Lawn Maintenance

It is a good time of the year to be grass

September 12th, 2014 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Many people tend to give up on their lawn after summer with the mindset that the season is over and they can start over next year. This is a bad mindset because now we have the best growing conditions of the year with cooler temperatures (or arctic temperatures like today), adequate rain, heavy dew, and days that can still give plenty of sun.

Now is the best time of the year to seed. If you have thin spots or bare spots you have another good week or 2 to seed them. I would not wait too much longer because this is Michigan and we might have 3 feet of snow on the ground next month.

You should be watering once a day for 7-10 minutes per zone with the rotary heads and 3-5 minutes per day with the pop up heads. If we continue to have rain once or twice a week you can turn off your sprinklers. If we go more than 2 days without rain, turn them back on.

Slime Mold

July 11th, 2014 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Slime Mold

The frequent rain has created an explosion of slime mold in the bark beds lately. While it may look like your dog was sick or your crazy uncle drank too much, it is a fungus. It is not toxic. It can be yellow, gray, black, or other colors. You don’t have to spray it with anything. Grab a shovel, dig it up, and throw it away. This is more common in beds that had fresh bark this spring.

Heat Tracks

June 7th, 2014 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Lawns turned dry real fast this year. Follow this link from MSU that gives a good description about heat tracks.

Maple Seedlings in the lawn

May 16th, 2014 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

MSU has followed my lead and posted about seedlings in the lawn. Click here to read the article.

Maple Tree Seedlings

April 25th, 2014 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Maple tree seedlings started to grow last weekend and are now spreading heavily through lawns. There is no need to worry about these because they will all die when you mow the lawn. It might take one or 2 mowings because the trees have to be tall enough for you to cut off the leaf. If the seedlings are too short the mower will pass right over them. If you want to live in a jungle you can save the trees and try to mow around all of them. If your children have cabin fever send them outside to dig up and transplant the trees (it will occupy them for days!)

Why are there so many this year?
I do not yet know the science behind it, but last fall we had a bumper crop of helicopters. I have a gutter helmet on my roof and I still had to get up there and blow the helicopters off. The helicopters are the seedlings that you see growing in the lawn.

April 18th, 2014 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Nice article by Kevin Frank from MSU on mole and vole damage along with snow mold. Click here to read the article.

Lawn Care Myths

March 24th, 2014 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

Below, you can find a link to an article that debunks many myths about lawn care practices. Many of these could help make or break your lawn this season!

10 Myths about Lawn Care

Crabgrass in 2013

August 7th, 2013 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

For an explanation of this year’s crabgrass explosion, follow this link to MSU’s website.

Watering Tips

July 16th, 2013 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

This week will be a scorcher. Do not wait for your lawn to turn brown before you sprinkle. If you wait for the lawn to turn brown it takes 4 times as much water to bring the grass back. I am afraid this email may be too late for some, but make sure you are watering your lawn twice a day now. Once at 4:00 AM, and again at 1:00 PM, assuming there are no sprinkling bans in your area. Your grass is a lot like humans. If you work or exercise outside all day you need to take care of yourself by drinking lots of water on a continuous basis. It would not be wise to try to conserve your bottle of water until you are light headed, your sweating stops, you have stomach cramps, dizziness, and other signs of heat fatigue. An IV and a trip to the urgent care cost a lot more money and time than bottles of water throughout the day.
Watering Your Landscaping

Trees are the opposite of grass. Trees need deep watering cycles. Put a garden hose out at the base of your ornamental trees and let it trickle for several hours. Just because your grass is green, that does not mean your trees are getting enough water.

Mow your grass as high as you can, or skip it this week. Mowing your lawn during this heat can stress it out.

Continue This Conversation

I post these tips on Facebook. I would like to know how much you are watering to keep your grass green. Please comment on our Facebook page because I know there are other clients that are curious as well. I have not heard about any sprinkling bans in the Grand Rapids area. Please post if you are in a sprinkling ban.

Make sure to take care of yourself and your pets.

Dry Lawns

July 10th, 2013 by Tuff Turf Molebusters

In this heat, make sure to sprinkle the grass twice every day. The lawn on the left is sprinkling, but not nearly enough.