Renovating spots of thick bladed grass, cont'd

When these grasses grow out by the farmer’s field, I don’t worry about them at all. They’re green and they don’t have yellow flowers. Around the patio, I’m a little more particular.

Last year I had a couple of clumps of thick bladed grasses growing near the back patio. In early April, I sprayed some glyphosate (Roundup) on the patch, then simply sprinkled grass seed into the grass. A day later, once that spray had dried, I watered the patch to wash the seed down to the soil level. In about ten days the unwanted grasses, along with the good grass in that spot, had turned yellow and started to die. Maybe it was the right weather, but by the end of 4 to 5 weeks, the new grass had sprouted and the patch slowly turned from a dead yellow patch into a spot of fresh new lawn. My memory is not as good as it was, so I won’t say that I didn’t throw some more grass seed down at a later date.

In your lawn, once the unwanted grass has turned yellow, (it should take 7-10 days), you can repair that area by putting in a piece of sod or by seeding that area with a good grass seed mix.

If you are going to seed and if it is a small area- slit the ground with a spade and drop the seed into the slits. The seed in the slits should be protected from drying out. You can see the slits I have made in the second photo. I'll try to remember to take pictures as the seed sprouts.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

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Copyright 2007 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.

Gypsy Moth Caterpillars

There have been a couple of articles in Hamilton Spectator about the Gypsy Moth Caterpillars.

I was at a home in Ancaster today. Found a baby caterpillar on a fruit tree. These little guys can be voracious feeders and given enough time and enough caterpillars a tree can be defoliated by these critters.

Please keep your eyes open for signs of leaves with holes in them. And for sightings of the caterpillars themselves.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home
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or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

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Crabgrass Phenology

We were in Lincoln Nebraska to attend a graduation. Of course, I am curious to see the lawns in this area. The leafing of the trees is ahead of Southern Ontario. I even found a crabgrass seedling starting to sprout in the middle of the sidewalk. Of course, the sidewalk is warmer than the lawns. Crabgrass likes to grow in warm soil. And sidewalks and driveways warm up and hold the heat sooner and longer than the soil under your lawn. But it was also starting to grow in a open area in a boulevard.

To help reduce crabgrass problems in your lawn- here are 2 suggestions.

1. Keep your lawn thick and healthy. The thicker the lawn, the less likely it will be to allow crabgrass a chance to sprout.

2. Related to the above – is to mow your lawn at 3 inches high. The longer mowing height means there will be more leaf blade to shade the soil. The more shade, the cooler the soil will be. The cooler the soil, the better the lawn grasses will like it. The cooler the soil, the less likely it will be that crabgrass will grow.

A note on phenology. I didn’t see very many of the flowering trees or shrubs in bloom while in Lincoln. I was trying to see how the weather related to what we have here in southern Ontario. On the last day, we were walking down a different street and I came across a Mock Orange in bloom. “Aha”, I said. The mock orange in our garden usually blooms around the July 1^st Canada picnic we usually have with our family. And crabgrass is usually just starting at that time of year here in southern Ontario. So, therefore, the crabgrass sprouting in the sidewalks of Lincoln makes perfect phonological sense.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home
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or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

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Two Kinds Of Thistles

There are two main of thistles that get into lawns. One is the Scotch thistle and one is the Canada thistle. One is easy to remove and eradicate the other is very difficult. Both can be a pain to the barefoot in the grass folks. They both have sharp thorns. The pain of walking on them is not pleasant but it is worse if the thorn breaks off and ends up as a sliver in one’s skin.

How do you get rid of them?

The Scotch thistle is the easy one. Although if left to flourish it can reach a height of 3 feet, it normally will tolerate being mowed. Its purple flowers are large and interesting. It is dark green in colour and has a wider leaf than the Canada thistle. It grows as a single plant and one could dig it up and remove it. It also is easy to control with the usual lawn weed killers.

The Canada thistle is the toughie. It has a lighter green foliage that is narrow. It can also reach heights of 3 feet and also has purple flowers. Both thistles have seeds like dandelions that can blow in the wind. In the summer, I have been driving along some city roads when the air is full of the seeds blowing in the wind, much like dandelions parachuting their way into new territory. I know they are thistles because the seed heads can be seen along the roadsides where the weeds have not been cut.

Canada thistle spread by underground rhizomes. Rhizomes are underground stems. If you see one Canada thistle, it is likely attached by a rhizome to another plant a little ways away. If you are planning to dig out the Canada thistle, make sure to dig out the rhizome. If you don’t it will regrow, and you will still have thistles. Canada thistle does not respond well to herbicides. The plants will be killed off, but often the rhizomes continue to live and soon it will send up new sprouts from underground. Only continuous attacking of the Canada thistle will suffice to eradicate this pest from your lawn or garden.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home
Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

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Leatherjacket Season

Phone calls have started about the leatherjackets. Most people are located near new surveys. I suspect some of the leatherjackets are being spread in the new sod being laid for these new homes.

The good news is that there is now a treatment that is labelled for use in residential lawns in Ontario.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home

Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

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Leatherjacket Crossing

This morning, I went to pick up the paper at the road, as I came towards the house, I found about a hundred leatherjackets on the driveway. (No, it wasn’t Friday, the thirteenth and my driveway doesn’t go to Port Dover).

I’m not sure why they were crossing the road. Was it because they like damp areas, and the lawn on the right is wetter than the left. Leatherjackets do prefer the damp, moist areas. When we are trying to assess a lawn to see if they are present, we look in the low spots or under the down spouts, because the leatherjackets are more likely to be found where there is more moisture. On the other hand, maybe it’s because it’s supposed to rain today. Often leatherjackets will come up out of the soil during a heavy rain. People then call because their driveways or patios are teeming with thousands of leatherjackets that have come up out of the waterlogged soil. (They like damp soil, but not if it is waterlogged.) I’m thinking to myself, that these are the leatherjackets who have weatherman’s arthritis. You all know the people who can feel it in their bones. “Yes, sir. . . rain’s coming at 3 o’clock.” Maybe, these particular leatherjackets have the ability to know it’s going to rain, and came up out of the ground to avoid the rush.

By the way, leatherjackets are the larvae of Crane flies. They can damage lawns by eating the blades, roots or crowns.

If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:

Turf King Home
Click here to Request a Quote Online -

or call us at 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING (887.3546)

If you would like more information, please Contact us

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Copyright 2007 Turf King-Hamilton. All Rights Reserved.