Steve Stout

Many homeowners think of fall as the end of the gardening year and begin to neglect their yards. However, lawn pros and organic gardeners see the fall as the beginning of lawn season. They do what they can to improve the lawn and garden soil quality at this time. Preparing your lawn for the winter season, (winterizing your lawn), is an important necessary maintenance task. Because grass goes dormant during the winter, any preparation for a healthy spring must be made in the fall.

Preparing your lawn for the winter season, or winterizing your lawn, is an important necessary maintenance task. Because grass goes dormant during the winter, any preparation for a healthy spring must be made in the fall. When the weather turns warmer, turf grass needs to be primed and ready to go.

Mycorrhiza are symbiotic with the plant roots on which they occur. This mycorrhiza relationship facilitates the sharing of some of the plant's storehouse of organic compounds (which are essential to fungi, as they are to all living organisms). In addition, water is exchanged along with the organic compounds for assistance from the fungus in the absorption of nutrients like phosphorus and some other minerals. There are endo- and ectomyccorhizae, the endo- aiding in materia

Most of us are worried about our lawns drying out in the heat of the summer. However, over watering can be much more hazardous to your lawn than under watering! Do you wonder if you are turning on the sprinkler a little too often? Here are five signs your lawn has had more than enough water.

Over-saturation when there is nowhere for the water to drain to pushes out soil oxygen and breaks down soil structure. According to the experts, the best soils should contain about 25% air. Lack of oxygen in the soil kills off or greatly reduces the aerobic bacteria soli content. Aerobic bacteria should outnumber anaerobic bacteria by ratio of 10:1 or more.

A beautiful lawn adds charm to any landscape. Green, healthy grass appeals to both the young and the old. Unfortunately, numerous unsightly conditions and diseases plague grass lawns. Regardless of the type of grass planted in your lawn, you are likely to face some of these unattractive lawn conditions in your own yard.

Brown patch, leaf spot, and rust are also common Zoysia grass problems.

Disease resistant cultivars were developed to resist Helminthosporium mold, once a major problem with Kentucky bluegrass. New cultivars are being developed to deal with diseases that took its place. Selecting the right cultivar and proper cultivation remain the best ways to prevent diseases. Because they show similar symptoms, two diseases that frequently strike Kentucky bluegrass, summer patch and necrotic ring spot, were once lumped together as Fusarium blight.

In the early stages of infection, St. Augustine grass leaves show a chlorotic mottling or stippling. As the mottling progresses, leaves develop a chlorotic appearance. Usually 3 or more years after the early symptoms are observed St. Augustine grass becomes weakened to the extent that Bermuda grass invades the lawn. Grass infected with SAD and growing under shade or other stress conditions will begin to thin out and be replaced by weeds.

Until recently Bermuda grass decline was thought to be a complex problem caused by several disease organisms. No one had been able to isolate any pathogen associated with these decline areas. Through the correction of poor management practices, the turf would recover slowly. Researchers working on this problem have isolated the disease organism from declining areas. Results of these isolations show that the fungus, Gaeumannomyces graminis, to be associated with these declining areas.