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<br />It. Table 4: General regional maintenance calender
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<br /> January- Aprll- July- October-
<br />RegIon March May June August September December
<br />Humid Midwest and Remove dead Start new Northern Do not water in If needed, Cleanup and
<br />Northeast material and lawns, reseed grasses may July: it pro- fertilize after rake-up
<br /> winter debris or resod start to go motes grub active top-.
<br /> dormant growth and the growth has
<br /> spread Df stopped;
<br /> disease apply lime.
<br /> Start new
<br /> lawns, reseed
<br /> or resod.
<br />Humid South Resod. res prig, Start new If needed, If needed, If needed, Mow the first
<br /> or replug; jf lawns. partial fertiHzer partial fertilizer fertilize winter fall of leaves
<br /> needed apply dose. dose. grasses. into the lawn.
<br /> lime
<br />Plains Remove dead Mow often, but Northern Do not water in It needed, Lower mower
<br /> material and set blades high grasses may July; it pro- fertilize height to 2
<br /> winter debris start to go motes grub inches for the
<br /> dormant growth and the last cut of the
<br /> spread of year
<br /> disease
<br />Southwest Plant new If needed, This is the last If needed. Mow high to It needed,
<br /> [awns partial fertilizer month lawns partial fertilizer shade out fertilize winter
<br /> dose for should be dose for crabgrass grasses
<br /> summer planted summer
<br /> species species
<br />Northwest Remove dead Remove Monitor weed The grass will Start new If needed,
<br /> material and excess thatch and grub levels slow down, so lawns, reseed fertilize
<br /> winter debris mow less often or resod
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<br />".:. -,.' ,'" ' , ',-, ';:-:,:;'~_!-:'--
<br />Step 6: WeedC~r~ol,~rd ,ToJerarc~.r~;;;X{}i;~,)
<br />-', -....', -, _;~"_ ,"",' ,-:~ -'_'''''','' ''Y:, , ' "~,Co,',:';" '"-:\,''' ':',"",',__ _,:,---.,,?,_&:,~
<br />Establish a;reallstic to]erailce.leYelfri!:;~~~d.~j
<br />and use least' toxic~ controi'methods'to'ma"iti~iri,rt.'::'
<br />'- ", - -', '- ,,' --".- >..' ':,' . --, :",- ,,',,; "-''':-:, -. , ^ :~,' ,,' ""',;,,:,
<br />For:a low input.-i.awn::1ise.least to~ic:~iw'eed';~6n~?l'
<br />methods.' such 'ils:"cultivation, . solarization; flaming;.
<br />mowing; or herbicidal soap. For a lowerInpui-I3wnl
<br />grow strong healthy graSs and it will crowd out ",,,edi;
<br />For the Iowesl input lawn. broaden your definitio'n: of
<br />"lawn" to in~ludeweeds that perform desirable func.
<br />tions.
<br />
<br />What is a Weed?
<br />
<br />"Weeds" go in and oul of f3shion. For example,
<br />clover was for many years an ingredient of premium
<br />bwn seed mix[ures. Once a herbicide was available [0
<br />kill clover, however, clover was no longer dcsir<lhle.
<br />Indeed, many oflhe weeds lhat are decried in lawn cart
<br />guides were once the mainstay~ of the kitchen garden.
<br />
<br />Everyone has [0 decid_e for themselves which weeds
<br />they can Jive with, and which must be controlled. The
<br />lraditionallawncare approach ofprevenlive pre-emer-
<br />gent weed control, however, is certainly wasteful and
<br />expensive, and may well contribute to the herbicide
<br />levels found in urban streams.
<br />
<br />How Many Weeds Make Too Many?
<br />
<br />Personal preference will dictate how many weeus
<br />should be tolerated. A lawn that is ] 0% weeds may
<br />appear to he weed-free, and even a lawn with 20%
<br />weeds can provide Lln altraclive:, consistenlly green
<br />appcaranL:c. To gel <.In objeclive measure of how we-cdy
<br />a lawn is, a simple transeCL counL can be performed.
<br />This is done by stretching a hose or string diagonally
<br />across the lawn. While walking along the line, look.ll
<br />the planls in front of your lOcs. For each step, f(~l:ord
<br />weed or grass. Repeal the process on {he other diagonal
<br />(forming an X) and then add up how many grasses
<br />
<br />Watershed ProtectIon Techniques . Vol. 2. No.1. Fall 1995
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