AboutLong Island Gardener Expertise How to grow the Perfect Lawn? If you live in the Northeast/Atlantic Coast, I have intelligent answers on grass selection, fertilizers, soil care, weed control, and lawnmowers. Although I have degrees in related fields, a person's real gardening skills are learned from trial and error. More important, I am strict about not using chemicals in the garden. Organic gardening is not just earth friendly and healthier for you, your children and your pets. It's less expensive and easier. You read that right. Less expensive and easier.
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Expert: Long Island Gardener Date: 6/9/2008 Subject: Darken the color of my lawn
Question I live in chicago, midwest. Last year the city had to dig in my front yard and replaced it with strips of sod. This year the sod areas are very dark green and my lawn is light green. It looks awful. Someone suggested fertilizing the surrounding lawn to turn it darker green. It is now June 9th and hot. Is this a good idea this time of year, if so when is the best time of day to fertilize and is it ok to do it when the grass is wet.(we are having unusual amounts of rain.) And, what kind of fertilizer and misture should I use. The one I bought is 30-6-6.
Answer Contact your Cooperative Extension Service asap:
web.extension.uiuc.edu/state/hort32.html
Find their Turfgrass expert and bring over samples of both Grasses. You have got to get the same Grass -- probably your choice will be fine since both are apparently thriving in your Lawn.
Theoretically, you can fiddle with chlorophyll output to make Grasses uniformly colored. But in reality, the boosting of chlorophyll production (which is doen by force feeding the plants Nitrogen) is very temporary, and not good for the Grass. Even if it worked, that kind of punishment would be a setup for a major Fungus attack and any other problem Grass can get. Too much leaf tissue, not enough to support it, not enough resistance.
Find out what you're growing. You should know this anyway so you can mow it correctly. The right height for mowing is a very important part of Lawn maintenance. Some Grasses can be mowed a certain way to wipe out Weeds around them. So you should find out what they put down, and what you're growing. Then make it uniform. Grow one kind of Grass and take care of it.
That Lawn transformation should be done in the Fall. It's too hot to start a Lawn right now, unless you are installing Sod, but even then it would be better to way until Fall just to keep the roots in good condition.
Again, DO NOT OVER-FERTILIZE these Grasses. They should be dormant now and not fed at all, anyway. Give your 30-6-6 away or trade it for some Compost and/or Humus; good Soil -- not fertilizer -- is the key to a great Lawn. Thanks for your question.
