Video
After all the spring rains giving us lush green lawns, it sure didn’t take long for the dog days of summer to take its toll on some. We are diagnosing lots of chinch bugs and grub worm damage. James has a couple of videos on our website and You Tube about lawns. Be sure to check those out to help you diagnose your problems. You can also bring in a sample for us to look at. Use a shovel and dig us up a shovel width square of grass with the soil attached. You will be able to take the sample back home and put it back in the hole you dug. We will help diagnose your problem and get you the best solution to fix it. Spreading Natures Blend Compost over the area will help it to recover quicker. Continue with your once a week slow and deep watering through September and October, but after that, we should be able to cut back to every other week due to shorter days and cooler temperatures and hopefully more rainfall.
How to heal your lawn from a long summer: identify and treat damage from Chinch Bugs and Sod Webworms; apply pre-emergent to prevent weeds; fertilize in fall for healthy roots come spring.
Also, keep an eye out for the fungus among us. Watch James’ video on Brown Patch Fungus for more info.
If you are ever unsure, just dig up a chunk of the problem area and bring it in to us for help with a diagnosis.
Further reading: Top Five Tips for a Beautiful Lawn.
Not flies, not moths, whitefly are about the size of gnats. If you see these little clusters of flies when you brush through your foliage, you need to control them.
Whitefly sucks the sap out of the plants – resist damage organically with Neem Oil. Mix your Neem oil in a sprayer, and spray all over the plant. Don’t miss the undersides of the leaves.
You’ll need more than one treatment – apply again in a week and then a week after that. Neem oil will also help with a variety of other soft-bodied insects like aphids and spider mites.
Happy gardening!
Time for a little cleanup! James explains techniques to use for early spring pruning.
