WHITBY FREE PRESS, OUTDOOR LIVING, APRIL 13, 1988, PAGE A3 Maintenanc e pro gram ensures a healthy lawn By Veronica Colangelo We al look forward to a lush green carpet of lawn after the long cold winter. Now is the time to start the maintenance program that will ensure your lawn stays healthy and green until winter takes over again for another year. The first step is a relatively simple though disagreeable job that can turn into a pleasant way to spend an afternoon if you 'develop a positive attitude about it. I'm referring to the "clean-up." Remove debris such as branches and litter that may have settled on the lawn during winter and then with a "grass" rake gather up the old clippings and dead grass plants that may have accumulated. The sun will then be able to reach the live plants and it will also allow for air circulation. At this time you may want to repair any damage that might have occurred during the cold weather, such as ruts or small areas of winterkill. Filling small ruts is a simple matter of leveling the lawn with a mixture of topsoil with some organic matter such as composted cattle manure worked into it. If there are areas of winterkill under three or four inches in diameter, it is likely that they will fill in on their own as spring progresses. If, Dear John: i John Deere Answers Your Lawn and Garden Woes Dear John: As a lawyer, I know a bad action when I see one. Last year, disease tried to defame my reputation as a vegetable gar- dener with a trumped up charge of neglect. How can I stop this injustice from happening again? Dear Slandered Sower: Here's some counsel to help defend your reputation from further attack. Healthy plants are far more able to fight disease than weak ones, so one of the best ways to throw the book at pests is to provide good growing conditions. The garden should be kept clean of plant refuse so disease spores and insect colonies can't multiply on, the soil surface. Search for evidence of pests or disease under leaves and along stems, and you might be able to seule the case out of court. If pests and disease continue to give your garden a heavy penalty, use pesticides as a last resort. The use of pesticides is a case where more isn't necessarily better - follow the label instructions care- fully and spray on the undersides of the leaves where most pests lurk. A county extension agent can reach a verdict on which control is best-chemical or non-chemical -for your garden. Dear John: I give up on seed- ing-I'm going to put in a sod lawn. Can you tell me what to do? Dear Sick of Seeding: First, have a soil test done and add any necessary nutrients your soil may be lacking. Next, level and li2htlv moisten the soil. Begin laying high-quality sod on a straight edge, such as a sidewalk or drive- way, keeping the sod edges as close together as possible so they won't dry out. After laying sod, use a water- filled roller to ensure good contact between roots and underlying soil. Finally, water the sod thoroughly to a depth of12 to 16 cm and make sure the underlying soil is always moist. Once the sod begins to knit with the soil, you can return to a normal watering schedule of 2 cm of water per week. Dear John: Can you give me some maintenance tips to ensure a long life for my riding mower? Dear Caring Cutter: The best guide to taking care of your riding mower is it's operator's manual. One area to pay particular atten- tion to is the engine oil crank- case-check it after every four hours of use and fill it, if neces- sary. Also check the engine shroud, air intake screen, grille and side panels for grass clippings, twigs or other debris that can block air movement and cause the engine to overheat. And make sure the mower's tire pressure, transmission and battery fluids are at the proper levels. no sweatl this summer, stay... COOL with Lennox central air conditioning FOR EA RL Y BIRD LOW PRICES « CALL however, you're dealing with something larger, you will want to repair the area yourself. Depending on the size of the patch, you can either use sod purchased at a garden centre or you may want to reseed the area. If you decide to seed the area, the new lawn grade perennial ryegrasses will germinate and mature quickly giving you a fast cover. If there are areas of your lawn that seem a little thin or patchy, you can overseed them to encourage the area to thicken up. By this time you should be thinking about fertilizing the grass especially if you didn't apply any fertilizer last fall. Grass that's well fed tends to be thicker, greener and more resistent to disease and insect problems. Because your goal in fertilizing your lawn is to encourage green lush growth rather than flower production, you must use a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content. Fertilizers are identified by the proportions of the three major' nutrients that make up the composition. These nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and are identified on the packaging by three numbers such as 12:3:6. The first numbe. (12) indicates this formula id highest in nitrogen, which promotes leaf formation and green color. The second number (3) phosphorus promotes strong root development. A newly seeded lawn would benefit from a formula rich in phosphorous for root development. The third number (6) identifies the potassium level. A second application of fertilizer should be applied in mid to late June. Garden centres and nurseries offer a wide variety of lawn fertilizers, some with slow release properties and others that control weed growth at the same time. Consult with a nursery operator if you are in doubt as to which one will best serve your needs and always pay attention to the directions printed on the bag by the manufacturer. When to eut the grass is of course dictated by how quickly it is growing. Mow the grass once it has achieved a height of more than two inches. The depth of the root system is directly related to the mowing height. Deeper roots mean that the grass will be able to more efficiently obtain water and nutrients. A deep rooted lawn is better able to withstand periods of drought and can go longer between waterings. Thorough and onsistent watering could well be the most important factor in maintaining your lawn. Mother Nature usually supplies sufficient moisture in the spring time but as the season progresses we have to give her a hand. The easiest way to check moisture level is to feel it. Dig into the lawn with a trowel and check for yourself. It is preferable to water deeply and less often than to water frequently and just tease the roots. You should water long enough for the moisture to seep 4 to 8 inches into the soil. How long this takes depends on the type of soil you are working with. A weed-free lawn is everyone's goal. Keeping your lawn thick is one of the best defences against weeks. However, broadleaf weeds such as crabgrass can be a problem and there are a variety of excellent products available at nurseries and garden centres. There are other methods of course such as digging out the offending weed making sure all the roots are removed. Whe1ther this is practical or not is another matter. SPRING SPECIAL FERTILIZING AND WEEDSPRA YING $42.00 & up to 5000 sq. ft lot size also COMPLETELA WN CARE PROGRAMS Only top quality C-1-L Granular Fertilizer and Green Cross products used. All work done by licensed Pestice Applicator $ LOU'S LAWN SERVICE-728-3589 $ DISCOVER SATISFACTION mL Active Members lanciscape Ontario AT GARDE'l CEnTRE ITD. 800 TAUNTON ROAD W. OSHAWA, ONTARIO L1H 7K4 OUR RED TAG SALE ENDS APRIL 30th, 1988 0 GIGANTIC INDOOR DISPLAYS e OVER 25,000 SQ. FT. 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