Category: Lawn Maintenance Tips

Preparing Your Lawn for Spring Topic #1: Snow Mold

Posted on | by Organic Lawns by Lunseth

It seems odd to think about taking care of your yard during February in Minnesota. But now is a great time to start planning your lawn care for the upcoming spring, especially if you’re focused on organic lawn care. 

For the next few months, LUNSETH will provide details (with information from the University of Minnesota Extension Service) about common challenges for Minnesota yards, and the recommended organic solutions to deal with them.

What is Snow Mold

When the snowmelt is on and we start to see our lawns appear in Minnesota, most yards have some, or a lot, of snow mold. It’s typically circular patches of matted, greyish grass up to 3 feet in diameter. 

U of M Extension describes snow mold as “…a fungal disease that can be caused by 3 different pathogens (Typhula spp. and Microdochium nivale). All Minnesota lawn grasses can be affected, although fine fescue grasses are less susceptible. Snow mold disease damages grass leaves but usually will not kill the entire plant.” 

Repairing Grass with Snow Mold

Snow mold might look bad, but it shouldn’t permanently damage the lawn. To promote recovery, lightly rake these areas to loosen the matted leaves. Make sure to lift the matted grass completely to let air circulate in that part of the lawn. No chemicals – just a little effort. It doesn’t get any more organic than that.

Timing is important, too. You need to stay off of the lawn until it has a chance to dry out.  Foot traffic on wet, damaged grass can cause even more damage. And, you especially DO NOT want to rake up the snow mold when it’s wet because you’ll end up pulling out your grass plants. Then you’ll have to seed the lawn if you want grass to return.  

Preventing Snow Mold Next year

There are a couple of simple steps to take at the end of the growing season to try and prevent snow mold next spring. First, continue to mow your turf well into the fall.  Second, when snow does come, avoid creating large, long-lasting snowbanks on your grass when shoveling snow from your sidewalks and driveways.

Conclusion

February might feel like the dead of winter in Minnesota, but it’s the perfect time to start planning for a healthy, organic lawn this spring. By planning and scheduling your organic lawn care treatments today, you’ll be ahead of the game when the warm weather finally arrives.

Remember, organic lawn care is all about nurturing the health of your lawn and the environment. By taking small steps now, you’re not only preparing your lawn for a successful year but also creating a sustainable, eco-friendly outdoor space for your family to enjoy. Let’s make this year’s lawn care routine as green and healthy as possible!

If you need help preparing an organic lawn care plan for your yard, reach out to Organic Lawns by LUNSETH today! 

Rake or Mulch in the Fall?

Posted on | by Organic Lawns by Lunseth

Many people are obsessed with raking their yards to look like freshly vacuumed carpets. This approach can be stressful and time-consuming. While it’s important to make sure your grass isn’t covered with leaves going into the winter, the good news is there are benefits to not leaving your yard spotless.

A little leaf coverage is good, but not too much

The University of Minnesota’s Turfgrass Science Program provides helpful guidelines for dealing with your fall leaves.  They say the most important point with fall cleanup is that the tree leaves are not covering a significant portion of your yard. Too many leaves on your lawn going into winter is harmful.  Leaves smother the grass and inhibit growth in the spring.  Leaves covering your grass also promote snow mold diseases.  And, a layer of leaves makes an attractive habitat for voles and mice and they can cause turf damage over the winter. They recommend leaving 10-20% coverage of your lawn.

Rake, bag or mulch? Mulch!

The three options to take care of leaves are raking, bagging, or mulching. The Turfgrass Science program explains why mulching is the most beneficial for your yard.  Mulching the leaves with a mower incorporates beneficial nutrients and organic matter into the lawn and soil.  Some leaf types, like maples, have even been shown to reduce weed seed germination when mulched into a lawn.  The leaves of honey locusts may add a significant amount of nitrogen to lawns. Their leaves fix nitrogen from the atmosphere just like soybeans, so higher leaf nitrogen contents in these leaves transferred to the soil is possible. 

Successful mulching requires chopping leaves into small pieces. This requires more frequent mowing in the fall, and you may need to do multiple passes with the mower to mulch the leaves sufficiently. 

If you do choose to rake or bag your leaves, make sure to compost them.

 

If you have a question about mulching or general fall lawn preparation or would like help getting your yard ready for winter, contact the experts at Organic Lawns by LUNSETH.

Aerate & Overseed Now!

Posted on | by Organic Lawns by Lunseth

Aerating and overseeding your lawn now is an important way to give your grass a jumpstart on next year’s growing season.


Aeration

All yards become compacted, and a yard that’s used a lot gets compacted a lot more! That’s one of the reasons why aeration is one of the most important services you can do for your lawn. The University of Minnesota Extension Service says that between late August and early October is the best time to aerate – so now is the time! Fall is an ideal time to aerate because the grass is still actively growing, but there’s less danger of spreading seeds from weeds during the process. 

There are several benefits of aeration. It improves the lawn’s health and relieves soil compaction, resulting in better water drainage and nutrient absorption by the roots.  Strong roots are essential for healthy grass. Also, plugs of soil from the ground are created during aeration. This allows air, water, and nutrients to penetrate the soil and reach the lawn’s root system.

Compacted soils and soils with poor drainage accumulate thatch faster than well-drained soils. Aerification stimulates the microbial activity involved in decomposing the thatch layer. Aeration plugs sit on the surface of the lawn and crumble apart over time. This top-dresses the grass with soil containing desired microorganisms that will work at decomposing thatch.


Overseeding

Fall is on the best time to overseed. Establishing grass now means it has less competition with weeds, and the cooler nights and sunny days allow for the successful germination of our cool-season grasses. In addition, immature grass does better over the winter than it does dealing with the stresses of summer. So getting it started in the fall optimizes its ability to establish in the spring.

Overseeding after aeration is great timing.  The holes created by the aeration process become great places to catch and protect the seed. And, the lawn is less compacted after aeration, giving the grass a better chance of rooting into the soil.

If you have a question about aeration and overseeding, or would like a quote for having your yard aerated, contact the experts at Organic Lawns by LUNSETH.

Identifying and Controlling Grub Damage

Posted on | by Organic Lawns by Lunseth

Chances are you’ve got some – or a lot of – grub damage this year. We’ve addressed this issue in a number of communities throughout the Twin Cities the past few years. How do you know if you’ve got grubs or not?  Our friends at the University of Minnesota’s Turfgrass Science Department have excellent guidelines in their recent newsletter.

Identifying Grub Damage

There are several indications that white grubs are damaging your lawn. These include:

  • Irregular patches of dead or dying grass that resemble drought stress.
  • Early signs of a white grub infestation are apparent when an irrigation system has been running or we have had regular rainfall and the drought symptoms are still present.
  • Moderate grub damage involves observing dead or dying turf with little to no roots when pulling on the turf.
  • More severe white grub damage is sometimes not caused by the grubs themselves, but by animals like racoons and skunks turning over the turf to feed on the grubs.

Controlling Grubs

What can you do about grubs? The good news is there are very effective organic solutions to get them under control. The Turfgrass newsletter references a biological insecticide, GrubGone (Baccilus thuringiensis galleriae), as the only known biological insecticide to work effectively. It works as a preventative treatment and needs to be applied in advance of a white grub infestation. 

You can find additional information about controlling grubs from our friends at #universityofminnesotaextension  Or, contact LUNSETH for a quote on our grub control services. We’ve helped people all around the Twin Cities get their grub damage under control.

Winter Love for Untidy Lawns & Gardens

Posted on | by Organic Lawns by Lunseth

A yard without leaves and a garden without dead stalks sticking up all winter long brings a sense of satisfaction. But at Organic Bob we promote a love of untidy lawns and gardens. These organic materials serve to nurture the soil and also provide shelter for pollinators.

Our friends at the Pollinator Friendly Alliance explain that most pollinators stay over winter, looking for shelter in both plants and the ground. “During cold months, dead plant stems, old bark, cane, leaves, and undisturbed soil are the secret winter homes of pollinators. Leaving piles of leaves, compost or wood help all manner of creatures including salamanders, beneficial insects, and pollinators. Many solitary bees like mason bees burrow under tree bark or wood piles. Some have gorged like bears to make it through the winter; others wait in suspended animation as larvae, pupae, or eggs.

“Something you should be aware of as you begin to tidy up your garden for winter – especially burning or removing the plant stems, you may be destroying hibernating bees or bee nurseries. So, it’s important to leave plants standing until late spring when temperatures rise and nectar and pollen is available.”

If you have a question about keeping a pollinator friendly yard, contact the experts.