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Show ' (f Backyard yD Gardener w 1 Some common lawn problems By PATRICK DENTON Copley News Service It's well to keep in mind that frequent watering of your lawn will produce a shallow root system because be-cause the roots travel to where the water is. If you water in a way that keeps only a shallow top layer of soil dampened, then your grass roots will remain in that top shallow area, limited lim-ited in development and unable to withstand stress. However, given less frequent fre-quent but ample watering sufficient to dampen the soil to greater depths, the roots of the grass plants will be forced to travel downward in search of water as the surface begins to dry between waterings. This process encourages strong, extensive root systems sys-tems and a healthy turf. A good way to determine for sure whether you need to water is to cut out a tiny plug of sod about 4 inches deep, using a knife or troweL AH the soil should feel moist when rubbed between be-tween your fingers. The plug can then simply be replaced re-placed and stepped on to re-establish it Another common problem prob-lem in the summer is the soil becoming too compacted compact-ed in the lawn, robbing the grass roots of needed air. Sometimes an aerating job needs to be done, either with a rented roller-aerator, a hand aerator or just with a garden fork pushed into the lawn. These last two make for a tedious chore, best done over several sev-eral days in short spells. Coarse sand may be swept into the holes to prevent their compacting together again. . ...... During the spring all the action in grass plants tends to move upward from the roots. In the fall the opposite oppo-site is true, as the roots try to plump themselves up for wintering over. For this reason a fertilizer application applica-tion in late August is a good idea and any needed weed control will be most effective at this time as it will travel efficiently to the weed roots for a good kilL Especially recommended recommend-ed for fall application is a long-lasting slow-release nitrogen fertilizer which will be described on the bag as "water insoluble nitrogen," ni-trogen," "ureaform nitrogen" nitro-gen" or "nitroform nitrogen." nitro-gen." Such a product works well in the fall because temperatures do not favor top growth but rather any food given accumulates in the roots which grow at lower temperatures than the shoots. So fertilizer will act on the roots during the fall, plumping them up for good winter survival and a healthy start for the spring lawn. In early spring, another, reduced application of long-lasting ureaform nitrogen ni-trogen will ensure that top growth will not be excessively exces-sively stimulated and that the roots will remain strong and unstrained. An early spring application applica-tion of long-lasting nitrogen nitro-gen will become available only as the soil temperatures tempera-tures rise, so that it is used by the plants just when they need it most, when the grass is growing and needs nitrogen. Another benefit of ureaform nitrogen is that it will not bum as other, fast- acting nitrogens can. But because it is long-lasting, the home owner using it should reduce the amounts used each year to avoid buildup in the soil. It's all right to build up a certain amount of reserve plant food in your lawn's soil but long-lasting nitrogen nitro-gen continues to be available avail-able over a three-year period, pe-riod, so you can see that continuing high-level doses twice a year certainly should not be necessary. Energy reserves in your lawn's root systems will be high during the fall and spring under such a fertilization fertil-ization program but during the summer season these reserves can be badly reduced re-duced with stresses like heavy foot traffic or drought Mowing a lawn too frequently fre-quently and too short can also drain a lawn of its reserves of energy. So tend to mow high, about 2 inches, inch-es, during the rest of your lawn's active growing season. |