When you look at your lawn, you do not likely see an agricultural crop. But to many people who are employed in the turf business, that is exactly what it is.
Grass is a cool-season crop. It thrives in most parts of Canada as temperatures begin to drop and day length shortens. During the third week of September last year, Mark laid 500 square metres of sod at his new home. He chose that time intentionally, and the results proved that his timing was spot on — every inch of his new lawn took root and bounced back in fine shape come spring.
The secret to healthy turf is the treatment that you give it in the fall. The most important application of fertilizer is in late autumn, when grass plants are naturally storing up sugars to sustain them through the long winter months.
Whether you choose a natural product or a synthetic one, your lawn will thank you for your investment by bouncing back in the spring with a minimum of snow mould and winter kill. Look for a fertilizer product that is specially formulated for fall application.
Thin areas of your lawn are easily thickened with a 2 cm layer of triple mix or lawn soil and a thin layer of quality lawn seed. Apply the soil first, then the seed at a rate of 1 kg per 100 square metres. Rake smooth, step on it or roll it to get the seed and soil firmly in place, and water regularly in the absence of rain. We start grass seed as early as mid-August through to Thanksgiving weekend in our Zone 5 gardens. Colder regions do not provide quite as long a seed-starting season.
If you are looking for an instant lawn, sod can be laid up until the late frost of fall. Ben’s grandpa, who was a Toronto-area landscaper, laid sod up until mid-December and had great results. The question is not how late you can lay it, but how late you can buy it.
We recommend that you cut your lawn at least 6 cm high and use a mulching lawn mower, returning the nitrogen of the grass clippings back to the root zone. In late fall, clean your power mower, sharpen the blades and empty it of gas for the winter. Store in an enclosed area, out of the weather.
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Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, author, broadcaster and tree advocate
and holds the Order of Canada. His son, Ben, is a fourth-generation
urban gardener and a graduate of the University of Guelph and Dalhousie
University in Halifax. Follow them at markcullen.com, @MarkCullen4
(Twitter) and @markcullengardening (Facebook) and look for their latest book, Escape to Reality.
Follow them at markcullen.com, @MarkCullen4, facebook.com/markcullengardening and biweekly on Global TV’s national morning show, The Morning Show.
