Now’s the Time to Feed Your Lawn

 

Fall is a particularly important time to feed your lawn. As the seasons change and temperatures drop, it's time to focus on helping our lawns recover from the stress of summer, while preparing them for the rigors of winter. This is a crucial period for turfgrass management, especially for cool-season grasses, which experience a resurgence in growth during this time. Cool season grasses include Kentucky blue grass, perennial rye and turf-type fescue.

Singly or in combination, these types of grasses make up most of our lawns. Fall fertilizing combined with humates aids in repairing and rejuvenating the turf, leading to improved overall vigor now, as well as preparing the grass for a strong start in spring. In this blog, we'll explore the best fertilizers for fall turfgrass care and how to apply them for greatest effectiveness. 

The important nutrients for feeding fall lawns are Nitrogen and Potassium. The numbers listed reflect the percentage of each element in the bag.  For example, ferti-lome Winterizer contains 25% Nitrogen, therefore a twenty-pound bag contains 5 pounds of Nitrogen.  Since a twenty-pound bag of ferti-lome Winterizer covers 5000 square feet, applied correctly adds one pound of Nitrogen per thousand square feet. Potassium is important because it helps the turfgrass roots absorb and store the fertilizer you apply now.  

If you're looking for an organically based fall fertilizer, then RichLawn Winterizer is your best choice.  Produced locally, Richlawn Winterizer is organically based and has a 15-3-6 formula, again with emphasis on Nitrogen for root feeding and Potassium for nutrient uptake.  This forty-pound bag of Richlawn® Winterizer will cover 6,000 square feet of lawn.  

 Both brands will benefit your lawn now and next spring when the grass emerges from its dormant state and there’s sufficient nutrients in the root system to feed it. Applying a Winterizer fertilizer now means a quicker green-up, stronger top growth early in the spring season and a healthier lawn through the summer.   

 

After applying Winterizer fertilizer, water your lawn thoroughly to help the fertilizer get down to the grass roots.   

 

In addition to feeding your lawn, this is a good time to work on the soil your grass grows in. HuMic contains humate, an organic-based soil conditioner. Humate will improve soil structure and increase nutrient uptake. If you choose to include HuMIc now, the sequence should be to apply HuMic product first, water it in, then apply Winterizer Fertilizer, followed by a thorough watering of the lawn.  

 

Speaking of watering, it’s important to water your lawn through the winter, if we don’t receive sufficient natural moisture.  Every four to five weeks when the temperature is above forty-five degrees, use a simple sprinkler attached to a hose to water your lawn. Water about noon and be sure to remove the hose from the spigot when you’re done watering.  Periodic watering through the winter will also benefit the trees and shrubs planted in or near your lawn. This is especially important where the lawn and trees are surrounded by sidewalks and streets. 

After the stresses of summer heat and drought, fall fertilization aids in repairing and rejuvenating the turf, leading to improved overall health.  

 

How to Grow your own Gourmet Garlic

   
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a member of the allium family, which includes leeks, shallots, and onions. Typically planted in late September and early October, garlic is well suited to planting in the fall and will produce a good crop come late spring into summer. Like other spring flowering bulbs, garlic planted now will set roots and start to grow. As the soil temperature cools down, growth stops. When soil temperatures increase in the spring, the bulb will resume its growth cycle.  

 

Garlic needs six to eight weeks of cold temperatures (below 40° F) to develop properly. This process is called vernalization, whereby the cold soil temperatures stress the seed, encouraging it to divide into separate cloves, start growing roots and go dormant. To achieve this, garlic needs to be planted before the end of October.  

 

Garlic has 11 distinct horticultural groups. Softneck garlic is classified into three groups: Artichoke, Middle Eastern and Silverskin. Hardneck garlic has eight groups: Asiatic, Creole, Glazed Purple Stripe, Marble Purple Stripe, Porcelain, Purple Stripe, Rocambole and Turban. Each group contains a variety of cultivars, each with its own unique characteristics and tastes, much like different varieties of tomatoes.  The diversity of groups gives us the opportunity to grow many varieties.  

 

Which brings us to the two major groups: soft neck and hardneck. Softneck garlic is the kind you will generally find in the grocery store. It’s the primary choice for commercial growers. Softneck garlic has a flexible stalk which can be braided. California White is a softneck garlic with a robust flavor.  

 

Hardneck garlic also has a stalk –called a scape- which coils at the top. If left to mature, hardneck garlic will produce a flower which is several small bulbils, or tiny bulbs, which are edible. Hardnecks dry to a hard stem, hence the name. As a group, they have a deep rich flavor such as Spanish Roja.   

   

 

Which every you choose to grow, it’s important to select high quality seed garlic. Garlic bought in grocery stores is often treated with sprout inhibitors, disrupting the growth cycle.  

   

While garlic can be planted in traditional ground beds or in raised beds, any open space can be utilized.  This includes open, sunny areas around perennials and roses.  

 

Garlic needs full sun to optimize growth, so choose a site that will receive at least 6 hours of direct sun.

Garlic does best when planted in well-drained soils, so plan to add an organic soil amendment such as locally produced Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat, and Compost into your planting site. This is an important step to take whether this is a new bed or one you have grown in before.

Once the soil has been amended incorporate some Bone Meal or organic Seabird Guano Phosphate into your garlic bed. This will facilitate root development. 

 

With your site selected and prepared, you’re ready to plant. Start by breaking the bulb into individual cloves. This is referred to as “cracking” the bulb. Plant each clove 3” to 4” deep, pointy end up and spaced 6” apart.  

 

Like other spring flowering bulbs, garlic planted now will set roots and start to grow. As the soil temperature cools down, growth stops. When soil temperatures increase in the spring, the bulb will resume its growth cycle.  

  

Garlic should be mulched in early winter, after the ground freezes. The mulch will hold in moisture and keep the ground stable.  Mountain Magic Soil Pep is a good choice for mulch as it can be worked into the ground after harvest. 

 

Come spring when new shoots are about 3” high, top dress each garlic with Blood Meal. This will provide the Nitrogen garlic needs to grow. Softneck garlic planted now will usually be ready for harvest around July 4th. Dig softnecks when the leaves turn brown. Hardneck garlic will mature a little later in the season. They’re ready to harvest when the scapes straighten out.