Lawns - January 2009

Please Note: All recommendations are for central Maryland.  Time frames shift two weeks earlier in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore and two weeks later for Western Maryland.  Check publications for further information.

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• Culture

• Past Tips

Culture

Even though it is winter you can still do some weed control in your lawn by hand pulling winter annual weeds to keep them from going to seed this spring.  Some common annual weeds include chickweed, henbit, and dead nettle. Do not attempt to apply herbicides in the winter, lawn weeds are not growing and the pesticide is simply wasted.

Try to avoid excessive walking on your grass when it is frozen  to avoid damaging the crowns of your grass plants. Although this damage is not permanent it will leave unsightly brown foot prints in the lawn until spring.  

Do not leave excessive amounts of leaves on the lawn or the grass will be damaged. Leaves that fall on turf grass can still be chopped up now with a mulching mower and allowed to breakdown, they will release nutrients back to the soil.  

This is a good time to have your soil tested. Do not attempt to fertilize your lawn when the ground is frozen.  Keeping the soil pH in the 6.0 - 7.0 range is very important in maintaining healthy turf.  Agricultural limestone can be applied to raise soil pH during the winter when the ground is not frozen or covered with snow.  Pelletized lime is slightly more expensive than ground limestone but is easier to apply.  But don’t guess, do it right the first time and follow the instructions on a soil test.

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