ABC's of spring lawn care
A void fertilizer B attle weeds Compost your lawn
By Susan Edwards AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES TECHNICIAN VIRGINIA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY

Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer What not to do - For a healthy yard, Susan Edwards, of Chesterfield's Extension Office, says to avoid fertilizing in the spring.

With spring right around the corner, you may be itching to get outside and work on your lawn. I know I am. There's just something about walking through lush green grass that signifies spring's arrival and the promise of warm weather. After the cold we've experienced this winter, I can't wait!

So what can you do to "help" your lawn become thick and emerald green this spring? For one thing you can skip the fertilizer. Blasphemous, I know.

But, unless you have a warm-season lawn like zoysiagrass or bermudagrass you really don't need to fertilize in the spring. Most lawns in Chesterfield County are cool-season turfgrasses, typically tall fescue.

Cool-season and warm-season turfgrasses have different fertilizer needs and very different application schedules. Warm-season turfgrasses, as their name implies, are most active in warm (and even hot) weather; this is when they create and store food for later use so this is when they need fertilizer. Coolseason turfgrasses, as you may have guessed, make and store most of their food in cool seasons such as spring but more so in fall. That's why we fertilize them on the SON schedule: September, October, November.

It's true that you can make one fertilizer application in the spring at half the normal rate of nitrogen, but unless you're diligent about how much you apply you may be causing yourself more headaches down the road. Too much nitrogen in the spring promotes weak, leggy growth that is susceptible to insect and disease damage in the summer. If you have problems with brown patch in the summer, I'd steer clear of the spring fertilizer. Fescue will green up on its own, and before you know it you'll be back to cursing the lawn for how frequently you need to mow.

So what can you do in the spring? One thing is to improve your soil by raking one-quarter of an inch of compost over your entire lawn. Compost adds much needed organic matter to the soil and makes it a more hospitable place for turf to grow. Don't overdo it though. Stick to a maximum of one-quarter of an inch - any more and you can damage the grass. You can apply another application in about three months.

What else can you do? Control weeds. When weeds are present they're constantly competing with your turf for the limited resources they both need to survive: nutrients, water, light and space. Unfortunately, weeds survive better under stress than turfgrass. We've all seen deep green crabgrass thrive in drought conditions while the rest of our lawn is brown. That's why it's important to nip those weeds in the bud now before they get out of control and the stressful summer heat arrives. Once you've established a dense turf you're less likely to have weed problems in the future - there's not enough space and sunlight for weed seeds to germinate.

You'll want to apply two different types of weed control in the spring: crabgrass preemergent and broadleaf weed post-emergent. Apply the granular crabgrass control first, typically when the forsythia is in full bloom in your neighborhood. In April, follow up with a liquid (like those ready to attach to a hose) broadleaf control. Use a broadleaf product that contains two or three active ingredients. This will give you better control over multiple types of weeds. Apply both products to the entire lawn. You may not see many weeds yet but this is when you want to hit them - when they're young and tender and susceptible to herbicides. Make a second application of both about six weeks after your first applications.

If you'd like to learn more about lawn care in Chesterfield County, consider signing up for the Grass Roots Program. For $20 a Master Gardener volunteer will measure your lawn, complete a site evaluation and take a soil sample. You'll then receive personalized fertilizer and liming recommendations for your lawn, as well as a guide to lawn care and four quarterly newsletters over the next year reminding you what to do and when. Registration is limited to 400 people and ends June 1. Call the Chesterfield County Cooperative Extension at 751-4401 for registration information.