Tag: Homeowner

Recently I was contacted by a major newspaper reporter who was writing an article about more sustainable lawn systems, or lawns that would required fewer inputs, and was inquiring about the feasibility of  using clover as a lawn turf. After...

By the time you read these words the longest day of the year has approached and the official calendar “Summer” season will have begun. Just as the weather changes as we transition between seasons from late-Spring to Summer the turfgrass...

I’ve gotten a number of questions about moss lately. Moss is becoming more common in greens as we decrease mowing heights and nitrogen fertility in pursuit of faster green speeds. Moss becomes more competitive as creeping bentgrass becomes less competitive....

After 21 years at Purdue, 17 of which as the Extension Specialist, I will be leaving Purdue University. Kim and I will be moving to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where Kim will become the Director of Landscape Architecture and Regional...

With no rain in Indiana last week (5/17-23) followed by extremely erratic and spotty rain this week (5/24-30), drought symptoms are starting to show up near sidewalks and driveways and in other hotspots like south-facing slopes, compacted soils, and fairly...

Brown Ring Patch Brown ring patch is a disease of annual bluegrass on putting greens.  Damage is largely cosmetic, although in some areas smoothness and uniformity of putting surfaces are disturbed, warranting chemical control.  The duration of symptom expression usually...

A common concern in southern Indiana lawns is common lespedeza, which is a summer annual spreading by wiry stems from a single taproot forming almost a mat in thin turf or next to sidewalk. The most common broadleaf herbicide is...

Dallisgrass has reemerged and is very healthy with the rain and warming temperatures. Dallisgrass is often mistaken for crabgrass but typical preemergence or post emergence crabgrass herbicides do not work on dallisgrass. MSMA is currently the standard control but that...

With the well-above average rainfall this spring, questions are starting to arise about the short and long term effects on lawn, golf, and sports turf: Rooting-Though no official records are kept, rooting tends to be shallow and limited on water-logged...

The small white flowers of white clover are very visible right now and it may appear that clover is taking over, especially under-fertilized turf areas. Clover is a legume and is very competitive under low N conditions, so increasing annual...

Soil testing is important in turf to help determine the soil pH and fertilization needs, especially for potassium and phosphorus. Acceptable soil pH for turf is between 6.0 and 7.5, but often soil tests show pH levels higher or lower...

A properly fertilized turf has fewer weeds, is more resistant to insects and disease, and decreases water runoff compared to malnourished turf. Concern over the negative effects of nutrient enrichment on water quality is a growing public concern and has...

I’ve gotten a number of calls asking about volunteer maple and other tree seedlings growing in lawns. These are direct descendents of a neighborhood tree whose seed pods released last spring/summer. You can either stake a couple of these small...

Yellow patch, also referred to as cool season brown patch, is caused by Rhizoctonia cerealis, a fungus closely related to the pathogens that cause brown patch and the Rhizoctonia large patch of zoysia grass. Although symptoms can be striking, yellow patch...

Aerification, sometimes called core cultivation is a supplementary lawn cultural practice primarily used to relieve soil compaction and remove thatch (the spongy layer of undecomposed stems at the soil surface). This practices is not necessarily essential to maintaining a lawn,...

Garden centers often advertise applying gypsum to your lawn to “decompact” the soil by improving the structure of clay soil. This only works in soils common in the arid western US where there is much more sodium than calcium in...

A fairly typical question now is, ”Can I seed into an area where preemergence herbicide was applied earlier this spring”. The answer is a very simple “No”. These herbicides are active in the soil for up to 120 days and...

Grub control products are currently being displayed in the center aisles of retail department and discount stores and are advertised on the radio as providing season-long grub control when applied in early May. What are the facts behind this recommendation?...

The annual bloom of dandelions is already here in southern Indiana and just around the corner in the rest of the state. Though some find dandelions attractive and some may actually eat them in salads or wine, others consider dandelions...

Rotary spreaders are widely used by homeowners and professionals for most applying fertilizers and pesticides. So to test your knowledge, here’s a question that I constantly ask of professionals and do-it-yourselfers when spreading fertilizer back and forth on a turf...