Information To Help You With Your Lawn And Garden
WATERING
We routinely see more lawns negatively affected by too much water than those suffering from insufficient moisture. Excessive watering may initially make your lawn green and lush, but it can cause problems that are much more serious than occasional brown spots resulting from dry conditions. The reason is that over watering can cause your lawn to develop a shallow root system. Since it is receiving ample water on a routine basis, the soil never dries out and the roots aren’t forced to go down deep in search of moisture. As a result, once the temperature climbs and / or the amount of water is dialed back, the lack of deep roots cause the lawn to suffer, and it immediately begins to look unsightly. Furthermore, watering too frequently can threaten your trees and shrubs as well.
The right amount of water, applied at the right times, is crucial to maintaining the health and appearance of your lawn. Unfortunately, in Colorado we cannot afford to take a “set it and forget it” approach to watering our lawns. However, following the basic guidelines below will help you to develop the healthiest lawn possible.
FREQUENCY/AMOUNT
The rule of thumb is to water as infrequently as possible, and as deeply as possible to saturate the soil. Once per week is usually appropriate during the spring, although rain and snow may make that unnecessary. As temperatures rise to around eighty degrees, increase your watering to every third or fourth day.
CSU EXTENSION
Below are links to several publications from CSU Extension, which can help further guide you on your quest for a healthy and beautiful lawn.
Watering Practices related to Fungus
Crabgrass, Barnyard Grass, Goosegrass
TIME OF DAY TO WATER
During the heat of summer, water your lawn between midnight and dawn, when the wind, temperature, and humidity levels allow the water to soak in rather than evaporate. Daytime or early-evening watering is ineffective because much of the water will be lost to evaporation. Early evening watering can also encourage fungus. Watering during pre-dawn hours does not cause fungus and may actually help prevent it. Resist the temptation to turn on the sprinklers when it’s hot, dry, and windy, except for spot watering of small, critically dry areas.
Watering more than every third day—even in hot, dry conditions—won’t normally be necessary unless the lawn has historically been over watered or otherwise neglected. If you do get dry, straw- colored spots, increase the time per zone, but do not water more than every third day, and do not water morning and evening on the same day. Watering more often than necessary will result in rapid top growth, but shallow root growth, which leaves your lawn vulnerable to drought, disease, pests, and weeds.
The amount of time to run each zone will vary depending on the type of sprinklers, and the amount of sun or shade in each zone. Twenty to thirty minutes per zone will usually be about right for small pop-up sprinklers. Larger, rotating sprinklers that cover wider areas can be run for forty or more minutes per zone.
IMPORTANT: To achieve maximum water absorption, run two or three consecutive short cycles, rather than one long cycle. For example, if you decide to water for thirty minutes per zone, set each zone to run for ten minutes. Next, set the entire system to run three times in a row.
SPRINKLERS
We do not offer any formal sprinkler services but can make minor repairs or adjustments to sprinkler systems for our regular mowing customers, and we will always take care of any damage we’ve caused.
For more involved sprinkler issues, we recommend contacting Carl Barber at Barber Custom Landscapes, Inc.* He’s been serving the Denver metro area for over twenty-five years, and like us, has an outstanding rating with the Better Business Bureau. For more information, contact Carl at 303-793-0636 or carleb64@hotmail.com.
WEEDS
We do not provide weed control services, however, the best defense against weeds is a healthy lawn. Properly watered, fertilized, and aerated lawns often need little or no weedkiller. Until your lawn reaches that point, we recommend getting help from our friends at The Natural Way*. They have been serving the Denver metro area for over fifteen years, and like us, have an outstanding rating with the Better Business Bureau. For more information, click here: The Natural Way, Inc. Don’t over do it! Properly applied weedkiller will not hurt your grass. Excessive use, however, will inhibit earthworms, beneficial microbes, and other natural activity that helps your lawn defend itself against weed infiltration. Whenever possible, we recommend “spot” treatment instead of broadcast applications over the entire lawn.
TREES & SHRUBS
For trees and shrubs, we recommend getting help from our friends at The Natural Way*. They can take care of disease and insect problems, as well as trimming, pruning, and shaping trees and shrubs. They have been serving the Denver metro area for over fifteen years, and like us, have an outstanding rating with the Better Business Bureau. For more information, click here: The Natural Way, Inc.
DE-THATCHING & POWER RAKING
Don’t do it; aerate instead!
Thatch serves important roles in the overall health of your lawn, such as shading crowns & root system, aiding in moisture retention, reducing soil erosion, protecting against temperature extremes & promoting microbial activity. Therefore, you don’t want to rip it out (along with tender, new growth), by power raking.
Excessive thatch predisposes the turf to drought stress or winter kill and increases the possibility for insect, disease and weed problems. Also, fertilizers and pesticides applied to a thatchy lawn work less effectively. Thatch should be less than ½ inch thick.
Aeration helps control thatch two ways: (1) by loosening the soil, thereby improving movement of water, air, and nutrients into the root zone, roots can grow deeper rather than back up into themselves; (2) by pulling microbes to the surface, aeration facilitates the natural decomposition of thatch.
We refer our customers to The Natural Way, Inc. and Barber Custom Landscapes because we believe that they will provide high-quality service and products. The Natural Way & Barber Custom Landscapes are not, however, “partner” companies, nor are they in any way affiliated with Fiske Brothers Yardwork’s. As such, Fiske Brothers Yardwork’s cannot be responsible for services or products provided by The Natural Way, Inc. or Barber Custom Landscapes.