There is one area in the landscape of life where men love to be. That is on top of their riding lawn mower cutting their grass. Now, this is not a sexist view, it just is a personal observation of mine. Now that I have moved to a village from a small town, I think I can access the situation with some confidence. Men love to cut their grass.
Myself, I am not overly fond of the stuff as lawn mowers are usually gas guzzlers and don't have emission controls on them. I have a vision in my head: a bird's eye view of North America and what is spewing out into the atmosphere all summer and well, just give me a mask please. Also I consider lawn mowers to be a contributor to noise pollution. It's funny, but the sound of a real farm tractor is much more appealing to me than the irritating sound of a lawn mower... I don't know why, but it just is so.
Another thing I have noticed is that people do not realize that grass goes dormant normally in July, (Kentucky blue grass does not though). I had a neighbour at my last residence who was a maniac with his lawn mower, he actually had two mowers, both the gas push kind. He was kind of nuts anyway, but his grass cutting activities drove the whole neighbourhood to distraction. He would cut his grass to within an inch of it's life all season. In July when his grass was dormant, which means it is taking a rest and not growing. He would still cut it right down to within an inch of it's life and then proceed to get the sprinkler out and water it like crazy! What a waste of good fresh water and a wasted use of time, energy and gasoline. I tried once to explain to him about the dormancy in grass and how your lawn is telling you to relax and have a beer, enjoy July! He did not like the 'brown', well that sorta comes with dormancy, it greens up again when the nights start to get cooler.
The trick is to cut your grass short in the spring, keep it about 2", it is actively growing then and the shorter cut encourages root growth, which makes a nice thick lawn.
Towards the end of June, raise the blades of your mower about half to one inch higher (grass height is 2.5" to 3") and cut it at it's new height in July when dormancy sets in. The added inch of length will shield your lawn from the suns heat, thereby keeping the soil cool and moisture retentive, it also helps make your bare feet more comfortable on the turf. This added length will also be a benefit to your soil nutrients, moisture level and microbes in the soil, this is all good, since the soil feeds your lawn. Also, weed seed heads will blow over a thick lush lawn and not take root, any that do will have a tough time competing with a thick healthy lawn.
Once summer nights start cooling down a bit you will notice the grass actively growing again, you can lower your blades down to 2" again.
Kentucky bluegrass is a high maintenance grass that grows TOO fast and requires regular mowing. Last summer with not much sun and a lot of water the Kentucky bluegrass lawns thrived. People had to cut their grass immediately between rainstorms because the grass was growing out of control. Because of the amount of sunless rain days we had it was difficult to keep up with the lawns between work, kids etc. I saw many people who were frustrated over this problem, myself included.
There are alternatives to grass, you can let that thyme move out of your flower beds or walkways and let it take over. There are many kinds of thyme to plant at different heights. Or you can plant grasses that don't require mowing, such as fescues, which I will add is a difficult sell to men. You can also just turn your lawn into a garden, flower garden, vegetable garden, shrub and tree garden, woodland garden, oh I can think of a gazillion ideas other than grass. OCS Seeds has many lawn alternatives.
Another alternative is to plant white clover in your lawn with the grass you have. Be sure to use Dutch white clover and not the larger, forage types such as Ladino white, or Alsike or Red Clover. Use REd Clover for establishing a meadow, not in your lawn. Get your white clover seed in March and when the snow melts broadcast the seeds, this is called Frost Sowing. Clover which is legume, has nodes on it's roots which takes nitrogen gas from the atmosphere and 'fixes' this nitrogen on it's nodes, it then converts this into a useable form for the plant and feeds the soil.
Going pesticide free is the best way to ensure your lawn, whether it's an alternative lawn or regular grass. You can control white grubs and cinch worms easily. White grubs feeds on the roots of your grass, causing lawns to wilt and turn brown. If necessary remove excess thatch, nematodes diluted in water and applied to your lawn in late summer will help. If you see a flock of birds feasting in your lawn, let them feast, they are eating white grubs.
The chinch bug causes yellow patches on the grass and can cause the grass to turn brown and die, they feed on the sap of the grass. Chinch bugs are black with a white spot on the back between the wing pads. Adult chinch bugs have white wings folded over their backs, and are 4 mm in length. The immature chinch bug, the nymph, is bright red with distinctive white bands across the back. As it matures, its colouring will change from orange to brown, and finally black. Nymphs do not have wings. The big-eyed bug likes to dine on its relative, the chinch bug. It looks similar to the chinch bug, but has a wider body, larger head and large predominant eyes.
The tiny wasp will parasitize chinch bug eggs under favourable conditions, preventing them from hatching.
These predators occur naturally and may be purchased from a commercial insectary. The praying mantis feeds on chinch bugs.
Also the introduction of nematodes is helpful, for other measures you can read Control of Chinch Bugs without pesticides. It works.
As a final note I want to talk about introducing healthy endomycorrhizal fungi are naturally found in soils, just like the human bodies, fungi are actually benefical to a healthy lawn. In soil that has been altered by humans by the use of pesticides they are depleted and destroyed. The use of pesticides actually is a vicious cycle that actually promotes the growth of weeds. You can rejuvenate your lawn and it's health by introducing endomycorrhizal fungi back into your soil. This is a lot easier than you think, a new much needed product is on the market today and available at most garden centres. It's called Myke Pro Turf WP and it comes in a powder form that is ideal for seed, liquid and hydro applications. It's truly amazing how this benefits your soil and lawn. Baltimore Valley Garden Centre here in Northumberland will have Myke for your lawn in the spring when they open.
