Check out three articles in Lawn & Landscape Featuring Brad:

Fielding a Niche Business

Brad Sutton uses athletic field maintenance to strengthen and grow the residential side of his business.

Contract Free

How Eastern Turf Maintenance focuses on building relationships and not customers’ signatures.

Residential Reliance

Why Eastern Turf Maintenance prefers homeowner accounts.

Type of grass – Quite simply, certain grass species are easier to care for and stay green with less work

Climate – Your climate plays a huge role in the success of your lawn. The average temperature, rainfall, and humidity are just a few climate based factors that impact your grass as well.

Soil Considerations – Soil based factors like the type of soil, ability to retain water, Ph levels, and compaction levels are also related to the growth rate a success of a lawn.

While the factors listed above are major, there are other underlying factors that need to be taken into consideration as well:

• Root strength
• Insect impact
• Seeding schedule
• Application of fertilizer and/or pre-emergents

All of these factors are specific to your lawn and will change over time. There really are no short cuts and no easy answers… it takes time, perseverance, knowledge and experience to keep your grass green.

It’s important to understand that weed seeds are very small, very light, and in virtually every soil type. They can lay dormant for years waiting for a chance to germinate. So when you ask, “where did they come from”, we generally answer “We don’t know.”

What is a grassy weed and what is a regular weed?

Well the loose definition of a weed is any plant growing where it is not wanted. What that means is whether a plant is a weed depends on your personal opinion.

As this applies to your turf you should know that the products we apply handle most broad leaf weeds and some grassy weeds, but there are times when we have to do something different. This happens when Bermuda grass or perennial rye grass creeps into your fescue lawn. When this happens we need to apply Round Up.

We apply Round Up twice a couple of weeks before aeration and seeding for good control of the problem. The key word is control because the problem can come back especially with Bermuda. Grassy weeds can sneak into a Bermuda lawn also, when you see bunches of green fescue that dot the nice sandy look of a Bermuda lawn in the winter time. Again Round Up is used but only when the temperatures are right.

Please understand that you can seriously damage your Bermuda lawn if this product is miss applied. In all honesty, we would really rather do that for you.

When should I cut my grass after you guys have come out and sprayed?

This question is really only relevant when we are applying weed controls. A granular product like fertilizer or lime does not require a waiting period. You can cut right after it is applied. Our herbicides are usually applied in a liquid form, which allows us to get good broad coverage.

If you allow the herbicides to stay on the plant for a day before you cut then you should get the best results. We realize that allowing that one day is not always possible, but if the products dry for several hours before you cut you should get good results.

Remember that herbicides can control up to 80% of your weeds, there is no product that will give you 100% coverage.

It rained right after your manager came out and sprayed, should you come out and re-apply?

Generally, this is not necessary especially when applying a pre-emergent weed control. Pre-emergents are applied evenly over turf to form a barrier at the soil surface. As seeds germinate in this barrier at the soil surface, the seedlings absorb the herbicide and are killed.

Incorporation and activation of the herbicide after its application is required by most pre-emergent herbicides. This can be accomplished by mother- nature or by an irrigation system. Watering within seven to ten days after of application will optimize herbicidal activity.

Now if there is a down poor of several inches this may require an additional application. But we monitor the weather, it is part of the job, and we would typically not apply under those conditions.

ETM Lawncare staff are certified by Bayer Environmental Science to apply Top Choice, a cutting-edge fire ant control. In a single application we can protect your property for an entire year.

Fire ants are most active when the temperature is cool and when the ground is moist. In hot, dry weather applications made to turf will be “warehoused” until the ants begin to actively build mounds and forage on the surface. Irrigation or rainfall will bring ants to the surface where they will come into contact with the active ingredient.

TopChoice kills existing colonies of fire ants and prevents new colonies from establishing for up to one year. After its initial release into the soil profile, TopChoice binds tightly to the soil creating a lasting barrier that’s not affected by heavy rainfall. Because it acts gradually, TopChoice kills foraging workers, but not before they carry the insecticide back to the colony and spread it to the queens and other ants.

The unique active ingredient in TopChoice, Fipronil, acts at the GABA receptors of insects, “switching off” nerve impulses and causing severe disruption of the insect’s nervous system. Besides providing effective control of fire ants, TopChoice also controls mole crickets for four months, nuisance ants for three months, and fleas and ticks for one month.

TopChoice is selectively toxic to insects and optimum control is achieved with extremely low dose rates. Because of its selective effects, there are no concerns about family or pets when TopChoice is applied by a professional.

What is the difference between warm season and cool season grasses?

There are many different grass varieties but there are basically just two broad categories or grass types. They are either “cool season” or “warm season” grasses. Warm season grasses like, bermuda and zoysia, grow mostly from June through September during the hot summer months. Cool season grasses like tall fescue, grow mostly in the spring and fall when air temperatures are cooler.

Tall fescue is a perennial bunch-type grass that grows rapidly in the spring and fall. A bunch grass lawn is a collection of individual plants growing in bunches. Bermuda is a warm season grass that spreads by sending out rhizomes and stolons. Warm season grasses creepers. They differ in cutting habits, looks, nutrient management, growth cycles, water requirements and a couple of other things. Deciding what grass is right depends on several factors. First and foremost is what look do you like? Remember tall fescue stays green year round and bermuda goes dormant in the winter, resulting in a sandy tan color. You can grow either grass in the Triangle area with success, only warm season grasses should be grown down at the beach.

My fescue does not look good so should I plant bermuda grass instead? I hear it is drought tolerant?

This is a question we commonly hear when new customers with fescue lawns are disappointed with the look of their lawns. It sounds like an easy proposition, but switching from a cool season grass to a warm season grass or vice-versa is not nearly as easy as it sounds. Should you switch? To be honest, probably not. Very often the dissatisfaction comes from problems in the lawn that can be solved or at least better understood. These include issues like compaction, lack of sunlight, a mossy environment, too much sunlight, heavily sloped lawns, ponding, heavy traffic the list goes on. Once we understand the problem, many things can be done to improve the look and health of your lawn. There are some instances when we tell people that certain areas of their lawns are just battlegrounds with no winner or losers. These areas struggle and may be better suited as a natural areas. To answer the other part of that question “is Bermuda drought tolerant”, well, to a certain degree. While Bermuda is much more tolerant of very hot, dry conditions compared to fescue, it actually needs to be irrigated just like fescue. If you’re going to go through the expense and hassle of installing a nice hybrid Bermuda lawn, then you’ll need irrigate it properly.

With established turf it should be watered just before it begins to wilt. Now, that is a turf manager’s professional advice, is that advice you should follow? It is, if you are what we refer to as a ‘Survivalist’ and not too concerned about having a green lawn. With this method during the hot summer the grass begins to wilt, it will take on a purplish blue cast, and the leaves will begin to fold or roll. When you walk on it you will leave tracks on the lawn.

It is not hard to determine how many days turf can go between watering. Thorough watering (1 to 2 hours) every 14 to 21 days will replenish moisture to plant root systems and allow it to survive the summer and recover during the fall. Remember cool season grasses will go dormant in the hot and dry months of summer. This is the plant’s built-in protection against stressful environmental condition. All plants will not survive, but the hardiest plants should recover.

If you are a ‘Greenie’ then more frequent irrigation is what you need. To maintain this look for as long as possible, tall fescue must be watered regularly. We suggest 30 to 40 minutes, 2 to 3 times per week for each area of your lawn.

Early morning is considered the best time to water. Wind is calm and temperatures are low so less evaporation occurs. Try not to water in the afternoons, temperatures are high which means evaporation rates are at their highest. Watering in the evenings and late afternoons creates a moist environment that can lead to the development of fungal disease such as brown patch. Remember the general rule for watering, infrequent and deep irrigation creates a deep root system and that makes for a healthy plant.

Newly seeded lawns should be watered lightly and at frequent intervals. During the initial growth period the seed must be kept moist, not saturated. If temperatures are cool and the air is moist watering 2 to 3 times a day should suffice. If temps are high and the wind is blowing then you might have to water 4 or 5 times a day.

The first ten days to two weeks is very important. If young plants are allowed to dry out they could die. After about two weeks, root systems begin to develop and watering frequency can be reduced. About 30 to 45 days after seeding you can water this area the same as your established turf.

Newly sodded areas need to be soaked to the point the soil under the sod is wet to the depth of 2 to 3 inches. If you were to walk bare foot on the sod water should squish through your toes easily. Each time the sod dries out re-soaking is needed. Sod roots develop fairly rapidly in about three weeks you can irrigate the same as established turf. One thing to remember about sod, yes it is instant gratification and looks good quickly, but you will still need to aerate and seed in the fall. We do not allow fescue to grow tall and seed itself.

Don’t forget to check with your town and find out when you’re allowed to water.

Brown patch seems to show itself in most all species of grasses and seems to thrive on a number of factors such as:

• High temperatures with high humidity
• Higher than normal level of nitrogen in the soil
• Over watering in such a manner that the grass stays wet for extended periods of time

Typically, here in the Raleigh/Cary area of NC, it beings to occur in early summer when temperatures and humidity begin to climb. There seems to be a higher number of incidents of brown patch in yards that have irrigation systems (most likely due to over watering). The patches themselves are irregular circular areas up to several feet in diameter with a brownish grey appearance.

For the most part, brown patch will recede on it’s own with proper landscaping management and nitrogen control. In extreme situations or situations on high value greenery like golf courses or baseball fields, it can be treated with fungicides. We highly recommend that you allow a landscaping professional to evaluate and perform anti-fungal treatments instead of trying to do it yourself.

Excessive use of an anti-fungal will kill both the good and bad fungi, which throws the soil severely out of balance. In some cases, this allows the brown patch to occur again even more seriously the following year as the beneficial fungi is no longer present to help keep the Rhizoctonia fungi in check.