lawn care

Marketing Extension with Michael Wolf

Michael Wolf holding a calf in the grassMy name is Michael Wolf, I am currently the Marketing Intern for UConn Extension and have been working on multiple projects focusing on growing our network and how we can continue to interact with the community. Extension is constantly growing our outreach through our various social media platforms where we advertise virtually all of the activities, we participate in. This is where you can find educational content related to our research and plenty of entertainment and enjoyment through our student-run pieces. Not only is UConn Extension focused on informing the community, but through developing our marketing efforts we are better able to provide those at the university with the proper channels needed to gather knowledge and build a platform to grow our skills.

Currently, one of my main focuses is working on our exciting new project called FertAdvisor. This program is an Apple and Android-friendly application that was developed by a group of faculty members in the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources to help homeowners better understand how to fertilize their turf, yard, and gardens.

Throughout the course of my internship, I look forward to promoting our programs through events such as Turf Grass Field Day (where turf grass professionals of all levels are provided the opportunity to learn about the cutting-edge research being done in lawn care, sports, and golf turf management), and helping to launch new marketing initiatives for UConn Extension to help promote our diversity, ingenuity, community, and impact. I am very excited to be working with Stacey Sterns and Vickie Wallace to complete all these tasks and look forward to learning from both of them through this process. Make sure to check out all our resources to keep your lawn picture-perfect this summer and stay tuned for YouTube videos and social media content to help turn you into a master gardener for years to come.

Top 10 Cool Season Tips to Get You the Best Yard

bentgrass stand dormant in hot summer, may be mistaken for disease activityClean up Gently

In the spring, remove any large debris from the lawn that may have the potential to smother and kill your grass as it starts to resume growth in the spring.  Once excess debris is removed, rake your lawn to remove any dead grass.

Get Rid of Bare Spots

Reseed any bare patches with grass seed to reduce spaces where weeds can grow and help to create a dense and consistent turfgrass surface to match the rest of the lawn’s lush look.

Don’t Cut the Grass too Short

Mowing the lawn too short can cause it to “stress”, which in turn will prevent it from flourishing.  The height of cut should be maintained at least 3 inches tall.  Never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf blade during the mowing process.   Grass clippings should be returned to the turfgrass surface. As the leaf clippings degrade, they release nutrients back into the turfgrass lawn.

Sharpen Mower Blades and Clean Up

Sharpen mower blades and clean mowing equipment of debris. When cleaning off equipment, make sure that grass clipping stuck on the underside of the mower is not rinsed where they can get washed into stormwater drains.

Water (If needed)

During the growing season, consider watering lawn areas, if there have been no measurable rain. Lawns require about an inch of water/week, therefore deep and infrequent watering will keep the lawn healthy during the hot summer months. Water early in the morning to allow the turfgrass roots to absorb the water, but also time for the leaves to dry.

Lawns that are not irrigated will become dormant and “rest” during the hot summer months, but will resume active growth when hot summer temperatures turn cool.

Different turfgrasses require different watering or nutrients to persist.  Consider turfgrasses that utilize less water or fertilizer in lawns with little activity. Some grasses are better suited to full sun, others better suited to partial shade.  Fine fescues can survive with few inputs and do well in dry partial shade conditions.

Feed Your lawn

Like people, turfgrass lawns, require nutrients protect itself against insects, weeds or diseases that grow in the turfgrass canopy.  Fertilize when turfgrass is actively growing so that the lawn will benefit from each fertilizer application.

Fertilizing your lawn is important, especially if the lawn may thin out due wear damage from active children and pets.

Fertilizers that release nutrients slowly over time (slow release) can extend the duration of feeding.  Quick release fertilizers provide a quick response and do not provide a consistent slow release of nutrients.  Slow release fertilizers can be synthetic or organic.

Older lawns typically require less fertilizer than younger lawns.  Overtime older lawns can release nutrients back into the soil.

Attract Pollinators to your Garden

Pollinators will be attracted to all flowering plants, including weeds in the lawn.  If pollinators are to be protected, mow the lawn to remove the flowers before any herbicide is applied.  Pollinators will not travel to weeds to collect pollen if the flowers have been removed.

Clean and Polish

Make sure you have cleaned and lubricated all the garden tools you have been using before storing them away.

Give Your Lawn What It Wants

Fertilizing your lawn is absolutely necessary if you find that it is struggling to grow. Completing this process in the early spring will jumpstart the growth of your grass.

Hire the Professionals

Hire a professional landscape contractor or lawn care company to help manage your lawn.  These professionals are trained to make environmentally friendly adjustments that will help you grow a healthy lawn.

 

Visit s.uconn.edu/fertadvisor for more tips on how to maintain the perfect yard.

 

Seedlings in a Lawn

seedling infographic

Friend or foe? What are those seedlings coming up in your lawn? We are getting numerous calls and e-mails from people all around the state about seedlings coming up in their lawns and gardens. They believe, or are being told, that these are poison ivy, when in fact they are maple seedlings.
 
People need to check the leaves carefully – poison ivy is in threes, maples seedling have two leaves.
 
Some people do not want to mow their lawns for fear of being exposed to poison ivy. This is a mast year for certain maples, that is why there are so many.
 
Thanks to Pamm Cooper of our UConn Home & Garden Education Center for answering this question for us.
 
#AskUConnExtension

Ten Tips for the June Gardener

flowers

1. Lightly cultivate soil after a heavy rain to avoid compaction. A layer of mulch reduces the soil crusting and compaction caused by raindrops.

2. Check container plants daily during hot weather, they will need water often.

3. Check for small holes that signal flea beetle damage on tomatoes, eggplants and peppers.

4. There is still time to sow seeds of beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers, and summer squash.

5. Overgrown, multi-stemmed shrubs, like spirea, lilac, and forsythia, can be renovated by removing 1/3 of 
stems down to ground level each year for 3 years, allowing some new young growth to replace these 
older stems.

6. When deadheading rhododendrons, avoid breaking off leaf buds which are just below flowers.

7. Keep mower blades sharp and set your mower height at 2-3 inches.

8. Cut back early-flowering perennials to tidy up and encourage more blooms.

9. Mosquitoes breed in standing water. To discourage them, change the water in pet dishes and bird baths 
every few days.

10. For the sweetest pea harvest, pick regularly before pods become over-mature and peas become starchy.

For more information visit the UConn Home and Garden Center.