Fall Lawn Preparations

Fall is here! The change in the season means for some big changes to prepare for in the yard. Dropping temperatures and falling leaves provide for some extra chores around the house. If some of these chores are left unattended, your lawn could pay a price!

Leaves: Mulch, Burn, or Throw Away?

The biggest chore we can think of in the fall is dealing with all of the leaves. Should you rake them into big piles and burn at the edge of your property? Should you shove them in lawn bags and leave them by the curb? Should you just mow over and mulch them to scatter them on your lawn? 

The answer: 

Mulch! By mulching these leaves, you are allowing nutrients to be returned to the soil. Mulching these leaves will not be as simple as mowing your lawn. Make several passes in different directions to ensure no large clumps are left and the leaf material is finely chopped up. 

Piles of leaves that are left unattended will have some very nasty consequences in the Spring. The compaction of the wet leaves will choke out the grass it is covering. The leaves provide a great place for different winter fungus to grow and spread. Waiting until Spring for leaf cleanup will do more harm than good. Thin areas that have large clumps of leaf debris collected will become stressed and drastically hurt turf quality.

Fertilize!

As the fall months lead  into winter, the turf will need more nutrients. The grass will need more nitrogen to sustain during the winter months as it enters dormancy. When spring arrives, the turf will be in a much better position than lawns that received no fall fertilization. It is recommended by turf scientists to apply at least 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet during these fall and winter applications. This increased nitrogen will bring great benefit to the lawn. 

Proper Mowing

As we have always said, proper mowing height is at least 3.5 inches for cool season grasses. This does not change when the seasons change. For your lawn to maintain through the winter, the grass plant needs to be as strong as possible. By mowing at that height, it is proven that the turf will be healthier year round.

When do I seed?

Unfortunately if you are just now asking that question, it is almost too late! The optimum time to seed is between August 15th and September 30th. The seed needs time to germinate and grow before the first frost hits. Any seeding done after September 30th is at risk and we do not encourage it. 

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Mowing Tips

I want to let you in on an industry secret. Having a dense and healthy lawn with minimal weeds begins with you! One of the simplest ways that you can begin to achieve the yard that you desire is by adjusting your mowing habits. Here are some important tips to follow that will help give you a head start this season on your lawn.

Mowing Height

I have seen too many residential lawns cut to look like a putting green. This needs to stop happening. In general, we recommend to our customers that they mow between 3 and 3.5 inches. There are several reasons that mowing height affects turf health. Mowing too low is known as "scalping" and can create brown areas that are often misidentified as diseases or other non-related causes. 

One of the biggest benefits to a taller turf is that it allows for the plant to build a stronger and deeper root system. This root system will be beneficial for building a dense turf, maintaining turf performance during drought, and limit weed competition. 

When assessing the mowing height of your lawn, we suggest that you DO NOT rely on the setting of your mower alone. Start your mower and cut a small strip and check that area with a ruler or tape measure. The deck setting on mowers are just a gauge and not a true height of the cut. Even if your mower says 3 or 4 that simply is just a guide and not the actual height of the cut. 

Infrequent Mowing

It takes a long time to mow. Sometimes it is easier to let your lawn go for a few weeks until you cannot stand to look at it any longer. You go out to mow and the tall grass bogs down your mower, giant clumps of grass are left all over your lawn, and you feel exhausted. While you might think that this is only a visual eyesore for your lawn, it is a very big problem for the overall health of your lawn. The stress caused on the turf from infrequent mowing is detrimental to plant health that will allow for more weed competition.

When mowing, you should never cut more than 1/3 of the blade in one mowing. If your desired mowing height is 3 inches you should be sure to mow before the grass is over 4.5 inches tall. 

Do Not Bag!

When you mow, the cut part of the leaf will fall back to the ground and return valuable nutrients to the soil. If you bag after each mowing, you are depriving your lawn of these nutrients that promote dense growth. The same goes with in the fall when the leaves fall. While it may not look the nicest if you mulch all of the leaves in your lawn, you are doing a huge favor in providing your lawn with extra nutrients that will be needed to last through the winter. 

Dull Mower Blades

One last tip that we suggest is to sharpen mower blades often. A dull mower blade will tear the leaf of grass instead of providing a clean cut. If your blades are dull, you will notice that the top of the blade looks frayed and white or brown. A dull mower blade will result in the plant to lose more water, heal slower, and have poor aesthetics. 

Dull mower blades leave turf damaged and frayed.

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We hope that you find these tips helpful in maintaining a healthy lawn. If you have any questions feel free to call us or visit our website for more information.

Our website has a new look! Check it out at www.bowmansproturf.com

Be sure to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter @BowmansProTurf and Instagram @Bowmans_Pro_Turf. 

Our Commitment to Bees!

Over the last several years a lot of focus has been put on the health of pollinators and more specifically, bees! We have the same concerns as everyone when it comes to keeping our pollinator population healthy.

We are excited to announce that Bowman's Pro Turf, Co. and Bayer are partnering together to help protect the pollinator health in the Wabash Valley!

Feed A Bee Initiative

Together with Bayer, we are offering the opportunity for all of our customers to be involved in the Feed A Bee Initiative.

"Feed a Bee is an initiative started by Bayer to create forage areas with a diversity of bee-attractant plants for honey bees. In 2015, thousands of individuals joined Feed a Bee efforts to provide bees with plentiful food options. We are now collaborating with more than 70 agricultural, university, non-profit and other organizations and businesses to provide an abundant diversity of forage for bees and to help in bee forage research and education efforts." - www.beehealth.bayer.us 

Seed Packets

We are very excited that in 2016, we will be providing all of our customers with a packet of pollinator wildflower seeds through the Feed A Bee program. We want to share these seed packets with as many people in the Wabash Valley to help spread the awareness of the importance of pollinators and bees. These seed packets are intended to be planted in the flower beds of homes all over the Wabash Valley to help promote bee health and pollinator population growth.

Bayer had a goal of planting 50 million wildflowers for pollinators and to date they have planted over 65 million. We are proud to be a part of their initiative to help grow that number!


There are several ways that we actively work to protect pollinators.

EPA Pollinator Label

1. Read and follow all labeled instructions- The EPA issued new labeling instructions specific to pollinators. Below is an example of what this looks like. It is very important for ANYONE who uses any type of pesticide to follow all label instruction. The label is the law and if it is not followed properly, the damage done harms more than the environment.
   
   
   
2. Apply products at appropriate times- We work to ensure that when we apply products that they are applied at a time when bees and other pollinators are not foraging. Most pollinators like to forage for food during the hottest times of the day. We are always looking for pollinators during our applications and make sure to avoid applying products that would potentially cause harm when they are most active.
   
   
3. Attend education sessions about pollinators- To maintain our pesticide applicator licenses we must attend educational sessions to stay current on what is happening in the industry. During these sessions we gain valuable information about how to best protect the environment while providing our services.

If you have any questions about how you can become involved in the Feed A Bee initiative, please let us know. You can also visit their website here.

Be sure to like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter @BowmansProTurf and Instagram @Bowmans_Pro_Turf. 

Dormant Seeding

Several times in the last week we received calls about seeding estimates before Spring. This is not unusual and, if done properly, can provide great results.

In the turf industry, we call this "Dormant Seeding." The term dormant is used because the colder temperatures allow the seed to lay dormant in the soil and not germinate until the soil temperatures rise consistently above 50 degrees or higher (late April). It is very easy for us to schedule a dormant seeding application because it is completed before the unpredictable spring showers occur, typically in March.

Some of the reasons that you might consider dormant seeding are:

• Thin turf due to winter damage
• Poor turf recovery and density from the previous year turf issues
• New construction around your home that disrupted turf growth

Some things to consider about seeding new turf areas include:

• Is the soil sandy or filled with clay?
• How much shade covers the desired area to be seeded?
• What kind of seed will be planted?
• How will irrigation be managed? 

Healthy turf provides aesthetic, economical, social, and environmental benefits to not only the homeowner but to the community as a whole. Turf provides for areas for recreation, relaxation, and sports activities. The environment is also benefited through established turf by increased air quality, reducing soil erosion, filtering contaminants from water, and many other important ways.

A lot of the issues that are faced with seeding lawns comes after the seed is applied. During your consultation with us here at Bowman's Pro Turf, Co., we will provide you with information regarding the proper care of your newly seeded area. It is important that the instructions are followed to help ensure the best results.

If you would like to request a free estimate for dormant seeding, give us a call at 812-448-1852! We would be happy to help you achieve the best yard possible. 

Be sure to follow us on Twitter @BowmansProTurf, Instagram @Bowmans_Pro_Turf, and Facebook!

Some of the content in this blog was gathered from the Purdue University Extension publication Establishing Turfgrass Areas From Seed (AY-3-W) and are available from the Education Store.

We are Bowman's Pro Turf Co.

Welcome!

We are excited that you have visited our blog. We will be sharing our knowledge about lawn care and general turf maintenance best practices. We hope that through our blog we can share information with you that you find useful and also helps make your lawn the best that it can be.

Who We Are:
Dennis and Christine Bowman founded Bowman's Pro Turf Co. in 1987 with the goal of providing the best lawn treatments tailored to each individual customers' needs. Over the last 28 years, Dennis and Christine have maintained that high standard of service to each of their customers while developing a unique and specific Integrated Pest Management program for each individual customer.

Dennis is certified through the Office of the Indiana State Chemist in the following categories:

Ornamental Pest Management (3A)
Turf Management (3B)
Industrial Weed Management (6)
Industrial, institutional structural, and health related pest management (7A)
Termite Control (7B)

For more information about these certifications and license categories you can visit the Office of the Indiana State Chemist website found here. 

Christine is a Registered Technician through the Office of the State Chemist and just finished serving 9 years on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Professional Land & Landscape Association where she served as President for 1 year. She also is an active member of the 100+ Women Who Care in Clay County.

Beginning in the Winter of 2016, Andrew and Megan Bowman joined the team. Both Andrew and Megan are graduates of Indiana State University. Andrew with a degree in Recreation Management and Megan with a degree in Housing Marketing. They both have spent the last two years working in the Indianapolis area but are excited to bring their talents and knowledge from their previous careers to the Bowman's Pro Turf Co. team. 

We hope that you find value in our blog as we post about many different topics in the lawn care and turf management field. These topics will include recommendations about turf care, pest identification, best practices, and common myths. 

Be sure to follow us on twitter @BowmansProTurf and find us on Instagram @Bowmans_ProTurf and like us on Facebook!