Good morning Hampton Roads. Kregg here, from K&J Lawn and Garden Service, with your Garden Tip of the Week.
Some of you may be thinking to yourself, “Boy, this Kregg guy sure must have a big brain to store all these great garden tips”. Well, the truth is, I do…… but I also get a lot of my info from the World Wide Web, thanks to Global Warming Al.
Today’s tips come from the Virginia Cooperative Extension at www.ext.vt.edu and deal with lawn care:
- Reseed any bare spots in your new lawn immediately to keep weeds from growing.
- Sharpen your lawn mower blade monthly since a dull blade can pull grass seedlings from the soil instead of cutting them.
- Lengthening the time between waterings combined with deep, heavy watering encourages root growth while reducing top growth in lawns. This increases the root-to-shoot ratio and produces plants that are more resistant to wilting when exposed to infrequent watering.
- Letting a young lawn grow too tall and then cutting it back to the recommended height is detrimental. Such extreme leaf removal stops the flow of food to the roots, weakens the plants, and opens the lawn to diseases. Never let it grow so tall that you have to cut off more than one third of the grass blade.
- Lawns maintained at the correct height resist disease and weed infestation. Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue should be kept between 2 to 3 inches in height. Mow frequently, removing no more than one third of the blade at each cutting.
- Don’t over wat
er your lawn this summer. Too much water leaches nitrogen from the soil, encourages weeds, and invites disease problems. - Creeping red fescue may be used for turf in shady, drought- prone areas. Keep this grass at 2 to 2 and 1/2 inches in height.
- If your lawn is bluegrass/fescue, resist t
he urge to fertilize now. Fall is the time to fertilize these grasses. Fertilizing now will keep you behind the lawn mower all spring and increase chance of injury to your lawn from summer disease and drought. 
Moles feed on white grubs and can ruin lawns while burrowing after them. Moles can be eliminated by eliminating the grubs. Consult the Cooperative Extension Service for current pest control recommendations. - Grass clippings can be used as mulch in flower beds and vegetable gardens if allowed to dry well before use. Fresh, damp, grass clippings will mat and may attract pests. Never use clippings from a lawn that has been treated with a herbicide.
Now you know, so get out and do some yard work this weekend.
Again, I’m Kregg, from K&J Lawn and Garden Service, where we are improving the landscape of Hampton Roads, one yard at a time.
Kregg Deur, owner of K&J Lawn and Garden Service LLC. Established business July 2007 and provides residential and commercial lawn care and landscape services to Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach. 
