistaken for pests. Identifying the pest will help you decide if and when you need to apply a treatment
Accept that a few weeds or insect pests won't noticeably harm a healthy lawn. Don't be alarmed at the first sign of a pest. It is not necessarily a threat to your lawn
Attacking pest problems from several fronts is often more effective. For example, if chinch bugs are a problem, you can de-thatch the lawn, keep it well watered, increase the mowing height, keep nitrogen fertilization to a minimum, and over-seed with grass varieties that are resistant to chinch bugs. Such a combination of tactics will make it difficult for this pest to thrive.

Growing a healthy lawn is a question of following a few basic steps that don't require a lot of time or money:

Fertilizing: The type of fertilizer you use and the timing of the application are important. Compost or slow-release fertilizers are preferable, and fertilizing in early fall promotes vigorous lawn growth the next spring. Clippings left on the lawn are rich in nitrogen and provide easy and free fertilization.

Liming: Lime is applied when soil is too acidic (low pH) for good lawn growth; you can have the pH of your soil tested if you think this might be a problem.

Aeration: Compacted soil makes it difficult for water and oxygen to get to the roots. Aeration of the lawn is best done before top dressing and fertilizing.
Top dressing and over-seeding: In late summer or early fall, top dress your lawn with a thin layer of compost or good garden soil, and add grass seed appropriate to your site conditions. This will regenerate your lawn and take care of any thinned-out areas.

Mowing: Rather than giving your lawn a close shave, mow it to a height of 7-8 cm. This will promote better root growth and competition with weeds. Keep your mower blade sharp and mow often enough that you don't take off more than one third of the growth.

Irrigation: Give your lawn a deep watering, less often. Early morning or early evening are the best times to water, to minimize evaporation. It will also help prevent disease if the grass doesn't stay wet overnight.

Variety: Plant a variety of grasses that can tolerate a range of growing conditions, such as sun and shade. Your lawn will then be less susceptible to pest damage.

Substitutes: Where conditions are not suitable for a traditional lawn, try growing plants more adapted to the area. For example, periwinkle and lily of the valley are good ground covers for shaded sites, while creeping juniper and wild thyme are better for sunny dry sites. A variety of plants and grasses promotes biodiversity in your yard.

Helpers: Birds, beneficial insects, earthworms and many other creatures feed on lawn pests, help break down thatch and aerate the soil. More of these useful organisms are likely to thrive in your lawn if you reduce your use of insecticides and fungicides.

Next week, we will take a closer look at the items listed above.

Until then, happy gardening!

René Trim

Do you have a gardening question for René? Send it to us, and he'll try to answer it in his next column.
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About René
René Trim was educated and trained in The Netherlands, before moving to Canada in 2000. After studying the differences in climate and season faced by Ontario gardeners he established Trim Garden Design and Rescue in May 2002. A gardener since the 1980’s, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience, a vast library of reference materials from which to draw answers to various garden situations as well as an enthusiastic and professional staff.