Lawn care during fall/winter.....

[Jellydonuts]

"Just because grass is dormant doesn't mean it doesn't need water. Sometimes winter rain can provide enough rainfall to keep grass alive. However, the last drought cycle that we just came out of began during the winter of 2004-05 and many people had dead grass in the spring but didn't understand why because they usually didn't water in the winter. Same thing happened to many of their trees. You need to be aware of rainfall amounts to understand it you need supplemental watering or not."

Agree completely with Brak and would like to add that is absolutely critical to water a very dry lawn prior to hard freeze, especially if it will include strong winds.

 

[TheFied]

jelly, how can you tell if the grass is "dry" in the winter?

is it smart to water every week during the winter or maybe cut back the time/inches of water to 1/4 of summer? just wondering a rule of thumb.

 

[Jellydonuts]

You really just need to look and touch the soil. Don't be overly concerned about watering amounts, you just don't want the soil to get too hard prior to a freeze; otherwise it will damage your roots.

 

[TheFied]

new water restrictions

This sounds like a permanent deal and not just for the winter.

 

[TheFied]

I bought some corn glutten and I am going to lay it down today or tomorrow. My grass hasn't grown much obviously since I last mowed it a few weeks ago but it is a bit high. Is it a good idea to mow before putting the corn glutten on and then water? Or do I need to mow at all?

The guys at Austin Natural Gardener said that since it hasn't gotten cold yet I should be fine putting on the corn glutten now.

 

[DieUCLA98]

I'm going to jump on the TheFied lawn question thread...

I just overseeded parts of my yard with Winter Rye (St. Augustine otherwise)... Other parts of our yard, we removed some bushes and laid the Winter Rye seed straight on the soil to hopefully start a new lawn there. If we use corn gluten, will it inhibit the growth of the Winter Rye?

How long does it take Winter Rye to grow in? (aka how long do we have to keep our dog inside during the day so he doesn't dig up the Rye seeds

)

 

[Brak]

Corn gluten is used to keep seeds from germinating. Once your rye grass starts coming up you can apply corn gluten.

Rye grass seed should germinate in about 10 days if you have kept the ground moist.

Keep in mind the Rye grass will die out in late spring when the temperatures start to get into the 80's. For the area that does not currently have grass you may want to kill the rye grass and plant St. Augustine or Bermuda in April. The Rye grass will compete will any new grass so you'll want to get rid of it.

 

[Jellydonuts]

"I just overseeded parts of my yard with Winter Rye (St. Augustine otherwise)... Other parts of our yard, we removed some bushes and laid the Winter Rye seed straight on the soil to hopefully start a new lawn there. If we use corn gluten, will it inhibit the growth of the Winter Rye?"

Yes, the corn gluten will prevent most of your winter rye from germinating. I would recommend just waiting to put down the corn gluten until February.

 

[TheFied]

I'm bringing this thread up for those that are thinking spring.

Some good info. I used corn gluten back in Nov. 2007 and then a few weeks ago in Feb. 2008. I still have weeds but at least everything is organic.