About Kenneth Joergensen Expertise I can answer questions about most cool season lawn care issues: fertilizing, watering, grass seed selection, weed identification and eradication, managing lawns in shade, recommend horticultural practices, improving soils, and organic approaches. I can especially give advice on the use and selection of fertilizers, suggest organic lawn care approaches and propose suitable lawn care calenders. My experience is with cool season lawns, so my knowledge of warm season areas is limited. My knowledge of pesticide use is very limited.
Experience I have been actively working with lawn care for a number of years in zone 6, including restoration, maintenance, etc
Question HI Ken...A couple of years ago we had our lawn hydro-seeded with shade seed...You suggested last year putting on 24-4-8 fertilizer in late August and again two weeks after the lst lawn cutting in November...WE are located 200 miles north of Buffalo so our season is rather short...I think you suggested to me last year that we apply another coat of the same fertilizer in May but unfortunately I lost your answer to my question..The lawn is doing very well to this point only now we are getting a fair amount of moss some body told me to use lime on it but when do you do that!!! Thank you...
Answer Hi, I am not sure if you got this message already, or I received the same question from you in error. however, here is my reply one more time, just to be sure.
Kenneth
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24-4-8 is a good lawn fertilizer, but any other lawn fertilizer would be suitable too.
the right times to fertilize is late spring, early fall and late fall. e.g. late may, late august/early september and late october/early november.
The spring application should be made after the initial flush growth. in spring you will typically find the grass growing fast in april and early may. as the lawn growth levels off in late may, the grass benefit from an application of fertilizer.
the next application is made after the heat of summer. when daytime temperatures fall consistently below 85 deg F it is time to apply the second coat. this would be late august or early september.
the last application of the year should be made AFTER THE TOP GROWTH STOPS, but before the roots go dormant. e.g. if you mow weekly in late fall, then wait until you have not had to mow two weeks in a row (usually after first night frost) and then fertilize. the top growth has stopped due to cold temperatures but as long as the grass is green, the plant will conduct photosynthesis until stopped by very cold temperatures later in the winter. At this time, maximum carbodhyrate storage is provided to the roots.
e.g. as general guideline fertilize in late may, late august and late october. If you have a very hot, long summer, you can wait to fertilize until september and if you have a very mild fall with the grass still growing at the end of october (still mowing weekly) then postpone to early november. The excact timing is not critical, but be guided by the general calender above.
Moss will grow where grass growth is limited. typically too much shade incurrages moss. moss has ideal growing conditions at soil pH lower than grass (e.g. at 5.0-5.5 compared to 6.0-6.5 for most lawn grasses). Therefore, many people often prescribe lime (which raises pH). But understand that this is more a coincidence, and a lawn pH of 6.0 will not prevent moss from growing and a soil pH of 5.0 will not prevent grass from growing. The main causes responsible for moss are shade, very hard compact soil, and poor fertility of the grass.
If you fertilize your lawn reguarily then it will do well over a wide range of pH levels. If you are going to lime, I recommend having a soil test done first. a garden center should be able to help you with a soil pH test. it is usually cheap. Do not add lime without a prior pH test. If the pH shows levels below 6.0 then lime by adding 35-50 lbs (15-20 kgs) lime stone per 1000 sq feet lawn area (100 sq meters). do not apply when you fertilize. if you fertilize in november, add the lime in late december or early january when the soil is not snow covered. alternatively add the lime in mid summer.
If you buy soil pH tests which comes as a small pill which you mix with water, then use distilled water, or collected rain water to avoid interference with the pH of the water supply. I recommend having the soil tested at a laboratory. In the USA this is done by local county extension offices for a nominel fee. I am not sure about canada, but talk to a garden center about it. Once you find out how to go about it, it takes only a few seconds.
To combat moss, your best choice is to prune dense canopies of trees to allow more light in. Some early spring moss is almost unevitable due to wet springs and low light over the winter. The siutation should improve as summer approaches.
If you water manually, water infrequently but deeply, such as once per week for 2 hours rather than 15 minutes daily. the reason I recommend this pattern is to allow the top of the soil surface to dry out between each watering which will kill moss. Do not water daily so the top of the surface is consistently moist because moss loves this.
moss will grow where grass can not compete due to hard compact soil, shade, and consistently damp surfaces. moss will grow over a wide range of soil pH and so will grass and correcting soil pH is not enough in itself to combat moss. Note, however, that proper soil pH is ONE (1) part of the strategy of improving growing conditions for the grass (give it optimum growing conditions). Correcting lighting, moisture (deep watering as opposed to shallow watering) and proper fertilization at the right times of the year are other good strategies.
finally, you may want to look into core aerating. core aerating is the process of removing cores of soil (like small 3" cigarettes) from the lawn. a machine, like an oversized lawn mower, is run over the lawn and it will pull hundereds and hundereds of cores from the lawn and deposit them on the surface to decompose. the core holes will eliviate compact, allow oxygen,water, and fertilizer to reach the grass root zone and permit carbondioxide to escape. This procedure should be done in early fall (september) and it will improve the grass growth and tip the scale in favor of grass vs moss. Contact a local landscaper for a quote, or look for equipment rental stores (where you would rent earth drills, party tents, etc).
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