clover is your soil ’ s way of asking |
n Step 8 : Sharpen your blade . By |
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you to treat it with cottonseed |
sharpening your mower blade after |
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meal , corn gluten , alfalfa meal or |
every eight hours of mowing , the |
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some other nitrogen-rich by-prod- |
blade will cut the grass cleanly |
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uct and — you guessed it — if you do , you are likely to see less clover .
n Step 5 : Test your soil . Before treating your lawn with natural additives as described earlier , confirm what your weeds have told you by getting a soil test . Numerous
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instead of tearing it . Torn blades of grass are more likely to turn brown , and they ’ re more susceptible to harm from pests and disease .
n Step 9 : Don ’ t overrake . Overzealous leaf-raking can destroy the soil composition and beneficial
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Paul top-dressing lawn with compost . |
PHOTO : John Ewing / Storey |
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credible labs in the Maryland and Virginia areas offer this service .
n Step 6 : Treat your soil with high-quality calcium . Organic lawns grown in this part of the country will almost always benefit from an autumn dose of calcium , which in time will help eliminate the most common and obvious weeds . Ap-
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organisms while spreading weed seeds . What to do : Drag your rake across the lawn with just enough pressure to pull the leaves away .
n Step 10 : Aerate high-traffic areas . High-traffic areas — usually patches by the driveway and walkway near the road — are prone to common plantain weeds , which
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rejuvenate your lawn before the frost sets in , and grass seeds will outcompete weed seeds . This is the one time of year when an aggressive raking can help , just prior to overseeding . The raking helps loosen the soil to get better seedto-soil contact . Be sure to water daily until the seed germinates . |
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plying lime is one way , but make sure it ’ s the right type . Dolomitic limestone , the most common type , is high in magnesium but fairly low in calcium . Instead use calcitic limestone , which has enough calcium — and use pellets rather than powder to keep potentially harmful dust to a minimum . If the soil test shows that your soil is alkaline — with a pH over 7 — use gypsum instead of lime because gypsum won ’ t affect the soil ’ s pH . As with limestone , pellets are better for most lawns . |
can be identified by their broad , oval leaves surrounding tall , thin flower stalks rising from the center . Plantain weeds thrive in compacted soil . Grass does not . Although the entire lawn can benefit from aeration , it is especially useful for these high-traffic areas . You can rent a “ core aerator ” ( with hollow spikes that remove cores of soil rather than solid spikes that only poke holes ) at a hardware store for about $ 35 to $ 90 by the day . Core aerators require more exertion to operate than lawn mowers — if you ’ d rather not tackle |
n Step 12 : Top-dress your lawn with compost . This step can be costly , but top-dressing your lawn with compost in the fall is probably the single best thing you can do . Although it looks like black dirt , compost isn ’ t soil . It is decomposed organic matter that serves several critical functions including adding nutrients . Order a bulk delivery from a nearby compost manufacturer or your municipality . Montgomery County ’ s own Leafgro is an excellent bagged source found in most of the County ’ s garden centers . |
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n Step 7 : Mow high . The best |
it , hire a lawn service to core-aer- |
Paul Tukey is an award-winning journal- |
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defense against weeds is tall grass . |
ate for you . |
ist , filmmaker , HGTV host , consultant |
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Many weed seeds need light to |
and motivational public speaker who |
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germinate , and they don ’ t germi- |
n Step 11 : Overseed in the fall . Late |
author of the best-selling book , The Or- |
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nate well with tall grass towering |
October and November are ideal |
ganic Lawn Care Manual . Now serving |
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over them . If they do germinate , |
lawn-care months in Maryland . |
as the Director of Environmental Stew- |
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tall , lush grass will crowd out their |
This is the time for the calcium |
ardship for the Glenstone Museum in |
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sprouts . Set your mower blade |
treatment . It ’ s also the perfect time |
Potomac ., Md ., Paul is helping to create |
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height to between three and four |
to overseed , especially on thin or |
a “ living classroom ” on the all-organic |
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inches off the ground . |
patchy areas . Overseeding will |
300-acre site . |
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34 plenty I autumn harvest 2021 |