Ken Belanger's Guide to Lawn Maintenance

I didn't initially have any inclination to write about lawn care but after a friends Facebook joke, I figured what the heck. There won't be any pearls of wisdom here on how to have your very own pristine lawn because, well, my lawn is not what most folks would consider pristine. Which brings me to my first point.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder:
     The best lawn I ever had was at our first home in Gilmanton Iron Works, NH. It wasn't the best lawn because it was weed free, perfectly manicured or anything like that. In fact it was quite the opposite. The house was out "in the country" and with no neighbors nearby we were the only ones that saw it for the most part. I mowed the section closest to the house if and when I felt like it and left the rest to grow into a small field of wildflowers which were actually the flowers from resident weeds that happened to grow there, stuff like Indian Paintbrush, Buttercups, Mayflowers, Chicory, Feverfew, etc.
To me that lawn was beautiful because it was green (mostly) and took up very little of my time.

Once we moved to our current home in Gilford it was a new ballgame. We are surrounded by neighbors, each with well kept yards and right next door to us is the most beautiful lawn that I've ever seen in my entire life. Fortunately, it is also owned by one of the nicest neighbors we've ever had who has always been willing to lend advice or a helping hand whenever I've asked for it. As a result I try to maintain a reasonable looking yard so at the very least I won't be dragging nearby property values down.

What type of lawn do you want to have:
     During our first years here I tried to "keep up". I tried to have the perfect lawn. So I asked around, found out what others were doing, what types of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, etc. along with application times and rates. That worked well for awhile and I was content with the results. The lawn wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good and I was satisfied. A few things happened though which caused me to reconsider my approach. The first was our son Gerron was getting old enough to be spending more time outside in the yard. Next, we acquired our two English Setters who were out on the lawn a lot as well and then the brand of fertilizer I was using jumped up to over $40.00 per bag, and today it currently sells for over $50.00. Call me cheap but I won't spend that much money to dump something on the ground four times a year no matter how good the company claims my lawn will be.

So I searched for alternatives. First I got to thinking about my vegetable gardens over the years, always organic, always came out well and I never had to worry about what I was ingesting. Although I will admit Laurie and the two oldest kids probably had some concerns the first time they saw me mix up a barrel of my father's "Sweet Tea" recipe. Oh and by the way, for anyone mixing up Sweet Tea, don't leave the barrel just outside of the bedroom window. Yes, I did that once and when the Tea is made in 50 gallon batches, it's there for the summer. You're not moving it.

Then came the romantic getaway that Laurie and I had taken to the Wentworth Inn in Jackson, NH a few years ago. It's an old hotel that maintains the charm of the days of the "Grand Hotels", and the landscaping seemed to reflect that. The lawns were well manicured but in addition to the grass, they contained clover, dandy lions, sorrel and other weeds we used to have in our lawns as kids growing up. I started to remember those summer days sitting in the shade at the homes of friends while trying to decide what to do. You probably remember as well, "What do you want to do"? "I don't know, what do you want to do"? All the while we'd be pulling off pieces of sorrel and chewing on it to get that sour/lemony something taste. Mostly though I remembered how rich the soil was in everyone's yards and when we wanted to go fishing, we'd just grab a shovel and dig all of the worms we needed. I started to compare that image to the soil in my yard now and how it looked when I would dig a hole for one project or another. It contained a couple of inches of topsoil, then sand, then gravel with the roots of the grass growing barely much longer than an inch in length with nary a worm to be found.

I also started to think back to the house in GIW and how much we looked forward to seeing the flowers grow up threw the lawn. That did it. OK, so now I knew what kind of lawn I wanted; one that looked well maintained but with a variety of other plants and flowers we looked forward to seeing, but mostly clover. These would no longer be weeds, because they are intended with few exceptions. (There are weeds like Creeping Charlie, that can completely take over a lawn so I do what I can to avoid it). Now, what's next?

Grow the lawn that you want:
     I started researching organic lawn care and learned what I could about it. I found various products I could use if I chose to and frankly some of them are even more expensive than what I had been using before. So you won't be surprised to learn that I passed on those. What I did do though is this. First, I started with a soil test. I dug up soil samples from different parts of the yard,  labeled them and sent them off. Within a couple of weeks I received my results. The front yard which has been the most problematic was in need of lime. Lots of it. So that was the first ingredient added. Then I raked in a top layer of compost to about a third of an inch throughout the front yard. For the rest of the yard I bought a bag of organic fertilizer that I could spread with the same spreader I had been using previously. The pleasant surprise here was that instead of having to worry about application times, e.g., so many hours before or after a rain, and wait so many hours before people and pets are allowed back on the lawn, the instructions for this product came down to: spread it whenever you want, as little or as much as you want, and people and pets can be on it while your spreading it. That was nice.

Another item I came across expounded upon the virtues of clover of which there are many, not the least of which is its nitrogen fixing properties in the soil. It was also good to be reminded of the fact that at one time clover was considered an important ingredient in lawn seed and every bag of grass seed included about 5% clover. So off to Agway I went and I bought a small bag of clover seed to mix along with my grass seed, which I then spread after having aerated my lawn. Now, it is true I did screw up the ratio a bit but math was never a strong suit of mine. However, I think it's fine and more importantly so does Laurie, she loves it.

When it comes to maintenance, I mow my lawn at the highest setting the mower will go. This is to encourage root growth and development. I also mulch my clippings as an added way of providing nitrogen to the soil. The only exception is I will bag the clippings if the lawn has grown too long to mulch due to long periods of rain or whatever. Lastly, when it comes to watering, I don't do it very often. If we haven't received any rain for awhile, I will water the lawn until it gets about an inch of water. Again, this is to encourage longer roots.

I do admit, though that there are times when I will still use an herbicide. I do this only when the weeds on the section of lawn that borders my neighbors start to encroach on his lawn. He puts in a lot of time and effort into his lawn and I want to be considerate of that. So on that section only, I will spot treat for weeds.

This will be an ongoing process which will take time. Basically, with this approach I'm feeding the soil which will in turn feed the grass. The results aren't in yet, but so far I like what I see and so does Laurie. Already, I've noticed more depth to the topsoil, many more earthworms, and lots of bees when the clover is flowering. Needless to say there are many ways to maintain a lawn and I have no problem with whatever others want to do. In fact, if someone were looking to have the perfect lawn I would refer them to my neighbor. But as the title suggests this is how I have been doing it as of late and expect to continue to do.

Summary of My Approach:
Mow High
Mulch Clippings
Water Seldom But Deeply
Use an Organic Fertilizer Once or Twice a Year (I do Spring and Fall)
Spot Treat for Weeds Only If or When Necessary (Unless you're pulling them by hand)

Enjoy,
Ken

Allow Myself to Introduce.... Myself

The first time I had thought about giving blogging a try was when I was first editing and posting a few things for my friend Dogwood Saunders. Now that I've been able to set him up with his own account and have walked him through the steps, it seems like a good time to try it for myself.

My main interests pertain mostly to the outdoors and sports so that is what I will probably be writing about, especially if it relates to my dogs. At the present time I have two English Setters and a Field Bred English Cocker Spaniel, FBECS for short. I also love the "Beautiful Game" or soccer as it is usually called in this country and of course Notre Dame Football. 

Then of course there is music which I really love, both listening to it and playing it. Music of all kinds interest me (except rap, just could never get into it) and my music collection reflects that. I have recordings ranging from Antonio Vivaldi to ZZ Top. I enjoy playing Bluegrass and Country music the most and really enjoy jamming with friends. There is just something about people getting together with a variety of instruments and making music together that has always appealed to me.

So I guess in the end I may be writing about any of these topics or something else that might strike my fancy, (is that a phrase anymore?) and I hope you might find something worthwhile. If you have any ideas you can let me know at nhgundogs@gmail.com. 

Thanks,

Ken Belanger