Newsday, Melville, N.Y., Home Work Column

By Gary Dymski, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Jul. 15–On nearly any hot, hazy summer Long Island morning, thousands of landscapers are mowing residential lawns, trimming and edging with high-tech power equipment, providing clients with what amounts to a horticultural manicure. At night, thousands of inground sprinkler systems automatically distribute streams of water across these same patches of vegetation.

In between time-consuming mowing and weeding, and torrential amounts of water, these same lawns get large doses of fertilizer — nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium — and other chemicals that prevent crabgrass and weeds or chase away insects.

While this might seem like a popular way to grow green pasture-like grass, it all makes lawn-care experts cringe in horror.

Mowing too short and too often, watering at the wrong times and unnecessary chemical applications are the major mistakes Long Islanders make in trying to grow healthy, luxuriant lawns.

“I see two extremes on Long Island,” says Mike DeLea, who as owner of Greenlawn Sod Farms in Riverhead grows grass for a living. “One is that people are doing too much. Putting on too much fertilizer or watering too much. And the other is that they do nothing at all.

“Either way, they do a disservice to a really beneficial piece of vegetation.”

So what’s the right path to a perfect lawn? Mowing, watering and fertilizing, in fact, are crucial to developing and maintaining a healthy patch of green. It’s just that most people — including landscaping contractors — make some basic mistakes.

With that in mind, here are five steps to creating and maintaining a healthy lawn. Using a local panel of experts, this guide will help homeowners reduce the frequency of chemical applications, fertilizers and selective herbicides (weed and crabgrass preventers, for example) and the tendency to overwater. The result should be a healthier lawn, one that protects the groundwater and soil and provides years and years of good looks.

1 START WITH THE SOIL

“The most common mistake is that homeowners don’t test their soil,” says Tamson Yeh, a turf specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County. As she speaks, she is pulling up a piece of turf with the same tool that installs holes in putting greens on golf courses.

Up comes a rounded clump of soil and lawn, about 6 inches or so deep. In a few minutes, Yeh is testing the soil’s pH — the balance between acidity and alkalinity. Yeh finds a reading of about 5.5, meaning the soil is acidic — common for Long Island — and needs a dose of pelletized limestone. A reading in the 7.5 to 8.5 range means higher alkalinity. Doses of granular aluminum sulfate or sulfur, available at agricultural supply stores, will lower the soil pH.

For growing a healthy lawn,”somewhere between 6.3 and 6.8 is acceptable,” Yeh said. “And as close to 6.5 as possible is probably best.”

Soil pH kits are available at hardware stores, nurseries, home centers and the Cornell extension offices for less than $10. In addition to pH, soil should be tested for nutrients. The Cornell extension takes soil samples to be tested for nutrients at between $15 and $20 per sample. The soil should contain three main nutrients — nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium — and secondary ingredients like magnesium and calcium.

“Without a soil test, lawn care is just shooting in the dark,” says Rich Staudt, an organic landscaper who owns Total Landscaping Care in Wantagh with his son, Andrew.

2 FERTILIZE WITH A SLOW HAND

Experts agree that fertilizing is among the most important parts of lawn maintenance. Once tested, the soil sample will provide a course of action.

Fertilizer contains three basic nutrients — nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium — and the big numbers on the bag correspond to the amounts of nutrients inside. A 10-10-10 bag, for example, has equal amounts of the three; a 12-24-12 bag has twice as much phosphorus than nitrogen and potassium. If a lawn is found to be deficient in phosphorus, the 12-24-12 bag would be best suited for application.

“Use slow-release fertilizer,” says DeLea. “Because it is insoluble, slow-release fertilizer stays in the soil and feeds the lawn slowly over time. It’s better for the soil and the lawn and even the groundwater.”

Generally, the more expensive fertilizers are slow-release kinds. But here’s another twist: If a lawn needs specific nutrients, certain organic ingredients — like bone meal (high in phosphorus) and blood meal (which enhances the composting process) and alfalfa meal — can be spread instead of common fertilizers. Blood meal in a quick-release form also increases nitrogen content.

Yeh also advises to fertilize at the right time. “Fertilizing at the beginning of May and then again at the beginning of September are ideal,” she says. “If you fertilize too early or too late, only top growth is stimulated and the nutrients don’t get into the root system.”

3 WATER IT RIGHT

Night watering often promotes disease, especially a variety of fungi in cool-weather grasses, such as bluegrass, says Yeh.

“The ideal time to water is early, early in the morning,” DeLea says. “The water has time to soak into the soil, and the water on the surface can slowly evaporate in the morning sun.”

Experts like April Gonzales, a Southampton organic gardener, warn against overwatering. “A lawn needs between one-inch and one-and-a-half inches of water per week,” she says. Some soils will dictate a little more or a little less, but 1 to 1 1/2 inches is a good rule of thumb. Proper irrigation is crucial, Gonzales says, because it promotes deeper root development.

Yeh says an empty tuna can will help homeowners accurately measure water distribution. Set the sprinkler system’s automatic timer and then place a can in the middle of the zone to be watered. After the cycle ends, measure the water left in the can. If you water twice a week, the can should measure between a half-inch and three-quarter inches.

4 MOW IT TALLER

A lawn mowed too short generally has a shallow root system, which means the grass will be stressed during hot, summer months.

The best height for most lawns is between 2 1/2 and 3 inches, experts say. After cutting — no more than one-third of the blade should be removed in a single mowing — pull several individual blades and measure them. During spring and fall, cooler periods, blades should measure about 2 1/2 inches long. In summer, set the mower higher so blades measure 3 inches.

Landscape contractors mow at set heights — often as short as 2 inches — because they are on tight schedules. Experts say homeowners should request that their landscapers mow to higher lengths, especially during the hot months. Also, make sure the mower blade is sharp. Have your hardware store sharpen it once in the spring, then once again in late summer. A sharp blade reduces stress on the lawn.

Mike Harmon, owner of MH Landscaping, an organic firm in East Hampton, says mowing every week or five days also can cause stress. “The lawn doesn’t read a calendar,” he says.

In cool temperatures, when grass grows quickly, once a week might be OK. In warmer weather, when lawns can be stressed, once every 10 or 12 days might be necessary.

5 WEED OUT INTRUDERS

The keys to controlling pests and invasive grasses are mowing height and soil condition. Taller, healthier lawns will naturally resist insects and enemy vegetation. So following the first four steps of the guide should lead to a natural resistance to enemies, especially weeds and crabgrass.

Mowing taller, between 2 1/2 inches and 3 inches, will keep the seeds of most weed and crabgrass buried deep in the lawn. “Crabgrass and weeds need sunlight and warm conditions,” says Staudt. “By mowing correctly, the lawn develops its own resistance.” Also, soil that is properly aerated and irrigated naturally resists invasive grasses. “Weeds and crabgrass thrive in dry, hot soil,” Yeh says.

Instead of spraying selective herbicides and spreading granular products that combine fertilizer and insect control, experts advise spot treatment. Using a pump sprayer to spot treat a specific weed, for example, is better than spraying an entire lawn, Yeh says.

For insects, spreading sulfur-based organic material can chase away ants. Nematodes, beneficial insects that can be applied in a broadcast spreader, will feed on grubs.

Organic proponents like Harmon, Staudt and Gonzales suggest pulling weeds. “Pulling up weeds by hand is a natural way to aerate,” Gonzales says.

Harmon says a lawn being overtaken by weeds, crabgrass and other unwanted grasses “usually means something is wrong with the soil. It’s likely compacted, needs water or lacks the proper pH.

“Fix the soil, and you get rid of the weeds and crabgrass.”

Didn’t we say it started with the soil?

Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.

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