Signs of Spring- besides robins

This morning, I caught a rabbit feeding on the lawn. Now when I say “caught”, I mean visually not literally. I wouldn’t mind catching one literally, as they are multiplying like “rabbits.” The bad part of course, is that they like to eat my plants. Last year, they kept taking the tops of the lettuce plants and nibbling on the swiss chard. During the winter, they will “prune” certain plants, like the spireas, euonymus, and burning bush.

Now, this particular rabbit was nibbling on the grass on top of the septic tank. I guess the saying about the “grass being greener over the septic tank” is true (a la Erma Bombeck.) I guess the warmth of the septic tank is causing the grass there to just start to grow with tender new shoots. And of course, Mr. Rabbit, knows a tender salad sprouting when he sees one.

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Vole Damage

We are getting calls from people who are unhappy with the pathways and runways that they are finding in the lawn as the snow disappears. Are they moles? Actually they are "Voles." Voles are basically the proper name for field mice. During the winter, the voles are able to run around the whole lawn under the protection of the snow. During the summer, they tend to stay in the bushes or in the fields where there is more cover. Where snow is piled up, the snow acts as a giant inflatable building which protects the voles from predators.

If you live in near a field, you are more likely to have problems with voles. The voles will migrate from the field to the lawn and the protection of the snow piles.

How do you get rid of the voles? Once the snow cover is gone, the voles will go into hiding again. If they go back to the fields, that's great. They may take up residence under the shed or under the protection of a dense shrub. So, normally, there is not a lot to do to get rid of the voles.

As far as the lawn goes, most of the lawn will recover. Often the pathways are on the surface and the grass roots will recover and grow back. There may be the odd spot that will not. We recommend that you sprinkle a little topsoil and some grass seed to speed up the recovery process. That can be done starting in early April.


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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.

Temperature Moderation - Turfgrass reduces temperature heat extremes by natural transpirational cooling. The front lawns of just 8 average houses have the cooling effect of about 70 tons of air conditioning. The average home-size central air unit has a 3 to 4 ton capacity.

Bird Seed and the Lawn

I usually try to place my bird feeders in the garden depending on what kind of seed they contain. I am down to only 3 kinds of feed lately.

I like whole unshelled peanuts for the woodpeckers and chickadees. I have a metal peanut feeder which works great. But I also use some onion netting as well. I saved a couple of netting bags from the small white onions or from a garlic netting bag. I put the peanuts in the netting, tie up the end and hang the bag in a tree or bush. It does bother me when the small downy woodpecker laboriously pecks a hole in the peanut shells, only to be chased away by the bully bluejays once the peanuts are accessible.

I keep the feeder for the niger thistle in a spot that hangs over a lawn area. Last year, the seed sprouted in a pathway/garden area and I had to keep pulling them out. In the lawn, they won’t grow to any height once the lawn mower starts its regular rounds.

Black sunflower seeds seem to disappear over night. When the birds are ravenous, I could be filling the feeders every other day and still not keep up. The goldfinches, sparrows, purple finches, chickadees, bluejays, cardinals and morning doves all flock to the feeders. I don’t mind if these feeders are situated over certain garden beds. In these beds, I don’t mind if a sunflower or 2 or 3 sprouts up later in the spring.

In fact I usually save some of the sunflower seed to sow in the garden. A handful of bird seed bought at bird seed prices only cost pennies. A package of sunflower seeds is a couple of dollars at a minimum. If I feel extravagant I will splurge on a couple of packages of the fancy sunflowers, but for a mass planting, the bird seed variety is good enough for me (and the birds that do come along late in the summer to feed on the seed) 

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.

Recycling the Christmas Tree

My youngest son is insistent that Christmas isn’t Christmas without a real Christmas tree. That’s fine since he will take it upon himself to choose the tree, bring it home and even set it up and decorate it.

Once the tree has served its purpose for the holiday season, I’ll take it outside somewhere and use it as a landing spot for a bird feeder. By March, it is usually starting to turn brown. But at least, it’s gotten an extra 3 months of use. After that, I’ll take it into the edge of the woods (more like overgrown brush etc) along the fence line to let it serve another few months as cover for the rabbits and other wildlife that tend to inhabit the edges of the hayfield.

I’m not sure, though, if I should encourage the rabbits. My poor dwarf burning bush (Euonymus alata compacta) has always been a dwarf. In ten years, it has never grown past the 2 ft high mark. Every summer it manages to get a little higher, only to be chewed back each winter by the rabbits. I’m sure that burning bush is their favourite winter snack. They do munch on some of my regular evergreen euonymus and spireas but they usually don’t mind the trimming.

This winter the willows have bent over in the ice storm earlier this year. The rabbits have been nibbling on the bark. Willows, I don’t mind if they want willows. I cut some willows down to the ground about 4 years ago and those willows by the end of last summer were over 30 feet high.

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

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Soil or Dirt

Soil is more than "Dirt." All plants will grow better in good soil. So. . . what makes soil good. Different plants have different tolerances to soil conditions.

Lawns need a soil with good structure. This refers to the size and shape of the soil particles. Ideally about 50 percent of the soil should be soil solids. The rest of the soil is composed of the empty spaces. These are called pores spaces. Basically there are two type of pores. The small pores are important for storing water. These small pores contain the water and allow it to move in the soil through capillary action. The smaller the pores, the higher up (the greater distance) the water is able to move. Large pores are essential for drainage and aeration. These pores are too large to hold water (at least for very long). These spaces though, are important because they hold oxygen. Without the correct balance of water and air, the roots will not survive.

Clay soils are fine textured and have the largest amount of pore space. However, because the pores are small, they tend to hold less oxygen and can contain a lot of moisture. Sandy soils, on the other hand, have large pores, which limits the amount of water that the soil can hold.

The best soil will have a balance of fine textured silts and clays, with some coarser textured soil solids to allow water to drain away after a rain or irrigation.

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

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Do tree roots keep coming up for air?

Do tree roots keep coming up for air?

Tree roots need oxygen as well as moisture and nutrients. As the roots near the surface continue to grow and increase in diameter, they often end up breaking the surface of the lawn. These roots give the tree character and uniqueness, but the lawn mower is usually not very happy with this situation. The lawn mower (machine) will complain because its blades will be dulled or bent if they twirl into these surface roots. The lawn mower (person) is likely to be unhappy because the lawn mower (machine) is unhappy and also because to some lawn mowers the roots detract form the appearance of the lawn.

What can be done about these roots?

Some people cover the roots with soil, then plant seed or sod to smooth out the lawn under the tree. As long as the depth of soil is minimal, this can be a temporary solution. If too much soil is placed over the roots, the flow of oxygen to the roots will be impaired and the health of the tree can be affected. The problem with adding soil is that eventually, the roots will rise again and the lawn mowers may once more be affected by the exposed tree roots.

What happens in natural situations? In the forest, the roots may be exposed, but since there are few lawns in the woods, no one seems to mind. Usually there is leaf and twigs littering the ground. These tend be less likely to pack down and to thus restrict the flow of oxygen to the roots. Thus the roots have less need to rise up above the surface. In suburbia, the soil usually has less organic matter and is more likely to be hard, impermeable and just down right tough on tree roots.

Under trees whether the roots are exposed or not, consider emulating the forest conditions by applying a layer of mulch 2-4 inches deep. This permits better oxygen exchange to the roots, reduces weeds, and also reduces water loss from the soil. Certain perennial ground covers or plant may tolerate the shady conditions under a tree better than a lawn. Hostas, perwinkle, lily of the valley, pachysandra are just a few. Trying to grow a decent lawn under a tree is not always easy, so looking at alternatives may be one way to keep your tree and lawn mower content.

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

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Does all this snow hurt my lawn?

Some plants will benefit from a little extra snow during the winter. Snow around the rose bushes will provide some insulation from the sap-chilling deep freeze of this past week. Bitterly cold temperatures for prolonged periods of time will result in more roses biting the dust this winter.

On the lawn, a thick layer of snow will not harm it, provided that there aren't leaves left on the surface. The snow and leaves combine to prevent air from the foliage. This is likely to lead to accumulation of water under the leaves which in turn will lead to putrefaction. If the grass is cut short in the fall, the lawn is less likely to get diseased by the longer leaf blades being smothered. The last mowing should always be a little shorter. (the problem I've had is that autumn doesn't seem to know when to quit, and I end up with 2 or 3 last cuts. Don't cut the lawn too short of course, as this makes it more susceptible to frost damage if there is little snow.

Grass that has been cut too short, on the other hand, is susceptible to frost damage.

If you walk on the lawn regularly during the winter, it is also advisable to remove the snow from these paths. Snow that is hard packed by foot prints on the lawn could lead to damage to the grass plants. (it could also lead you down a garden path)

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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