Lawn Maintenance - Northeast U.S.
A Calendar for Routine Cultural Practices
A calendar of cultural practices necessary for maintenance and upkeep of cool-season lawn grasses in the Northeast U.S. Other growing zones possess similar requirements.
Overview
Organize lawn maintenance and upkeep by using a calendar to keep track of essential jobs. Although tasks listed here are for cool-season lawn grasses in northeast North America, other geographic areas and warm-season grasses also possess similar requirements.
Readers will most likely want to personalize the list of tasks described in this and following articles about lawn maintenance and upkeep for their own growing zones and microclimates. After that, they can put together a fairly precise schedule of lawn maintenance and upkeep, and transfer it to personal or family calendars.
Cool-season grasses are those that grow in northern regions of North America, usually in plant hardiness zones 1 – 7. As a rule, they become dormant and turn brown in winter months. Warm-season grasses are those that grow in southern regions, normally in zones 6 – 10. They routinely remain evergreen during winter months.
Plant hardiness zones 6 – 8, often referred to as transition zones for turf grasses, may support growing a combination of some cool-season and warm-season grasses, or types uniquely suited to specific areas within those zones. These areas can show very high summer temperatures and very cold winter ones. Extreme situations exist in Florida lawns and lawns in arid or desert conditions.
Cultural Practices
The primary consideration in lawn maintenance and upkeep should be cultural practices that encourage dense, thriving grasses. Lawns thick with healthy, resilient grasses will suppress weed seed germination and growth, and limit pest and disease infestation. Joseph Troll, Professor Emeritus of Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, an expert on turf management, says, "Healthy turf is the first line of defense." Here is a list of basic actions, discussed at length in a following article, that will ensure the beginnings of healthy turf:
- Soil Tests - analysis for soil structure, texture, fertility and other components.
- Liming – application of limestone to acidic soils to raise the pH toward neutral.
- Thatching (Dethatching) - removing layers of undecomposed, but nonliving, grass clippings, stems, rhizomes and stolons. This layer leads to pest problems and water runoff if it becomes too thick.
- Aerating – poking or cutting holes into soil beneath turf grasses to allow flow of water, air, nutrients, and soil amendments into soil.
- Overseeding - sowing seed to fill in thin or empty spots or to rejuvenate existing lawns.
- Sodding - laying strips of purchased turf sod to quickly establish cover over bare or ragged spots. These sensible cultural steps, included into a preliminary schedule of lawn maintenance and upkeep.
These sensible cultural steps, built-into a preliminary schedule of lawn maintenance and upkeep , encourage a dense, thriving turf because the program is being carefully planned and coordinated.
©Text and photograph by Georgene A. Bramlage, April 2007. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
