South Shore Massachusetts Climate Grass
So, where does that leave us in South Shore Massachusetts? Well, if you remember from our blog about hardiness zones, South Shore MA is in hardiness zone 6b. This means that the warm season grasses are generally out, but we still have several of the cool season grasses to work with.;
Here are a few that wed recommend :
- Kentucky Bluegrass
- Perennial Ryegrass
- Tall Fescues
- Fine Fescues, like creeping red fescue, chewings fescue, and hard fescue
Other kinds of grass that grow in Massachusetts
Because we live in a coastal region, there are also several other grasses that grow in our area . In fact, many coastal grasses are absolutely essential for preventing dune erosion and supporting unique ecosystems.;
While you likely wont find these in your lawn, you can expect to see these types of grass in Massachusetts:
- American beachgrass
- Wavy hairgrass
How To Get Rid Of Weeds In Grass
The severity of your response to these invaders should depend on the numbers: When half the lawn is covered with weeds, it’s time to get a soil test and renovate the entire lawn. For a scattering of weeds, a hand weeder or targeted spray is kinder to the lawn ecosystem. The stand-up sprayer above holds 16 ounces of any weed treatment. Pushing down on the handle dispenses a 3 1/2-inch-diameter mist beneath the 7-inch cone.
Best Lawn Fertilizer For Your Yard
The key to a lush, beautiful lawn is the application of the right fertilizer at the right time. This guide will help you find the best lawn fertilizer for your yard and learn how and when to apply it.;
All lawn fertilizers contain three main nutrients listed in this order on the package: nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium .;
Fertilizers for other plants can have different ingredients in different amounts. Use fertilizer specifically designed for grass for the best results.;
The NPK indicates the percentage by weight of each of these three nutrients. For example, a common type of all-purpose fertilizer is referred to as 10-10-10. That means the bag contains an NPK ratio of 10 percent nitrogen, 10 percent phosphorous and 10 percent potassium. The remaining ingredients contain other nutrients and fillers.;
- Nitrogen promotes rapid growth and lush green color.;
- Phosphorous helps develop healthy root systems. Starter lawn fertilizers have a high phosphorous count for this reason, while fertilizers for established lawns have a relatively low amount.;
- Potassium boosts the overall health of your grass and helps with disease resistance, drought protection and cold tolerance.;
Tip: Remember these numbers by keeping up, down and all-around in mind when reading fertilizer labels. The first number promotes rapid growth , the second promotes root development and the third number promotes overall grass health .
- Kill common weeds
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Maintaining Your New Lawn
To keep your lawn looking good, the most important thing to do is to water it regularly.
Your new grass will need regular, frequent watering for about two weeks after overseeding. After that, you need to water less frequently, but deeply once a week.
This transition will help your new grass grow deep roots that seek out that deep water when the surface of your lawn dries out. This will make your lawn strong and resilient.
Once your lawn is established, mow at the proper height with sharp blades. Remove leaves in the fall, and your lawn will thrive for years to come.
Use These Strategies To Get A Thicker Lawn
July 25, 2019//;;by;Scott Smith
Your lawn works hard year-round, coping with foot traffic, vehicle traffic, sports, pets, entertaining and games. So, its understandable that it may end up looking a bit sparse and ragged sometimes. If your lawn is looking thin and worn out, its time for an intervention. With a little bit of time and effort, you can establish a thick, healthy and lush-looking lawn that you can enjoy for years to come.
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Thicken Your Lawn: Its Time For Overseeding
Overseeding, sometimes called reseeding, is the process of distributing grass seed over an existing lawn. According to information provided by Pennington Seed, there are two primary reasons for seeding existing turf in this manner. First, to either rejuvenate a patchy or thinning lawn or to prevent one. Many grass types will thin out as part of their natural maturing process. Your turf may also develop thinning or bare spots due to the stresses of heavy traffic as well as certain diseases or pests. Simply put, if your lawn is receding, consider reseeding.
Purpose Of Overseeding A Lawn
Lawn care professionals will frequently use overseeding as a preventative measure. Instead of waiting for the thin areas or bare spots to appear, they will reseed the lawn so that the new grass plants appear before the weak areas are able to develop. Rather than fixing a poor-looking lawn, this proactive approach keeps the turf looking full, green, and healthy.
The second reason for overseeding is to bring up color when warm season grasses go dormant in winter. This is done by seeding the warm season lawn with a cool season grass seed mix that will produce color during those months when the warm season grasses are dormant. It may seem odd to plant cool season grass seed on a warm season lawn but the very conditions that cause the warm season grass to go dormantmilder daytime conditions and cooler nighttime temperatureswill allow the cool season grass to thrive, if only temporarily. The desired result is year-round green color.
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Green Grass Step : Water Wisely
When and how to water your lawn is a key component of making the plants strong and green. When you water grass wisely, it also helps save water in the parts of the country that suffer droughts and extreme heat, such as California and Arizona.
A healthy soil that absorbs and retains water is what your lawn needs to remain healthy. Whats key for when you water grass is understanding the;porosity of your soil;and how it affects your schedule.
You dont necessarily have to use more water for a certain type of soil, just water more often.
Here are some tips for watering, depending on the type of soil you have.
Watering Lawns With Clay Soil
A clay soil usually needs water less frequently than other types of soil. Clay particles are smaller than sand particles, and they easily cake up when you apply water often. This will eventually keep the water locked in the top layers of the soil and wont let the roots grow freely and deep into the ground.
This is why its ideal to saturate the soil well with water so it reaches the lower layers, and then let it be for about a week. The water will reach the lower levels of the soil and, even when the top dries out, your lawn will be able to draw moisture from those deep levels.
Watering your yard no more than once a week also helps the grass create longer, thicker roots to keep the plants green and healthy.
Note that when you water clay soil, youll have to do it slowly so that the yard has a chance to absorb the water.
What To Do When Youve Got Dry Patches Caused By Pests Or Fungi
Unfortunately, this one is a little more complicated. Dozens of pests and fungi can affect the health of your lawn, and will likely need a professional to help you uncover the cause of these problems. Once youve identified the specific issues affecting your yard, you can take the right steps to eliminate or mitigate these pests and fungi.
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Water Your Lawn Appropriately
When things start heading in the right direction, good lawn watering practices will help the new growth continue to thrive. New seeds need constant moisture to germinate, so make sure you begin watering more after you overseed.
After your lawn is a little more established and the new growth has filled in, lawns generally need about an inch of water every week. If you live in a wet climate, you might get this from rain, at least during some weeks. If not, use a garden hose or sprinkler system to maintain growth.
Irrigation systems are extremely effective, too, because they provide deep, thorough watering that encourages the grassroots to grow deeper, stabilizing the lawn.
Pay close attention to the grass seed that you choose when overseeding your lawn. Some grass types are more tolerant of dry conditions. If you live in an area that doesnt get a lot of rain, choosing one of these varieties can help your lawn stay green, even if it doesnt rain for weeks at a time.
Improve Your Lawn With Core Aeration
Grass seed that cannot get into the soil and receive the necessary moisture and nutrients has a good chance of becoming bird food. Spring-Greens core aeration service disrupts the surface of the lawn and the soil beneath it by extracting plugs of soil and plant material and then depositing them on the lawns surface. This process helps loosen compacted soil and break down thatch, allowing water, nutrients and grass seed to penetrate the soil. For this reason, we recommend scheduling core aeration and overseeding in combination.
Proper seed selection is also important. Use a quality seed mix that is well-matched to your growth region as well as to your overseeding objective. One objective may be to thicken an existing lawn without substantially altering the grass type. Another is to augment the turf by introducing additional grass types to it, such as the introduction of cool season grass seed to a warm season lawn in order to enhance winter color.
Watering, feeding, and weed control practices during the weeks following core aeration and overseeding may also vary according to the specific needs of your lawn. Contact your neighborhood lawn care professional at Spring-Green to obtain more information, ask questions, or schedule this service.
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Remember To Feed Your Lawn
Like humans, plants are living organisms that require food in order to grow and thrive. Sunlight provides plants with energy to grow but organic-based fertilizer provides the soil with the proper building materials. Soil contains some of these ingredients naturally, but they are depleted when grass uses them or when you mow your lawn.
Keep Your Soil Hydrated
We all know that grass also needs water to grow. However, its not the grass itself that needs a bath, but rather the soil. Many people assume that they should turn the sprinklers on for a few minutes, multiple times per week, and its because they think the grass simply needs to be wet. However, its more important that you water your soil thoroughly and not as frequently so that thewater soaks deep into the soil. We recommend watering only once per week, for 4 hours in each zone. Start your watering the same week as your first cut, and water once per week until September 1st. Watering correctly is the number one factor for success with lawns.
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Spend For Premium Seed
If you need to seed a bare patch or your grass is so thin that you need to overseed, invest in a top-quality mix. Check the bag’s label; a premium blend will name individual cultivars, such as ‘Midnight’ Kentucky bluegrass, while common names, like tall fescue, indicate older, lower-quality seed types. The pros agree: Cheaper seed will never perform really well, no matter how much you fertilize.
You might also consider a custom mix. Online specialty seed retailers, such as SeedSuperStore.com, cherry-pick top-performing seed types and can create a blend optimally suited to your site, with no weed seeds. Or, if you’re looking for something special, like darker color or finer leaf texture, you can tailor a mix accordingly. Expect to pay more than double what home-center seed costs.
How To Make Your Grass Green And Lush
Last Updated on July 6, 2021 by Grow with Bovees
Do you find yourself looking over to your neighbors thick, healthy green lawn, and turn green with envy? If your turf is looking yellow, weak and full of weeds, youll need to fix some things in your lawn care to get it back to perfectly green.
Luckily, its not too hard to get your lawn back to a dark green color. Follow our easy steps on how to make grass dark green and youll soon notice it thriving.
These are some of the things well cover in this article.
- How to make grass green: 3 simple steps.
- Greener grass step 1: Apply iron.
- How to apply iron to your lawn.
- Lush grass step 2: Water wisely.
- Greener grass step 3: Fertilize using the best fertilizers.
- Is organic better?
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What Causes A Thin Lawn
A thin, sparse-looking lawn can be caused by a wide variety of factors. These include:
- Improper mowing practices
- Damage from weather extremes such as drought
- Compaction
- Too much shade
- Damage from wear and tear
The first step is to determine which factor is causing problems in your lawn. It may be one or a combination of a few factors which are making your lawn thin.
Signs of drought include grass wilting and browning off, and leaving footprints when you walk on the lawn. Nutrient deficiencies can be determined by conducting a soil test on your lawn. Compacted soil will feel hard, and the grass will have shallow, thin roots as they are unable to penetrate the hard soil. Diseases or infestations will show up in brown grass, bare patches or spots on the grass.
Revive Your Lawn By Overseeding
Is your lawn looking thin and brown? Well, Scotts can help you get back to the thick, lush, green lawn you’ve always wanted and all you need to do is overseed. If you put down a layer of seed over your lawn in the spring or fall, the thin areas will thicken up, and your lawn will start to look terrific again.
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Start With A Good Base
A thick lawn starts with great soil, so do the preparation before you even think about establishing the grass. The best place to start is with a soil test a simple process that gives a big return in terms of thick, healthy grass. A soil test takes the guesswork out of soil preparation, and allows you to accurately address any issues in your soil. For example, if your soil pH is too low, the grass wont be able to absorb the nutrients it needs to grow thick and strong. Correctly addressing the problem will restore pH balance and nutrient availability so that the grass can grow well.
Keep Your Mower Blades Sharp
A sharp mower blade cleanly slices grass tips , so they heal quickly and aren’t open to disease. A dull blade tears them , leaving weakened, jagged edges that turn brown and are vulnerable to disease. You should sharpen your blade after every four to six uses. If you hit something while mowing, file nicked edges right away.
MYTH: Clippings cause thatch.
FACT: Since grass clippings are about 90 percent water, they break down too quickly to add to thatch. Lawns develop thatch naturally, but more than a ½-inch layer prevents nutrients, oxygen, and water from getting through.
MYTH: Spiked shoes can aerate a lawn.
FACT: True aeration requires removing 4-inch-long plugs of soil to create voids so that nutrients can get to the roots. Despite the name, slip-on spiked aerator shoes don’t aerate, and golf cleats can actually compact the soil.
MYTH: Hot weather kills grass.
FACT: Turf naturally goes dormant during a drought. A brown lawn isn’t necessarily dead and usually bounces back when watered after temperatures cool. But a lawn that goes from brown to tan to gray is sending out an SOS.
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