Its hard for alot of folks to water their lawns for many reasons.  Whatever your reason is, here are a few things you should consider when watching the lawn that you had this spring dwindle to the lawn you are seeing now.

If the grass is still growing, mow higher to encourage roots to go deeper.  The deeper your roots are, the more moisture they can reach.  This is what we try to tell all of our customers.  MOW HIGH!  Regardless of the time of year.  When you mow should be dictated by the growth rate of your lawn, NOT THE CALENDAR!  Stretch the time between your irrigations  to the maximum; water efficiently, wasting no water to runoff, and water thoroughly.  This means when you water you should water so the soil is drenched to a depth of 4 – 6 inches.  When you are dealing with established turf grass the frequency of watering should be reduced to 2 or 3 times per week.  When you water you should water slowly but for a long period of time.  Think of a light mist being applied to your lawn for a few hours to put it in perspective.  We’re not saying you should go buy a bunch of misters, just keep in mind that long light watering is better than short fast waterings, 2 – 3 times per week.   You don’t want a flood of water running across the top of your turf grass.  You want it to slowly be absorbed by the soil.

If you can’t water you should let the lawn go brown.  This is basically allowing your turf grass to shut down and go into dormancy.  Much like they do over the winter.  There is a risk in doing this, especially if your lawn has had small amounts of fungus growing within it.  Before the drought and during this year, we have seen large patches of leaf blight, leaf spot & melting out disease.  The chances of turf grass recovering from a fungus attack and a drought are slim.  However, if you are able to water and have the desire to do so you must keep after it.  If your lawn has started to go dormant for a few weeks now and you want to revive it, that’s a good thing.  However, if you do this for a week or so and we do not get substantial rain anytime soon you’ll need to keep on top of your watering regimen.  If you do not your grass plants will use all the food storage they have created and die quickly.

We are holding back on our fall fertilizer treatments until we regain a bit of moisture in the soil.  However, not fertilizing your lawn when in a drought isn’t necessarily advisable.  It is absolutely vital that there be nutrients in the soil, so when your lawn is awakened by any bit of moisture it can begin to grow vigorously.  Fall time is the best time to grow root systems and turf grass in general due to the cooler temperatures and higher moisture levels.  Unfortunately, this year has been especially dry and normal lawn recovery is not what we’ll be looking at this fall.

Rest assured, if you are already on one of our lawn care programs, we’ll apply the nutrients at the right time.  Please educate yourself on watering and mowing techniques.  Whether or not you lose turf grass this fall depends upon you mowing and watering properly.  Just simply applying fertilizers and controls to protect your lawn are only 1/2 the battle.  We can provide the expertise and diagnosis for you as well as making your life much easier but you must be steadfast in caring for your lawn with proper maintenance.  This means: Sharp mower blades, mowing at the right time, applying the right amount of water, ensuring your lawn is well fed and invaders are kept to a minimum.  If at any time you feel something is out of the norm, please call us and we’ll schedule a service call to visit your property and discuss your concerns.

Related Articles & Services

Slice Seeding – We are expecting alot of turf loss this fall.  If your lawn is thin already,y you should consider this service to sew in more desirable grasses and thicken your lawn.  Lawns that thin due to poor soils should be over seeded every other year or so.

Slice Seeding With Aeration

Melting Out Disease – Our first post under the diseases categories.  We’ll be adding to these categories over the next year to include the most common diseases we deal with here in Maine, what to look for and how to deal with them.

Proper Mowing For Healthy Growing

Water Wise

We’ve noticed only a few cases of chinchbugs this year but that doesn’t mean all is well.  Chinchbugs by now are well into their 2nd generation and if they are in your turfgrass the population will only increase as the season goes on.  Since we’ve experienced such a drought its been hard to notice damage to turfgrass from insects.   Usually, we can tell, if the turf is fairly moist the areas that are being damaged.  Now is the time you may see your lawn care technician on their hands and knees looking at your lawn.  What they will be looking for is fungus and insects.  There are several methods you can use to determine if you have Chinchbugs.  The best method we know of is just getting down and staring at the ground looking for movement.  When we find movement, our job is to then determine if it is in fact a chinchbug.  If not, then there is usually no concern.  There are many insects that live in turfgrass but only certain species are damaging.  WE’LL LET YOU KNOW!

Grubs

There has been much concern this year about the grub population.  We saw many lawns damaged this spring from the overwintering grubs of last year.  Most of them were European Chaffers.  We didn’t see much of Japanese Beetle larvae, however, that doesn’t mean we won’t have a large egg lay this year.  Compared to last year, the number of grub incedents of Japanese Beetles we saw were increased.  Since the last two winters were mild, we feel that there may be an increased egg lay this year.  That means that damage this fall and next spring could be dramttic if you don’t already have a preventive grub control on your service schedule.

Dr. Pat Vittum from the University Of Mass. has been telling us that there seems to be a coorelation with the moisture levels in the soil and egg lay.  This means beetles will actually wait until mosture levels return in the soil before they lay their eggs.  If you have well irrigated soil and you do not have a grub control then they may have already laid eggs in your turfgrass.  However, if you are like most of us who tend to wait for Mother Nature to provide the rain, then you could be in the clear for another week or so.  We are expected to get some rain this week and hopefully we do!  As soon as the turfgrass can begin growing again, we”ll still have a good window for grub control treatments.

Related services to consider

Sub Surface Insect Control – There is still time to get a treatment if you haven’t one on your schedule.  We strongly recommend this service as European Chaffers have exploded in our area.  Japanese beetles haven’t been much of a problem the last 2 years, but that has been offset by the European Chaffer populations.

Surface Insect Control - Chinchbugs, Sod Webworm, Cut worms, Leaf hoppers, Green Bugs, Ants & more can cause problems with your lawn.  Fleas & Ticks are all insects we can do without.  Protect your turfgrass from these damaging insects with our Surface Insect Control.

Photos 4 Teamwork get $50 Cash!

We’ve launched our new Photos 4 Teamwork Campaign.  Over the next few years, we’ll be posting photographs of our customers lawns & landscapes.  If you visit our website, give us a testimonial and upload a photo of your lawn, we’ll give you $50.00 CASH if we use yours online.  Its our new campaign to increase awareness & teamwork for homeowners to mow and water their lawns properly.  Don’t miss out!

Here are some articles that may help you if you’re not quite sure.

Articles relating to mowing

Articles relating to watering

Now lets get some CA$H!

Over the next few years we’ll be posting photos of our current customers lawn & landscapes.  If we use your photo & testimonial online you’ll win $50 in CASH!  Thats right we’ll send you a check for $50 right to your mailbox.  We want to show everyone some of the best looking lawns we help produce & the people behind them who help us make them look that way by mowing and watering properly.

Here is how it works:

1.  Take a photo of your lawn. 

2.  Fill out the form below.

3.  Sit back and wait for an email from us if you are chosen!  We’ll be making posts on our website on a monthly basis rewarding people and showing off their photos!

If you’d prefer you can always mail it to us:

Green Thumb Lawn Service
64 Stevens Road
Brewer, ME  04412

Thanks for choosing Green Thumb Lawn Service & Good Luck!

There is a big misconception out there that if you are catching bag fulls of these beetles you are wining the battle.  HA!  Not a chance!  They say that each Bag A Bug is good for 5000 square feet.  Ok so if your entire turf area is 10,000 square feet and you put out 2 of these what does that tell the beetles?  “This property has quite the party going on”  That is the last thing you want these guys to be thinking.  IF (and that is a big IF) you do use these, you want them as far away from what you are trying to protect as possible!  Since Japanese beetles are a flying insect, they will move around looking to mate and to find food.  If they are hungry, they will try to eat what is close.  If that is the case, then putting a bag a bug directly onto one of their primary food sources is not the most intelligent idea.  “Maybe I’ll have a few bites of this nice Maple leaf before I try to find that good looking lady beetle”.  Not a good idea when one bag can hold upwards of 4000 beetles.  If they sense that there are bunch of dead beetles around they may not want to enter anyway.

Some people claim to have good success.  Good for them!  But what they don’t understand is that 1 beetle can lay up to 300 eggs in your lawn.  They lay their eggs in TURF GRASS ONLY!  This means all it takes is a couple females to lay eggs in your lawn and that’s it, game over!  300 grubs in a 15′ radius is way over threshold.  They will chew the roots of your lawn and mow it from underneath.  Not to mention once the Raccoons, skunks and birds catch whiff of them, your lawn will be rototilled.  Between the European Chaffer, May-June Beetle Complex & the Japanese Beetle there are way too many threats out there for turf grass nowadays.  You should be protecting what you wish to keep with a barrier not a trap.  You’re simply out numbered.

We recommend treating your ornamentals when the beetles first show up with a protective spray that you can pickup at your local hardware store.  READ THE LABEL!  If you don’t you shouldn’t be using it.  But if you do, you’ll find that the products are very effective and quite safe when used appropriately.  If you don’t like messing with those products, you should call a professional.  As far as your lawn is concerned, preventative grub control is the only protection.  A treatment before the females lay their eggs is best as this allows the product to be absorbed by the grass plants and protect the plant.  There isn’t a curative control that the State of Maine allows to be used, unless you have special permission and adhere to the strict rules that they setup.  So,the only option to protecting your turfgrass is to have a preventative treatment each year.  Late July and August are usually the best times to do this.

So,  in conclusion we don’t recommend using the bag a bugs.  Especially, if you are in a tight neighborhood.  You are just drawing the beetles to that part of the neighborhood and creating more of a problem for yourself and your neighbors.

Related Services you should consider.

Sub Surface Grub Control – With this service your lawn will be protected year after year from all grubs.  We do not recommend taking one treatment and skipping the next year.  This should be an ongoing protection plan for your turf  provided you have seen beetles or have seen grub activity in your area.  Call us if you have any questions!

Slice Seeding – If your lawn has fallen prey to the lawn enemy #1, then you may need to do some reseeding.  If this is the case, the quickest way to reestablish turf without a huge investment would be slice seeding.

Leaf spot is one of the most widespread fungus in coolseason turfgrass in our area.  It begins as little brown spots on the sheaths, leaves and stalks.  As it begins to grow the dark brown spots grow in size and the center turns a lighter brown thus indicating the tissue in that area is now dead.   Excess thatch, heavy nitrogen fertilization, excess shade, mowing too close, and broadleaf herbicides promote these diseases. 

The spots may extend the width of the leaf and are somewhat longer than wide. Leaf spots may cause the death of leaf tips. Leaf sheaths are also infected, and may die, resulting in thin stands of grass. Melting out begins as spots on the leaf blades and rapidly moves down the leaf sheath and into crowns and roots. In advanced stages, when many plants die in a large irregular patch, it is known as “melting out”. These patches may range in size from several inches up to many feet and may produce an irregular patchwork across an entire lawn.

Once “Melting Out” has begun it is difficult to control  Proper watering and mowing techniques are important in warding it off and preventing it inthe first place.  If it has taken hold an areas of the lawn have undergon the “Melting Out” process then reseeding is necessary.  Reseeding with resistant varieties is recommended as older varietes of bluegrass and other cool season grasses are more suceseptable to disease.  It is particularly important to not use excess nitrogen fertilizer and DO NOT water in the evening.  Evening watering is never recomended as this only promotes more disease.  Morning watering is the only time you should water your turfgrass.  Fungicides can be used to stop leafspot but are usually not warranted.  Most residential turfgrass will not be adversly affected by leafspot.  Only under extreme conditions will this fungus bloom and cause the melting out. 

Prevention

Watering and mowing are the most important things you can do to keep this from hapening to your lawn.  Over 70% of lawns we look at on a day to day basis are mowed improperly.  Dull mower blades, mowing too short, removing too much of the leaf blade, not enough water and many more issues.  Please read the following articles to ENSURE at least your mowing habbits are in check.  We understand that most folks just can’t water their lawn.  Thats ok….At least you can do your lawn the favor of mowing properly.

Proper Mowing for Healthy Growing

Water Wise

How Much Water Does My Lawn Need?

Additional solutions

The following services we offer help in promoting a healthy turfstand and are specifically targeted to help prevent Leaf Spot & Melting out.  As well as correcting the problem if it does occur on your property:

Core Aeration - Improves air circulation and better root growth.

Magic Carpet Program – Provides essential nutrients with out the excess nitrogen that causes grassplants to be overly supple and suceptable to disease.

Slice Seeding – If your turfgrass has been damaged by a fungus due to extreme weather conditions, this service will sew in more resistant varieties of turfgrass that will be better suited.

A few of these blades have leaf spot just starting on them and the other ones are dead from melting out.This is a wide shot of a lawn that has melted out on one section.

This is a wide shot of a lawn that has melted out on one section.

Not to worry, we’ve launched the new site and will be making some final tweaks to it soon.  Please take a few moments to visit the site and see the new layout.  There is also a poll on the homepage that would be greatly appreciated if you could fill it out.

Quick improvements:

• More prominent search box at the top of each page
• Better layout of navigation to aid in browsing articles
• Revamped back end alert system.  We’ve upgraded the newsletter subscription system to better alert folks of alert based posts.  We’ll be adding subscriptions to the other post categories such as: Lawn Problems, Lawn & Landscape Tips and Frequently Asked Questions.
• A new polling system has been integrated, so we can better understand the needs of our customers. (Stay tuned for our FREE LAWN SERVICE GIVAWAY QUESTIONAIRE)

Upcoming improvements:

• Online chat support – If you have a quick question during busines hours, you can drop a quick message on our website and we’ll message you right back!
• Lawn problem database – We’ll be adding posts under the follwing categories:  Weeds, Insects, Fungus, Miscellaneous.  These posts will contain images pertaining to each problem a brief description and cultural methods to control the problem.

We have a backlog of articles and alerts that will be posted very soon!  Thanks for your patience and stay tuned!

Earthworms chew their way through the soil and eliminate behind them.  The eliminations are called castings.  The castings are usually moist and look like little mud balls.  As the castings dry, it hardens and makes little mounds of dirt in amongst the turf.  If you flick off the top of the dirt mound you’ll usually find a small hole.  Night crawlers are the little guys that make the biggest mounds.  Generally, you can see holes up to 1/4″ after removing the casting mound.

It’s a good thing what they do in that they are helping aerate your soil.  This helps improve soil structure by relieving soil compaction, improving air circulation, moisture penetration and it also increases microbial activity, which in turn helps decompose thatch.  Without boring you will all the other compounding benefits, just know that worms are a good thing and any pesticides applied to your lawn will not effect them.

So what to do about all those bumps you say?  Well, the best way to approach it is to try not to put in too much effort.  You’ll always have earthworms and that’s a good thing.  So, by fertilizing your lawn and maintaining a good thick turf stand you help to mask the bumps in your lawn.  If your turf stand isn’t as dense as you would like it or you can see the castings without having to pull away the grass then you should seriously consider an over seeding service to sew in more grass seed to help thicken your lawn.  Having a good thick turf stand is beneficial in many ways.  The more intense approach would be to stop into your local hardware  or big box store and pickup a lawn dethatcher.  De thatching your lawn in the spring time is always recommended before the green shoots start to rise.  But, you can also do this at any time of the season.  A lawn dethatcher has metal tines that flick and scrape at the grass helping to remove dead decomposing grass.  It also can help break down those dirt castings and relieve some of the bumpiness.  It may take several passes to get enough of them to meet your satisfaction.

NEVER ROLL YOUR LAWN!!!  Rolling your lawn may seem to be a good idea in this case but it is definitely not.  Rolling your lawn compacts the soil making it extremely difficult for turf grass roots to grow and pull in the nutrients and moisture they need.  The only time we’d recommend rolling a lawn is just after you seeded a new area.  That would help drive the seeds into the soil.  But you wouldn’t be looking to compact the soil here so you would be using a light weight roller.  Something that wouldn’t do much for squishing the earthworm castings.

Taking the time to diagnose what is really going on with your lawn is the first step in protecting your investment for the long haul.

If you think you have some turf density issues and are currently on our regular lawn care program, GIVE US A CALL!   We’ll give you some recommendations as to what your lawn or soil needs to get the lawn you’ve been looking for.

Watering

The single most important requirement for germinating turf grass seed is adequate moisture.  Keeping the seed damp – either by rainfall or irrigation – will encourage proper seed development.  The first watering can be done right away.  It should moisten the soil to a depth of two to three inches…but gently!  Be careful not to apply the water with such force that it washes away the soil or dislodges the seed.  After the initial watering, irrigate the newly seeded area lightly and frequently – two or three times a day, if possible – until the grass begins to establish and mature.  Then the intervals between waterings can be lengthened and the amount applied at any one time increased.  Watering at night is not recommended.

Activity

Too much activity on your newly-seeded lawn can interfere with seed germination for the next to to three weeks.  We suggest limiting the amount of activity on your lawn as much as possible.

Wear and tear from people, pets and bikes can create ruts and holes that could ruin the terrain and cause drainage problems.  Pampering your new lawn by keeping people and pets off for just  a few weeks in the beginning helps insure the quality and beauty you’re looking for in the end.

Mowing

Your new lawn will be ready to mow when the grass plants are higher than the height at which they will normally be maintained.  In other words, if you plan to regularly cut the lawn at 2 1/2″, mow it for the first time when it is about 3″ tall.  And when mowing, it’s a good idea to follow the general rule of thumb to never remove more than one-third of the leaf  blade at any one time.  Also, don’t mow if the ground is too wet.

Keep in mind, too, that the most important requirement for proper mowing is a sharp mower blade.  A dull blade rips and shreds the grass instead of cutting it – seedlings can actually be torn from the soil.  Mowing with a dull blade also makes the plants susceptible to other problems like brown leaf tips and disease infestation.

Final note…

A lawn is much like any other living thing.  when properly nourished and cared for, it thrives.  With adequate attention, your new lawn will provide a beautiful environment for you and your home for many years.

As your lawn matures, you should make sure it is properly fertilized and that weed and insect controls are applied when needed.  Other maintenance practices like aeration, occasional over seeding and other services should also be considered.

If you have experienced the nuisance of swarming ladybugs, rest assured that these beetles do not bite, sting, or carry human diseases, nor feed on wood, clothing, or food. They also do not reproduce indoors. These beetles are harmless to humans. In facts, ladybugs, also called lady beetles, are very beneficial to agriculture and gardens. Ladybugs feed on harmful aphids and scale insects associated with trees, shrubs, bushes, flowers, and many agriculture crops. With these benefits in mind, ladybugs can still be a problem for homeowners.

If ladybugs have been entering your house, the best method you can adopt is prevention. Ladybugs enter through cracks around windows, doors, siding, pipes, and other openings. If ladybugs can enter your home, then so can cold air in the winter and warm air in the summer. You should fill in any cracks and repair any damaged window or door screens. For beetles already in your house, you may use a broom and dustpan and/or a vacuum cleaner to collect them. Then you may place the beetles under a bush or other covered area well away from your home. Remember, they will be invaluable to your garden and flowers next year. Also remember that any problems you are having with swarming ladybugs will be solved once the cold winter weather set in!

Source: Wooodside Gardens

In a story just released by the Maine Sunday Herald, reports of confirmed Lyme disease cases have been pouring into the Maine Center For Disease Control at a rate three times above the average.

The weather was an obvious factor. “I was pulling ticks off (dogs) in January and seeing active cases of Lyme disease in January,” said veterinarian Sandra Mitchell at Animal Medical Associates in Saco, Maine.

Maine state officials point out that in many areas ticks did not hibernate as they traditionally do because of the mild temperatures. This group of ticks will feed voraciously all summer long and people can expect to see increased interaction.

To make matters worse, there is a healthy population of rodents this year. They serve to carry the ticks that have the potential to cause Lyme disease.

In an article that will be premiering in the May issue of Outdoors Magazine titled “The Truth About Ticks,” Glenn Dunning revels that many of the traditional beliefs held in the Northeast about ticks are not true.  This is both good and bad news.

According to Dunning, “You’ve probably heard that the big deer ticks are not the ones that carry Lyme disease, it’s the smaller wood ticks to watch out for. WRONG. All ticks can carry Lyme disease bacteria as well as a host of other stuff you don’t want to catch.”

Dunning goes on to point out that while ticks, and consequently Lyme disease, are more common now than they have ever been before in Northern New York and New England, awareness about the illness and treatment methods have also made significant strides. No longer is Lyme disease considered the life-altering illness that it once was.

Source: Outdoors Magazine