Pella Chronicle

Agriculture

Discussion

Add a comment on this story
September 20, 2012

Seed lawns now Miller says

The Chronicle

Pella — “If you are seeing dead areas in your lawn, don’t expect it to green up later”, says Dale Miller, Marion County Extension Director.  Miller has seen many neighborhood lawns showing drought stress damage. He has found that older neighborhoods where trees shade the ground don’t seem to have as much turf loss.  While lawns with hills and slopes facing the south have lost substantial areas of turf.  Thatchy and sandy soil lawns left un-watered also experienced severe turf loss.

“The green grass of healthy or watered lawns stands out from the dormant lawns that are struggling to recover,” he said. “Many lawns have 25 to 50 percent of the lawns showing some degree of turf loss from the drought and of those injured lawns approximately 25 to 50 percent of the turf in each lawn has died.”

The bad news is that some homeowners are now dealing with dead grass that no amount of watering or rain will make it recover. In fact, those dead areas of the lawn that are not repaired this fall will likely be invaded by weeds next year. The good news is that September is the perfect month to renovate the lawn or at least reseed the damaged areas.  Bluegrass and perennial ryegrass are cool-season type grasses that flourish during the cooler weather of the fall and spring seasons - as long as there is enough rainfall or water to nourish the new grass seedlings.

So don’t delay, if the grass is brown it’s probably dead (not dormant) and won’t recover and you will have missed the best seeding window to re-establish a healthy green lawn.

Text Only
Agriculture
Features
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
Facebook
AP Video
Obama Offers Drone Strike Defense Raw: Heckler Interrupts Obama on Guantanamo A Slice of Apple History Up for Grabs Johnson: Don't Blame Islam or UK Policy Raw: 80-Year-Old Climbs Mount Everest Wash. State Man Arrested Following Ricin Scare Chain-Reaction School Bus Crash Injures About 50 Raw: Scuffles in London After Hacking Death Texas Students Coach Teachers on Fitness New Forecasting Tool Eyed for Hurricane Season Meet MJ, the Bike Riding Tabby Cat Britain Attack Believed Linked to Radical Islam Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Obituaries