Springtime Turf Diseases Causing Patches in my Lawn?

In these days of drought, heat spells, and water wise gardens, many gardeners are interested in efficiency when it comes to irrigation. Drip irrigation is commonly considered to be the most efficient way to water plants. But there’s something even better now: subsurface drip irrigation. It’s one step up – or, rather, one step down, providing low pressure water directly to each plant’s roots beneath the soil.

May all your winds be zephyrs and all your gales be miss spelt girls

The green swards in front gardens throughout the UK are not as environmentally friendly as you may think.

Gardeners are observant, and when a favorite plant is struggling, we tend to take notice. Knowing how to respond, however, is another matter entirely. Some folks head to the garden center looking for a cure-all, determined to spray first and ask questions later. But a gardener who invests just a little time to observe the signs and symptoms of a disease can often narrow down which pathogen is affecting the plant and then make an informed decision about what to do next.

It’s August, and we’ve been dealing with high temperatures and droughts, so obviously the last thing that homeowners are thinking about is preparing lawns for colder weather. Yes, colder weather is somewhere out there in the seemingly distant future, and preparations for your grasses should begin now.

Large patch disease is probably the most common and damaging disease of warm season turfgrass in South Carolina. The most susceptible turfgrass to large patch is centipedegrass, followed by St. Augustinegrass and zoysiagrass. Bermudagrass lawns are not as severely affected because with proper care, this turfgrass can outgrow the disease problem. The pathogen causing large patch (Rhizoctonia spp.) is more active in the soil during the fall after temperatures have dropped from the summer‘s heat and again in the spring as turfgrasses green up.

Winter is commonly thought of as a time of rest for many plants. Deciduous plants lose their leaves, and blades of certain turfgrass lawns experience die-back as the turfgrass goes dormant. Whether or not a turfgrass experiences dormancy depends on the species and where in the state they are grown.

Most years, South Carolina receives several inches of rain during the fall and winter. This year, however, we have been on the dry side. We have also been having warmer than average days, and your landscape may need supplemental irrigation.

Turfgrass is the largest or one of the largest crops in America, and you can’t eat it or wear it.  In addition, it requires water, fertilizer, and a tremendous amount of energy to maintain.  Given that many of our lawns are high maintenance, some folks might consider reducing the size of their lawn by using native grasses and flowering perennials in borders instead. Here are a few ideas for layout and planning a border meadow.  Generally, the plants are not over 3 feet tall, and ornamental grasses are the dominant group.  However, upon closer inspection, you will also see groups of plants from other families interesting to people, pollinators, and birds.  They support wildlife and may reduce the homeowner’s use of irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticides.

S HRUBS ARE THE PEOPLE-SIZED PART OF THE LANDSCAPE, the middle layer that you cannot make a garden without. If you go and skip the shrubs, the transition from tree to perennial is just too drastic, don’t you think? I tried to pick one kind to profile today—lilacs, perhaps, or twig dogwoods (both in the photo above and both treating me to a show at the moment) or maybe a viburnum?—but I failed to single anybody out.

I replied:“Good idea…I will put it on my to-do list. Meantime my favorite lawn resources are Safe Lawns (a non-profit promoting organic care), and Cornell Cooperative Extension (assuming you are in a northern region like mine). The Cornell site includes chemical and non-chemical options; you know where

NO SURPRISE here, but sort of a brutal reminder: The Great American Lawn in its most traditional sense (loaded with anything-but-green additives such as pesticides) is no place for your children. Early life exposure is linked to “pediatric cancers, decreased cognitive function, and behavioral problems.” So warns the American Academy of Pediatrics in a new report. SafeLawns.org, as ever, distills the takeaways. Make this the year you give up the weed and feed for good, please.christmas bird countTHE 113th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count begins December 14, running through January 5. Sign up to help here by counting birds at feeders, or along with a nearby group out in the field (search by zip code for contact information for local groups to accompany at this link). Participation is free; no registration fee.the diversity in one cubic footI HAVE A fascination with the intercon