Ron Smith, NDSU Extension Service

How would you recommend repairing the damage caused by voles?

This damage usually repairs itself – eventually. To expedite repair, rake up damaged area with a leaf rake and overseed.

What is the best way to repair the damage caused by winter kill?

Winter kill can be repaired pretty much the same way as vole damage. Rake the dead grass tissue out, then scratch the soil to create a surface to hold the seed. After you seed the affected area, sprinkle wood fiber mulch over it, then water. Keep the area moist with daily or twice daily watering and the grass should begin filling in within a week.

When should you fertilize a lawn during the season and what is the best type of fertilizer to use?

Fertilize only during active growth periods – when you are mowing in the spring and again in the fall. As a broad generalization, you should fertilize sometime between Memorial Day and the 4th of July, and again around Labor Day weekend. Use a high nitrogen fertilizer – one that is designated for lawn use, with an analysis something like 28-3-12.

What is the best way to contain weeds?

By maintaining a dense lawn through regular, high mowing (2.5 – 3.0 inches), timely irrigation cycles, and regular fertilizer applications.

lawn-mower

Do you recommend bagging or mulching lawn clippings?

Mulching the clippings gives the lawn an extra fertilizer application roughly equal to 0.75 – 1.00 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year. Bag the clippings if the mowing gets out of sequence and the grass is too long.

What is the best lawn watering strategy?

Ideally, you should water just before the grass wilts! Of course, you don’t know when that will happen, so this is easier said than done. But the right way to water a lawn is certainly not the way most people do it. Basically, a typical lawn in our part of the country needs about 1.0 – 1.25 inches of water per week to look good and keep it from going dormant. An inch of water is about 625 gallons for every 1000 square feet of lawn. Much depends on the maintenance level of the lawn – how high it is mowed, how much fertilizer is applied, the weather conditions, whether or not the grass is in the shade or full sun, and, of course, the soil type. Until one gets savvy about making a judgment on this, the best thing to do is to pull a plug of sod and look at the roots and soil. If they are lacking moisture, give it a good soaking; if they are moist, then hold off for another day or two.

Under what circumstances is aeration appropriate and when should it be performed?

When the soil is compacted or when the turf fails to respond to typical routine maintenance like mowing, watering, and fertilizing. It tends to have a drying effect on the soil, so spring or fall is a good time to core aerate – again, when the grass is actively growing and not under a heat stress.

How do you help a lawn thrive through the blazing mid-summer sun and heat?

The best thing you can do is mow the lawn as you are going into the cooler evening hours, then giving the lawn a good watering the morning after, starting at about 4 a.m. This is easily done with an automatic sprinkler system, and more work if you only have a hose-end sprinkler. Make sure the mower blade is sharp and that the mower is set to between 2.5 – 3.0 inches in height.