Thanks to all who nominated us in the Hamilton Spectator 2009 Readers' Choice Awards in the Lawn Service Category. From September 16 through 25 you can vote for us as the Finalists are chosen. At www.thespec.com Thanks for voting for us. Still finding lots of Crane Flies. Some call them Daddy long legs. They look like Giant Mosquitoes. If you are finding a lot of these adults . . . . we recommend treating this fall. Crane Flies females can lay up to 300 eggs. These eggs will hatch in a couple of weeks and start feeding on lawns. They nibble on roots, stems and crowns. Here is an article from the UK where it is a huge pest. Not all of it applies, but it does give more information. September is the time to thicken the lawn with Overseeding . Fall is nature's seeding season for grasses. Spring is also a good time, but is always second best. There are several ways to seed the lawn. One way is to truck in a lot of soil to topdress the areas you want to seed. After adding the soil, sprinkle the grass seed, then rake lightly. Keep well watered and moist for 2 weeks. Another method that we generally favour is to do a core aeration first. Then apply high quality grass seed. When grass seed falls in the holes, it has a better chance of growing than seed that just sits on the surface. In the holes, it is less likely to dry out. It is better protected from the birds, too. And aerating and overseeding is a lot less expensive than moving a lot of soil. Better to use our Top OM Dry Topdress. This method uses materials that have been dried out. By drying out the material, there is a lot less moisture. It is less water to transport. And it can be applied with a spreader. This keeps the cost down. The lawn gets all the goodness of the OM (organic material) without the weight of the water. We are also seeing some Rust Fungus Disease at this time of year. I drove down one street. This lawn (not a customer's) was so heavily infested, the lawn had a big patch of orange in one corner. Maybe it was just the way the sun was facing, but it was very noticeable. Normally, it is not that noticeable until you have walked across an infected lawn and you notice that your white running shoes are all orange. The spores from the fungus will easily come off onto your shoes. Please call or email if we can be of any help. See our web site www.hamilton.turfking.ca
Top dressing is a great way to improve the soil conditions in a lawn. Turf King has a new method of applying a top dressing that is less costly than the traditional way. When you get a load of soil to topdress the lawn, you are paying for a lot of moisture in that soil. It makes the load you get bulkier. Then you need to move the soil plus the moisture to the back yard.
Thankfully, Rust disease is rarely fatal. The weather conditions have a big part to play in causing this problem. Normally, we recommend raising the mowing height and if needed apply some fertilizer to help the lawn grow past the problem.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Hamilton Spectator Readers' Choice Awards Vote Sept 16-25
Gerry Okimi
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