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<br /> January- Aprll- July- October-
<br />Region March May June August September December
<br />HumId MIdwest and Remove dead Stan 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 of stopped;
<br /> disease apply lime.
<br /> Start new
<br /> lawns, reseed
<br /> or resod.
<br />Humid Snuth Resod, res prig, Start new If needed, If needed, If needed, Mow the first
<br /> or replug; if lawns. partial fertilizer 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 00 not water in If 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 If needed,
<br /> lawns 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 />Step-6: WeedC??trOJandTOIeranc~i(Yi'i
<br />Establish' arealisli~ i~Iera;'ceJevelf~r",eeds',
<br />. and use least loxic'con'trol-methodS't<fmaiiltain'-ii>.
<br />, _ ,',' _",:<-_, _1- ,'" ,,-. ,,'''', ,__,C,"'_'
<br />For.a low "input_'l_awn .,use: leaSt toxic'::w'eed,cdiitf91'
<br />method~'such ,'as::.'cultivation, ,sofanzation;; n~ng;
<br />mowing,' or ~erbicidalsoap.For a lower input lawn,
<br />grow strong healthy grass and it will crowd out weeds:
<br />For the lowest input lawn,' broaden' your definiti6Il of
<br />"lawn" to include weeds that perform desirable fun~-
<br />tions.
<br />
<br />What is a Weed'!
<br />
<br />"\Vecds" go in and ouL of fa~hion, For c.xamrlc,
<br />clover wa$ for many years an ingredient of premium
<br />IiJwn seed mixtures, Once a herhicidc: was 3v'-lilablc to
<br />kill clover, however, clover w~s no longer desirable.
<br />Indeed, many of Lhe weeds thai are decried in lawn care
<br />guides were once the mainstays of the kilchen garJen.
<br />
<br />Everyone has to decide for themselves which weeds
<br />they can live with, and which must be controlled. The
<br />tradjtional lawncare approach of preventive 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 weeds
<br />should be tolerated. A tflwn that is ] 0% weeds may
<br />~ppe;:u (0 be weed-free, and even a lawn with 20%
<br />weeds can provide '-In allractive, consistently green
<br /><:l[1pci.lrance. To gel i.ln objective mC:I~un: of how wccdy
<br />a lawn is. a simple: transect count t.:41n be performed.
<br />This is done hy stretching a hose or string diagonally
<br />across the lawn, While walking lllong the line, look at
<br />the plants in front of your toes_ For each step. record
<br />weed or grass. RepcJl1he process On the other diagon;d
<br />(fonning an X) and then add up how many grasscs
<br />
<br />Watershecl Protection Techniques _ Vol. 2. No.1_ Fall 1995
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