All that rain. . . . What happened to April Showers? This is only the first half of March. Is this a harbinger of an early spring? Or is this a symptom of Climate Change and Global Warming.
This weekend saw a March record for rainfall broken here in Hamilton. 150 people called City Hall to report flooded basements. Some homeowners reported 36 inches of water in their homes.
I'm sorry for all those who are suffering due to the intense rain and to the wandering water drops, but I'm just glad that all that rain came as rain and not as snow. That would have been a huge blizzard of shoveling. And it would have put spring on the back burner for a week or two.
The lawns are glad. Here and there, one can see signs (not of green, yet) but some kind of activity. I swear the grass in not the same colour it used to be a few weeks, maybe even days ago. Any bit of warmth, and the turf will start to send some of that warmth up from the soil and into the roots and up into the blades. "Hang on," spring is around the corner.
It's trying its best to be green by St. Patrick's Day for a change. Now, that may be old hat to some parts south of here, but a green lawn on March 17 is not a common site in this neck of the woods. Not even if you give it a lot of green beer to drink.
Here at Turf King Lawn Care, we're trying our best to be Green, too. New products, new applications, new methods, new ideas . . . all part of the process to make your lawn "greener and green." Or you could also say "green and greener", which is slightly different from "greener and greener."
If you have a lawn/tree/shrub that needs some Tender Loving Care- get The KING OF GREEN:
Monday, March 15, 2010
Early Spring or Global Warming?
Friday, October 23, 2009
Carbon foot prints
From Lawn & Landscape (see the full article here) Trees + Turf = Carbon Storage Homeowner Help
Plants grow by removing carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis and incorporating the carbon into above and below ground tissues. In the eastern and northwestern regions of the U.S., trees often are a major component of the urban landscape and the most obvious potential reservoirs for carbon storage. It has been estimated by the journal Oecologia that healthy trees store about 3,200 pounds of carbon per acre annually, or about 7.4 pounds per 100 square feet of space.
It has just recently been recognized that turfgrasses also play an important role in carbon sequestration. In many urban settings, turfgrasses are the major part of the landscape, particularly when recreation areas are considered. It is estimated that turfgrasses occupy about 165,000 square kilometers in the continental U.S, according to the Agronomy Journal and Environmental Management. Healthy turfgrass can store almost 800 pounds of carbon per acre below ground in soil each year, the Agronomy Journal also reports, which equates to almost 1.85 pounds per 100 square feet of lawn or about one-quarter the rate for trees.
Keeping plants in a healthy state is essential for carbon storage to occur, though. Photosynthesis and growth are the carbon generators. To operate at high efficiencies, they require plants to have minimal problems with diseases and have adequate fertility. With turfgrass, for example, maximal productivity has been linked with regular mowing and leaving clippings in place, reports J. Environ Quality. At the same time, it’s important to manage fungal diseases and insect pests because they can negatively impact the potential of turfgrass to sequester carbon. While less is currently known about the ability of horticultural landscape plants to store carbon, one can safely assume they too will contribute to the carbon storage pool but must be kept in a healthy condition.
Healthy, growing landscape plants can offset some of the carbon being generated by individual homeowners. Here is a hypothetical example: A typical gas-powered automobile driven 12,500 miles annually might be expected to release about 2,500 pounds of carbon a year, according to Environmental Protection Agency Emission Facts. A half-acre residence with roughly 50 percent covered in trees could store about 800 pounds of carbon a year. If the remainder of the landscape were turfgrass, it would store another 200 pounds. So, this hypothetical homeowner could offset 1,000 pounds of carbon – 40 percent of their automobile footprint – just by maintaining a healthy landscape.
A common question being posed about green spaces is whether the release of carbon dioxide during maintenance will negate the carbon storage advantages gained with landscapes. With turfgrasses, for example, would gas-powered mowers generate substantial amounts of carbon dioxide and compromise below ground carbon storage? Estimates of carbon use by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute indicate about 50 pounds of carbon dioxide would be released with frequent mowing over the span of a year. That is a quarter of the carbon being stored in the turfgrass, and a fifth of the total 1,000 pounds of carbon sequestered in the hypothetical lawn cited previously. Bottom line, the system stays positive on balance.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Powdery Mildew on Lawns
That may be just enough moisture to allow the Mildew to grow.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Global Warming
It is supposed to get warm this week and a lot of snow is melting very quickly. Which got me to thinking about all the attention "Global Warming" has been getting lately. Not that you would have noticed with the record cold temperatures last week.
So do lawns help with global warming? Maybe or maybe not, but they can keep the area around your home cooler. Certainly at least compared to pavement and asphalt.
