Vijai Pandian| For USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
Spring rain brings your lawn back to life.With cooler temperaturesand plenty of moisture in the ground, the grass tends to grow faster, requiring frequent mowing.
However, spring lawn is not always perfect. Patches of bare spots and thin grass stands are common this year due to a lack of snow cover to provide insulation to surface roots. To repair the damaged areas, consider the following reseeding options and best management practices:
- Always choose the right seed mixes for the site location. For dry, shaded sites, use 50 percent or more fine fescue mix, and for sunny areas use 50 to 100 percent Kentucky bluegrass mix. Purchase high quality seed mix that has at least 90 percent purity and 75 percent germination success rate. Avoid mixes containing annual rye, zoysia grass, buffalo grass or creeping bent grass.
- If your lawn is heavily compacted and has poor grass stand, core-aerate it now and use a drop spreader to seed the area. Run a mower to break the plugs and to push the seeds into the soil for good contact.
- If you have good lawn soil structure but with thin grass stand, then use a slit seeding machine to increase lawn density. Slit seeders make a shallow furrow in the soil, deposit the seed and, with a flap at its back end, it covers the deposited seed. To get a uniform dense stand, it is best to run the slit seeder at two directions perpendicular to each other using half the seeding rate at each direction. Check your local hardware store or professional lawn service for slit seeders.
- To fix small bare patches (basketball size), hand seeding is the best option. Rake the soil surface, sprinkle the seeds and lightly rake the seeds to depth of ¼- to ⅜-inch deep. Water and mulch the seeded area.
- For large bare patches, top dress the area by raking the dead patch and add ¼ to ½ inch of good quality soil.Sprinkle the seed on the top dressed soil and rake it lightly back in to it. Run a roller over the seeded patch to give a good seed to soil contact. Water and mulch the patch.
- For quick control of moss, use lawn products containing iron sulfate or potassium sulfate. A home remedy would be to use dishwashing liquid soap at the rate of 4 ounces per 2 gallons of water for 1,000 square feet. It might take several days for the moss to turn brown.Rake the dead moss and reseed the patch.
- Don’t apply weed and feed after reseeding the lawn. Schedule the application six to eight weeks after the grass germinates.
- Schedule your first lawn fertilization in late May. Early spring fertilization can contribute to nutrient leaching by spring rain, and can trigger flush of new shoots at the expense of the root growth.
Oozing orange sap on birch tree?
In spring, it is a common phenomenon to observe bright orange slimy sap residues on the tree trunks of bleeding trees like birch, ironwood, maples, elms and walnut.In bleeding trees, any unsealed wounds on the tree trunk cause the spring sap to naturally ooze out externally. It is observed that the yellow-bellied sapsuckers are associated for causing spring wounds by drilling horizontal and vertical holes.
The oozing sap is rich in sugar and serves as a growth media for bacteria, fungi and yeast that turns the colorless sap to bright orange in color which catches our attention. Once the wound on the tree trunk is sealed by the tree’s natural compartmentalization process, the sap will stop flowing and the oozing materials will start to dry out.
Though the orange sap residue may give an unaesthetic appearance,it doesn’t affect the tree’s health.
Vijai Pandian is horticultural agent/educator for Brown County University of Wisconsin-Extension. For questions and advice, contact the Extension's Horticulture Help Desk at 920-391-4615 orbc_uw_extension_horticulture@co.brown.wi.us.
