Spring feeding and pest control in the lawn

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Happy first day of spring! We had temperatures over 70 degrees over the weekend. While I should have been cleaning up in the garden, the boys and I went for a hike along the Missouri River. We looked to see what birds and bugs were also enjoying the warm weather. And, I’m happy to report, we did see a robin and heard our first meadowlark while on our excursion. Spring is truly here!

With the start of the season, many people are looking at their winter worn yard wondering what to do to give it a good beginning. If you fertilized the lawn last fall, you’re ahead of the game. Don’t panic if you skipped that particular fall chore. A round of nitrogen rich fertilizer this spring will give the plants this important nutrient for growth. While the growing grass will use the nitrogen, whether to add phosphorous, or not, is a more important question for the spring.

To decide, test the soil using a simple kit you can find at practically any nursery. If it’s high in phosphorous, do not add more. Phosphorous is one of those nutrients that can accumulate in the soil to the point where it interferes with plant growth instead of helping it. I know of some places where they had to remove the top couple of feet of soil and replace it completely because of the phosphorous levels. So if you don’t need phosphorous, look for a fertilizer without it. (Or at least with lower levels.)

Potassium is the third number in the typical N-P-K formula. While nitrogen is the key ingredient for a healthy lawn, potassium is important for grass health as it builds cell walls and aids in the uptake of iron. So if you plants are yellowing, one suspect is the lack of potassium. This can be an issue if you have sandy soil or an acidic soil since it doesn’t utilize iron as well. If it’s questionable whether your lawn needs it, it’s safe to add potassium. It doesn’t run off to pollute waters like phosphorous, nor does it seem to stay in the soil as long.

Spring is also the time to tackle pests in the lawn. When the soil warms, grubs may begin munching on the roots below the soil line. If you have patches of shabby looking lawn, take a shovel and dig down a few inches roughly a foot in radius. If grubs are an issue, you can usually find the 3/4 to an inch-long, white and C-shaped forms within the area. Products with carabyl will usually not back the Japanese beetle larvae in the spring. There’s a new grub in town, the European chafer, that can destroy a lawn in short order. With it, pesticides don’t appear to be as effective. According to Cornell University, a better choice of treatment is to use a parasitic nematode product containing Heterorhabditis bacteriophora nematodes. But these are applied in the late summer and early fall so they won’t help your spring situation.

This is also the time for lawn repair from rodents burrowing in the winter. Additional results of snow and sometimes leaves setting on the grass for extended periods of time. In general, take advantage of the beautiful spring days to spruce up the grassy areas of your landscape. Make sure you aren’t being overrun with grubs, and give your lawn a good feeding. It won’t be long until you can stretch out and relax after your hard efforts.

Meet Amy Grisak

Amy is a freelance author and photographer in Great Falls, MT who specializes in gardening, foods, and sustainable agriculture. She provides information on every kind…

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