Category Archives: Fall Lawn Care
Benefits of Winterizing Fertilizer
We are often asked if applying a winterizing fertilizer at the end of the fall is beneficial. This blog will take a closer look at what a winterizing fertilizer does for the turf, and its importance to maintaining a healthy lawn.
When to apply
The winterizing fertilizer should be performed in the late fall; anytime from October through the end of November is the appropriate timeframe for our service area. Between October and November, shoot growth starts to slow down and seize, but root growth will pick up and continue until the soil freezes. New Jersey also has restrictions on when fertilizer can be applied in the year. For more information about New Jersey fertilizer laws, check out our blog.
Benefits of Winterizing Fertilizer
Once the soil temperatures get low enough, the turf plant slows down growth of the shoots above the soil and stops producing chlorophyll. This is when you might notice the grass turning a brown or tan color. During this time, the turf shifts growth from the leaves above the surface to the roots under the soil. Even though it looks like the grass has stopped working up top, it doesn’t mean the roots below have stopped working. The grass stores carbohydrates in the roots and uses the carbohydrates it has for food over the winter. A winterizing fertilizer provides the turf the nutrients it uses during the winter months.
A winterizing fertilizer also helps increase rooting of the grass plants. Maximum rooting occurs in the early spring and again in the fall. When developing turf, you want to promote growth and development of the plant’s roots. The winterizing fertilizer provides another opportunity to supply nutrients needed for the turf to increase the size and number of the roots in the soil. Increased roots help the turf take in more nutrients and moisture which will produce a stronger, healthier overall grass plant.
Further, applying a winterizing fertilizer to the lawn helps promote “green up” in the springtime. As we said above, the turf holds its nutrients in the roots during the winter months. Once the temperatures start to rise and the days become longer, the grass draws from the nutrient reserves in the roots to begin growing and greening up. Having these nutrients readily available in the spring allows the turf to green up when the soil temperatures are warm enough.
Conclusion
Overall, applying a winterizing fertilizer to the lawn in the late fall is imperative to provide the turf with adequate nutrients. This type of fertilizer provides the turf the opportunity to accumulate carbohydrates for the winter months, support root development and helps the green up process in the spring. If you have any questions about winterizing fertilizer or are in our service area and would like to fertilize your lawn, please contact Fairway Green Inc. today.
Fall Lawn Care Tips
Fall is here and cooler temperatures are fast approaching! The change in season brings new opportunities to help improve the health of your lawn. Below we have outlined a few ways to help your lawn look great this fall and also how to avoid making a few common mistakes.
1. Seed at the right time
The perfect time to seed in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania is late August through September. This gives enough time for the seed to germinate and the young plants to develop a root system prior to going into winter dormancy.
In addition, seed germination slows down once the soil temperatures dip below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Historically, after September the temperatures begin to drop and we see a decrease in germination rates. That’s another reason why it’s important to seed at the right time, before temperatures get too cold.
2. Buy the right seed
If you are going to spend the money on seeding your lawn, it’s important to get the right type of grass. Ask yourself, do the areas I’m seeding get a lot of shade, or a lot of sun? Those answers will help you determine the right type of seed to purchase. If it’s in the sun, purchase a sun mix, if it’s in the shade, get a shade mix.
The generic “Sun & Shade Mixes” are a blend of sun loving grass varieties as well as other varieties that really prefer the shade. These blends will look fine in the fall and spring when temperatures are cool, but in the summer heat, you’ll easily notice the plants that are not in their preferred environment.
In our service area we recommend turf type tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass for the areas of your lawn that get sun and fine fescues for areas predominantly in shade.
3. Apply a winterizing fertilizer
A winterizing fertilizer is important for cool season turf varieties, which is the type of grass we have here in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The winterizing fertilizer provides nutrients that the plants will continue to utilize well into the fall. It will also help the turf come out of winter dormancy and green up when the soil temperatures are warm enough the following spring.
4. Aerate your lawn
Core aeration is a very important cultural practice for lawns with clay-based soil. Between the summer stresses of drought and disease, and everyday activities that lead to soil compaction; core aeration is a mechanical process that can help combat these issues.
Soil compaction and heavy thatch build up can greatly reduce the flow of water and nutrients into the soil, leading to poor nutrient uptake and root development. During times of stress, like the hot and dry summer, plants with a poor root system will be less tolerant to stress and more susceptible to disease. For residential lawns, we recommend core aerating your lawn every other year to reduce soil compaction and encourage root development.
Conclusion
The fall is a great time to help your lawn recover from the summer heat. If you plan on seeding, be sure to do it at the right time and with the right type of seed to improve your odds of long-term success. Some great cultural practices in the fall to promote recovery and improve plant health include fertilizing and aerating your lawn. If you are in our service area, and have any questions about the information about seeding, fertilizing and core aerating, please give our office a call to discuss!
The Benefit to Mulching Leaves
Put those rakes away, it’s time to mulch your leaves! In the fall there are many things around your property to get done before winter, raking and bagging leaves for hours on end should not be one of them.
As the days get shorter, trees go through many chemical changes which signal the completion of another complex growth cycle. The most obvious is the change in leaf color where most attractive colors are on deciduous trees, which shed their leaves annually. After the leaves fall, they make an important contribution as fertilizer to the forest and organisms in the soil. In the landscape, leaves and debris are removed for aesthetic purposes.
Is Mulching Leaves Good for the Lawn?
Mulching leaves has many benefits, not just for your lawn but for the environment. Mulching leaves reduces landfill space, helps to reduce leaves from clogging up sewers and away from surface water where the broken-down nutrients from the dead leaves can cause algae blooms.
The leaves that collect on your lawn cover the grass, reducing air flow and sunlight that would have otherwise reached the grass blades. This accumulation of leaves can cause the grass underneath to suffocate and die off.
Leaves that are left in piles on your lawn can also be used by small animals like a vole, which avoids detection from predators by making tunnels underneath leaf piles and snow cover. To understand what type of damage voles can do to your yard, check out our blog.
How to Mulch your Leaves
Almost every lawn mower can mulch leaves. Most mowers come with an attachment to aid in the mulching process, however if you do not have a mulching attachment you can still use your mower without it. Simply elevate your mower deck to its highest setting, remove the grass catcher and go over the leaves that are laying on top of the lawn multiple times with your mower shredding them into small pieces. Mower mulching works best when the leaves are dry.
These smaller pieces will filter down between the grass blades to the soil surface, eventually micro-organisms and worms will aide in breaking down the leaves. This process will not add to the thatch layer of the lawn and the decomposition of leaves will provide nutrients back into the soil.
When to Mulch Leaves
You should mulch the leaves weekly; weekly mulching will help make the mulching process quicker and this gives you more time with your family and friends and all the while, your lawn benefits from the nutrients it’s receiving from the leaves you simply mowed.
Mulching Leaves: Conclusion
This fall, we recommend retiring your leaf rake, and try mulching the leaves that have fallen on your lawn. Mulching is a great fall clean up option that eliminates large leaf piles and provides nutrients back to your soil. If you are in our service area and are interested in more information about mulching leaves, please request and estimate or give our office a call at 908-281-7888.
Winter Deer Repellent
New Jersey is home to a very high deer population. While many of us enjoy the wildlife that New Jersey has to offer, deer are destructive to landscape plants. Damage to plants in the landscape is more prevalent in the winter. There are several reasons for this. First, the deer’s natural food supply in the woods is greatly reduced due to plants being dormant. The second is habitat reduction, as land is being cleared for construction of homes and businesses. In addition, the population of deer in our area has increased exponentially over the years. The combination of these factors lead to deer foraging on your landscape plants and making a meal out of your investment, your landscape.
There are several ways you can minimize winter deer damage on your landscape, also known as “deer proofing,” planting “deer resistant plants,” applying a netting, installing a fence, or applying winter deer repellent to your plants. Let’s talk about the first one, “deer resistant plants.” There are many plants in nurseries that boast a label that says “deer resistant”. Plants that have thorns, such as barberries, are not a favorite of deer, so it is a pretty safe plant to have. With that being said, who wants a landscape of just one type of plant? Boxwoods are another plant that are generally deer resistant. The word ‘generally’ was used because in rare cases, deer have eaten boxwoods. This has happened the past two winters when snow cover was on plants well into March. During harsh winters, deer are going to take advantage of any food source they can get in order to survive. Other examples of plants labeled as deer resistant are andromedas, viburnum, and osmanthus.
The second deterrent, installing a fence is a very good deterrent, but it may not be feasible for some people to have this done. Zoning laws and community rules may not allow it, or a new fence might not be something planned in the budget. Aesthetically, it’s not the most eye pleasing option and regardless, deer have been known to jump over a 6-foot fence with ease. Netting and temporary fencing are also options but may not be what you are looking for from an aesthetic standpoint either. Unless you’re planning to build a high-fence around your landscape, this might not be the best option for you.
The third deterrent is where we can help, applying a winter deer repellent directly to the plants that deer are known to feed on. Our winter deer repellent, called DeerPro, can be applied anytime from October to February. It is applied with a low volume backpack sprayer. One application in October will give you protection until the early spring. The active ingredient in the winter deer repellent is Thiram, which is a strong taste-deterrent. Deer are creatures of habit. They usually follow the same path daily and stop and eat at the same places. Deer will start to feed on the treated plants and realize they do not like the taste, causing them to move onto the next available food source. This is called a conditioned response. We are basically training the deer to not eat the treated plants, however the deer can still be on your property.
DeerPro winter deer repellent leaves a visible residue on the plant for the duration of the winter. When the material is first applied it appears whitish-green in color and pales as it dries. When the weather begins to warm up in the spring and the plant awakens from its dormant state, the material will start to fade away. Below is a video of DeerPro winter deer repellent being applied.
Through years of extensive trials, we have found repellents to be the most realistic and cost effective option when it comes to minimizing winter feeding damage. We feel that DeerPro winter deer repellent is the best product on the market and it provides the longest period of control. If you have deer feeding on your landscape and you are in our service area, give us a call @ 908-281-7888 for a free estimate.