Newly Visible Lawns Scream For Attention
Lumpy, patchy and etched are apt descriptions for our lawns. I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, it’s been months since our lawns have seen daylight. There’s been a lot of activity taking place under that protective blanket of snow. Judging from your questions last weekend at the Home and Yard Show, lawn concerns seem to be running neck-and-neck with those about ice storm damage.
What’s causing the 2-inch-wide ruts that run through the lawn?
This highway of trails is engineered by mice. Though there are three species of mice found in our area, the deer mouse, house mouse and short-tailed meadow mouse or vole, it’s the meadow mouse that’s more than likely the culprit.
Meadow mice make runways on the surface of the ground and through the grass by repeatedly using the same routes. They gnaw on the succulent stems and roots of legumes, grasses and weeds while trampling any remaining vegetation in their path. They burrow into the ground, leaving entrance holes about 1 inch in diameter. The runways are very shallow and may range from only a few inches to several feet in length.
Normally, we don’t have to be too concerned about their presence. After spring cleanup, the lawn usually recovers quite quickly and all evidence of mice infestation in the lawn seems to disappear.
However, meadow mice are very destructive to fruit trees. They eat the bark at the base of the tree and dine along the major feeder roots. When trees are severely damaged, they can die.
Fruit trees aren’t their only victims. Low-growing evergreens may also show signs of mice damage. Random, dead branches within the shrub usually reveal stripped bark at the base - signs of feasting varmints. If mice populations are high, damage can be severe.
Controls are very limited. Baits (rodenticide) are available, but must be used with extreme caution. They are deadly to domestic animals and other wildlife. Traps, baited with peanut butter and oatmeal, also work, but slowly. Mice can have 5 to 10 litters per year, averaging six little fellows per litter. Taking this into consideration, a big, old hungry cat may be the answer.
Why is the lawn so lumpy?
This lumpy condition could be the result of a number of things: Freezing and thawing of the soil, resulting in sporadic heaving; underground runs of meadow mice or pocket gophers; or perhaps it’s the tell-tale sign of nightcrawlers.
Husky nightcrawlers feast on organic matter found in damp soil. A smorgasbord awaits them in the lawn’s thatch, the normal decomposition of grass crowns and roots. Because of our watering practices and those of Mother Nature, this bed of food is usually quite moist. Worms busy themselves by feasting on the thatch. Their castings form lumps in our lawn. When these lumps dry out, they become as hard as rock, a weak ankle nightmare.
If the lawn is old, power raking may be necessary to remove some of the thatch. If it’s a young lawn, (less than 10 years), rolling the lumps flat with a lawn roller followed by core aeration and fertilization should help. Try to use a fertilizer that is formulated with sulfur. Sulfur makes the soil a bit more acidic. Since worms tend to dislike acidic conditions, they may move deeper into the soil.
What are the white, powdery lawn spots?
This may be the beginning of snow mold. It seems to develop under specific conditions - a heavy blanket of snow over thawed ground and high-nitrogen fertilizer applied in late fall. Sound familiar?
Heat and dry days will normally take care of snow mold. Raking may help, but usually isn’t required. If the disease doesn’t improve after a few weeks of warm, dry days, a fungicide may be necessary.
When the day comes that we can finally begin our spring chores, set the mower on its lowest setting and collect the grass clippings. (This is only for the first mowing, normally we set the mower at an inch and a half and leave the clippings on the lawn.) Core aerate. When the soil warms to around 50 degrees - late April or May - fertilize and overseed weak or bare spot. By June, we should be walking barefoot through rich, green grass.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Phyllis Stephens The Spokesman-Review