Turf & Garden
The following turf and garden articles have been prepared by members of the Turf & Garden Committee of the Ontario Agri Business Association.
Committee Members:
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Marlene Conway Brett Murray Berni Peschutter Ross Stone Heather Kenney |
Ed Clarkson (Past Chair) Bob King Rae Murray Karen Romel David Watson |
John Hildebrand Geoff Jones Paul Lefebvre (Chair) Bruce Sheppard Tracey Forrester (staff) |
The committee would like to express special thanks to Paul Lefebvre and Adrien Gallant for their work on these articles. Also, thank you to our editor Lori Jamieson who helped us to make them a little less technical and a lot more enjoyable!
We hope that you find the following articles both informative and enjoyable.
Articles Released - March 2002
Can your lawn put up a good fight?
Does your lawn need a personal trainer? Or just a modest workout at the right time? Take a look at our top five ways to keep your lawn tough and ready to take on all comers.
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Magic in the green carpet
So what's the magic substance that will turn a thin weedy lawn into a hard-working carpet of green? Food. A well-nourished lawn not only looks better, but it works harder. You'll need fewer if any chemical controls for insects or bugs if you beef up your turf with proper feeding.
Full article
Articles Released - March 2001
Fertilizer for the home lawn
A thick lawn will keep weed seeds from finding bare spots and germinating. A healthy lawn will be better able to resist insects and weeds (reducing the need for pesticide controls), and can tolerate wear and tear from family activities.
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Fertilizing Fruit Trees
Your goal in fertilizing fruit trees should be to obtain consistent high yields of high-quality fruit for the life of your trees. Deficiencies in one of the 13 essential nutrients will result in poor growth and poor fruit quality. Testing the soil in which your fruit trees grow is the most reliable way to understand the nutrients available and the fertilizer needs. If a soil test is not practical, use a tree fertilizer such as 7-11-17, and follow the manufacturer's label directions.
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Body Building for Your Lawn
To appreciate the aesthetic value of your lawn, just picture your home fronted by a lawn that is matted, thin, patchy and overgrown with weeds. A picture postcard lawn doesn't require a lot of attention - just enough to at least compensate for the abuses it endures. Lawns need a growing medium that holds water but yet drains well and is packed with beneficial bacteria & fungi. Applying organic matter (composted manure or well-cured home compost) to the lawn will improve the soil quality. Enhancing that with a good quality slow-release fertilizer with a formulation high in nitrogen in spring, summer and fall and providing a one-inch application of water will produce deep roots and healthy turf.
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Caring for your Lawn in an Environmentally Friendly Way
A healthy green lawn is a great backdrop for summer activities and for your home and landscaping, But healthy grass supports the worms and insects that feed birds; it prevents soil erosion and filters contaminants from the air and from rainwater. You and your lawn care activities, in collaboration with everyone else's, can make a difference to the environment.
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A few lawn tips for early spring
As that spring sun warms the soil, lawn grasses are among the first plants to green up and start to grow. Indulge that green thumb early in the season when it's a pleasure to be outside. Here are some tips to help improve your lawn.
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Articles Released - March 2000
Rolling greens may gather some moss
Moist soil conditions, caused by poor drainage, low air circulation, and excessive shade, support the growth of moss. Mosses are opportunistic plants that will grow in bare soil or where grasses are weak and thin. Raking moss only spreads and reseeds the spores. Improve drainage, prune trees to increase sunlight, and increase soil fertility to support turf growth and discourage moss. Specific moss control fertilizers are available that contain nitrogen, potassium and iron. These are most effective when applied four times per year: in early spring, late spring, mid-summer, and early fall. As with all fertilizers, carefully read and follow the directions on the product packaging.
Full article
What's in the bag?
What is in that bag of lawn and garden fertilizer? A bag marked 7-7-7 contains 7 per cent nitrogen, 7 per cent phosphate and 7 per cent potassium. Nitrogen, which supports fast and vigorous plant growth, is borrowed from the air and transformed into a form available to plants. Phosphate, important to seedlings because it helps in root system development, and potash, which provides potassium, are both mined from deposits in many parts of the world. Potassium helps plants tolerate drought, cold and heat. We borrow the materials we use in fertilizer and let the plants and soil microorganisms recycle them back to the air and the earth.
Full article
Why does my lawn need applications of fertilizer?
Will your lawn thrive on grass clippings alone? It's the activity of soil microorganisms that make nutrients available to plants. Those microorganisms are inactive in cool weather when turf most needs nutrients to develop root systems and grow quickly. When soils are warmest, heat, drought, and insect stress to turf roots retard their ability to absorb nutrients. In spring and fall, the root growth of turf grasses is not synchronized with nutrient availability from the soil. Leave the clippings on the lawn when you mow, and also provide an annual or semi-annual feeding with lawn fertilizer to ensure a healthy and cushioning lawn for family activities.
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Does a turfgrass lawn use more water than it is worth?
Will the traditional bluegrass lawn, a green sea punctuated with water sprinklers, be seen only on TV re-runs? Some homeowners may be preparing to replace their turf with other drought-tolerant ground covers without understanding the cost of the benefits they stand to lose. Turf experts, including Dr. Jim Beard at Texas A&M University argue that turf grasses trap and hold rainfall, reducing the movement of surface water that can carry eroded soil and pollutants into sewers or streams. Turf also naturally cools the air around it, soaks up noise and replaces the carbon dioxide it takes from the air with pure, clean oxygen.
Full article
Organic Matters
Decaying leaves and plants make up the organic matter in the soil. Manures and composts, often the recommended fertilizing materials for organic gardening systems, improve the organic matter of soil but do not add value in plant nutrition equal to that of mineral fertilizer on a volume basis. Typical manure/compost sold by garden centres provide nitrogen-phosphate-potash in the ratio of 0.5%-0.5%-0.5%. A mineral fertilizer formulated for use in gardens would provide 5-15-10 (5%-15%-10%). Research into the nutritive value of foods fertilized with different materials favored the mineral-fertilized plants as often as with those grown with manures or composts.
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Articles Released in Past Years
In praise of that darned grass
If you take a stroll through your neighbourhood on a Saturday morning in the spring or summer, you'll see homeowners busy trimming or fussing over the green carpets of turf around their homes. Why do we tie ourselves to these seasonal chores? What do our lawns give back?
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In praise of raking leaves
The trees that ornament our lawns and gardens are well worth the once-a-year raking ritual they demand. Trees are a valuable accessory to our lawns and landscaping, and they, like turf and lawns, are natural sound barriers and air filters.
Full article
Rejuvenating lawns and gardens with SECRETS from the Garden of Eden
In the Garden of Eden, blossoms, leaves and forbidden fruit from that famous tree dropped and decayed on the forest floor. This natural process of nature continues today wherever organic matter is found. Of course, in the 1990s, you are likely to think about "compost" and "composting" when discussing the decomposition of organic matter.
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Lawns, Water and Nitrogen
When you buy and apply fertilizer to your lawn, you are feeding the grass plants with a combination of three plant nutrients. One of those nutrients, nitrogen, encourages green plant growth and is one of the key elements of plant life. Most of the nitrogen in the soil underneath your lawn is tied up in the organic matter. Through Mother Nature's soil nitrogen system, this nitrogen is continually being transformed and used by plants.
Full article
Living it up under your lawn
That surface of green between your house and the curb may seem quiet and still, but there is an entire community of life in a healthy lawn. It is its own ecosystem, made up of bacteria and insects such as earthworms, mites, ants, millipedes, snails, and grubs.
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Making healthy plant food choices
Gardeners are very concerned with the elements they use to produce healthy lawns and garden crops. Continuing research has brought many new plant nutrition products into garden and nursery centres. These products usually serve one of two purposes: to improve soil quality (its ability to accept, store and recycle nutrients and water) or soil fertility.
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If you would like to receive a copy of any of these articles by e-mail please contact the Turf & Garden Committee
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