Managing Your Lawn
Good day! I hope all is well!
We received about 2.2 inches of rain in the past week. The high temperature for the past week ranged from 31 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit with an average of 41 degrees Fahrenheit. That average is 23 degrees lower than the 64 degrees Fahrenheit average we should be having. I was another cold week. The temperature forecast for the coming week looks to be below normal again, but not as much as it has been.
Backyard poultry producers please keep up your biosecurity practices! The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is still spreading. It has now been confirmed in 14 backyard and commercial poultry operations in North Dakota with the closest in Barnes County. Keep track of new cases of backyard and commercial operations at the North Dakota Department of Agriculture website: https://www.nd.gov/ndda/node/3694 . In wild birds 162 confirmed cases have been recorded, the most in the United States! The closest county with a wild bird confirmed with HPAI is in Foster County. To keep track if wild bird confirmations visit the APHIS website: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-disease-information/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-2022/2022-hpai-wild-birds.
It looks like spring is finally here. It is time to start working in our lawns. The first thing to do is to rake the lawn for twigs and leaves. Do this as soon as possible as the lawns are starting to green up.
Get your lawn mower ready for operation, change oil, air filters, and sharpen the blades. Dull blades damages the grass.
The two best times to fertilize the lawn is the end of May and early September, with the early September application being the most important and timely for healthy lawns. At the end of May, just apply a nitrogen only fertilizer that is slow release. Apply one pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet. Be sure you are calculating the correct amount of fertilizer and making sure the spreader is calibrated to deliver the calculated amount of fertilizer. It is best to apply the fertilizer in two different directions at a 90 degree angle. It is best to apply some water to the lawn after application to help get the fertilizer in the plant faster and to make sure it doesn’t wash away from a heavy rainstorm.
It is best to NOT apply a weed and feed product, because the timing that is best for fertilizing is not the best timing to apply herbicides, not as much herbicide is taken up by the weeds in granular form, making it less effective, and you are applying herbicides where it may not be necessary. Now is the time to apply a crabgrass preventer before the plants start to emerge. A liquid herbicide will cover the soil or weeds better than a granular weed and feed. The best time to apply a broadleaf herbicide to control perennial and winter annual weeds is mid- to late-September with a liquid herbicide. If your lawn has summer annual weeds, then an early to mid-June herbicide application is best. Trees and landscape can be sensitive to broadleaf weed herbicides. Therefore, it is best to apply the broadleaf herbicide only where the weeds are located and not across the entire lawn.
Cut your lawn between 2.5 to 3.5 inches tall. Reasons for cutting the lawn tall is to shade the soil and protect it from summer’s heat, develop a deep root system, and reduce weed populations since the taller grass blades shade out and smother emerging weed seedlings.
It is best to only remove (mow) one-third of the leaves of grass at a time to reduce stress on the plants. So mowing should be based upon the height of grass, not on a calendar schedule. If your lawn is being maintained at a three-inch height, then do not let the grass get any taller than 4.5 inches before you mow.
Let the grass clippings fall to the soil, especially if you have a mulching mower. If you have let the lawn get really tall and the grass is forming clumps, then rake up this grass so you do not increase the thatch layer, because this grass will not break down as fast.
