by Susan Harris

We’re fast approaching that time of year – September 1 through mid-October – when most homeowners should be busily tending to their lawns, giving them the food and overseeding that they need.   Sure, it’s spring when lots of us notice that our lawns are thin and weedy but for many reasons, early fall is the best time to do something about it.  And don’t go thinking turfgrasses can just go on living indefinitely with no help from you because without added Nitrogen, they become thinner and weedier each year.   Heck, even WITH fertilizing, most lawns don’t look as good as we’d like  them to because they also need overseeding  – and that’s the one garden chore that’s the MOST needed and the MOST neglected.  But the good news is that it’s cheap and easy, and makes a big difference.

Now it’s true that lawns are under attack these days – as resource-wasting and polluting – and I sympathize, but let’s be realistic. There’s nothing better for playing on, and most homeowners will continue to have lawn.  And let’s be fair, too – lawns don’t HAVE to be resource-wasting and polluting.  I founded the national Lawn Reform Coalition of environmental communicators from across the U.S. and our goal is to spread the word about how to have less lawn but also – note! – how to have an earth-friendly lawn.  So, no lawn-bashing here, just sensible answers about how to grow it.

That’s what you’ll find on the Behnkes website – five brand-new articles about earth-friendly lawns and lawn care.  I compiled them based on advice from the University of Maryland, Behnkes’ own experts, and my own research over the years.

Here’s what you’ll find:

Earth-Friendly Lawn Care Throughout the Year is arranged by season to make it super-easy to know what to do, when.  You can refer to this article each season, or if you’re a regular reader of this blog you’ll be reminded when the time is right.

Earth-Friendly Lawn Care  Basics covers each topic at length – feeding, mowing, seed choice, weeds, etc.

How to Repair Bare Spots in your Lawn covers bare spots from any cause, including  but not limited to dog-pee.

How to Start a New Lawn is what you’ll need to know if you’re putting in a lawn where there used to be something else, or if your lawn is so bad (50 % coverage or less) that you’re better off starting from scratch.

How to Overseed your Lawn is what almost everyone should be doing!  Okay, if you do it regularly (at least every other year) you don’t need to read this but for the rest of you, and you know who you are, this is the key to filling in that weak, weed-prone lawn that you’re feeling embarrassed about.

Dog photo credit.




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