Core Aeration - Advice for Northern VA Homeowners

While many folks are familiar with core aeration, most don’t realize the impact aeration has on the lawn. A good aeration is judged by the depth and frequency of plugs pulled. A 2 ½ to 3 inch plug (about the size of your forefinger) pulled every 3 to 4 inches is very good.

There are two basic machine designs:

1. The drum type aerator which has the hollow tines that pull the plugs of soil mounted on a drum or series of weighted disks. This machine relies on its weight to penetrate the soil to pull a plug. If you’re dealing with a nice loamy soil that has sufficient moisture, you will pull an excellent plug. That is rarely the case in Northern Virginia. With our heavy clay soils and often hot, dry conditions well into September, the drum type aerator struggles to do a good job. I have seen cinder blocks wired to the top of drum aerators in an attempt to pull a better plug.
2. The other (preferred type) is a reciprocating or direct drive aerator. This machine’s design has offset steel tines that are driven into the soil by the force of the engine. This machine will pull a plug out of your driveway if you take a wrong turn. The depth, frequency and consistency of the plugs pulled by a reciprocating core aerator are far better than a drum type.

That being said, the vast majority of aerators used by professional lawn care companies and available for rent are drum type. Why? You get three guesses and the first two don’t count. That’s right, they are cheaper. Not only are the machines typically one third the cost, with fewer moving parts and less wear and tear, drum aerators have fewer maintenance issues.

When you are ready to have your lawn core aerated, be sure to ask what type of machine will be used. It makes all the difference in the world. We’re pulling plugs now at at my company, Bio Green, so let us know if we can help.


Photo credit: "AIREADORA 07" by Guipozjim - Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AIREADORA_07.JPG#/media/File:AIREADORA_07.JPG

Author: Dave Schrader, the NOVA Lawn Guru

Beautiful Lawns Don't Ever Need to Gorge on Nutrients

Winning the battle of ‘hearts and minds’ is never easy. One of the best examples of trying to change the mind of folks set in their ways was given to me by one of my professors at the University of Maryland years ago. Extension agents all over the country spent a goodly amount of the 20th century trying to convince farmers to decrease their row spacing from the traditional 36” when planting corn. Backed by research dating from the 1930’s showing increased yields, fewer weeds and lower irrigation requirements, tighter row spacing seemed, on the surface, to be an easy sell. With self propelled tractors being the norm, most farmers had forgotten that the origin of 36” row spacing was the width of a plow horse backside. That being said, it still took decades before the majority of farmers decreased the row spacing of corn.

I have gone through a similar experience regarding fertilizer requirements for turfgrass. When my company, Bio Green, first began servicing lawns in 1987, our program applied 7 lbs/1000 square feet of nitrogen and 1 ½ lbs/1000 square feet of phosphorus annually. This was thought to be what a cool season grass needed to look its best.

As awareness of nutrient enrichment problems in the Chesapeake Bay increased, the science of fertilization needs expanded. Research began to show that high quality turf could be maintained at much lower fertilizer rates, but it was still hard to make that leap. Change could risk our entire business if it didn’t work.

Well, Bio Green was one of the first lawn care companies to lower our fertilizer rates. We haven't looked back since. The current Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (revised July, 2014) recommended rates (which Bio Green follows) are for 3 ½ lbs/1000 square feet of nitrogen annually and only applying phosphorus when soil testing shows a need. Not only do our lawns still look excellent, we save a great deal on material costs which have enabled us to keep our prices in check.

Image source: Corn Field in Colorado, wikimedia commons at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Corn_field_in_Colorado.jpg
Author: Dave Schrader, the NOVA Lawn Guru

Soil Sampling Has To Be Done Right

This past spring, I wrote about why soil testing is important (see my Bio Green blog entry for more info). One overlooked point of that blog post was the importance of how the soil sample is taken, which is not complex but does take thought and effort. The most likely roadblock to getting accurate soil test results is poor sampling technique. The soil test labs themselves (we use VA Tech) make so few mistakes, it's safe to assume that any potential errors are not their fault. That little 6 ounce box 'o dirt you send them needs to represent about 500,000 pounds of soil for the average sized quarter acre lawn. You can easily see if the sample is not taken properly, the results won't help you much. I won't get into the step by step of how to pull a good soil sample (visit VA Tech's web site for instructions),but rest assured, leaning out of your truck to pull a few plugs right where you parked is not the preferred method.

Photo Credit: Joseph R. Hunnings, Extension Specialist, Virginia Tech; Stephen J. Donohue, Extension Specialist, Virginia Tech; Steve Heckendorn, Laboratory Manager, Virginia Tech Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, and Virginia State University

Author: Dave Schrader, the NOVA Lawn Guru

How to Get Rid of Bermudagrass Without Moving

There's an old joke in the lawn business regarding Bermudagrass (sometimes spelled Bermuda grass). There's only one sure way to get rid of it...move. Once Bermuda grass, a warm season perennial grass, gets into your lawn, it is nearly impossible to get it out. The only realistic option we had was to apply a broad spectrum herbicide to kill everything and start over.

That is, until 3 years ago when BASF came out with Pylex. My company, Bio Green, first tested it August of 2013. We selected 12 cool season lawns  with a variety of perennial grassy weed problems (6 with Bermuda , 3 with bent grass, 2 with nimblewill and one with dallisgrass). All of which we were told by the good folks from BASF that Pylex would selectively control without hurting our bluegrass/tall fescue turf.

The results were fantastic. We saw nearly 100% control on all but the dallisgrass (more like 75%). With no additional treatment (except on the dallisgrass which we retreated year 2), we have yet to see any recurrence. We now offer this treatment as a regular service.

Photo credit:"Cynodon dactylon 2" by Bidgee - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Author: Dave Schrader, the NOVA Lawn Guru

Welcome to the NOVA Lawn Guru Blog

Welcome to my Blog

You may know that I write a blog over at Bio Green, right on this page (click the link!).

You may ask, "So Dave, why do you now have another blog here on the Blogger platform? I've heard that you're a pretty busy guy these days!", to which I respond - yes, I am busy but I have a lot to say about Northern VA lawn care, sprinklers, etc.

Weingarten Syndrome

Not sure how of you have read Gene Weingarten's column, "Below the Beltway" in The Washington Post Magazine section of the Sunday paper. Or maybe read him online. Anyhoo, Gene often references his ruthless editor, Tom the Butcher who spends his days taking the wind out of Gene's sails with what he feels are unneeded edits.

I, too, feel the sting of the red pen (ok, red revision marks online) when I write for the Bio Green blog, plus often I have thoughts on topics that don't fit into the tidy 'Editorial Calendar', so this blog is born.

Lawn Care to What Fish I'm Catching

While my main focus of the blog will be on lawn care and related topics, I'm also an avid fisherman so you may see a photo or two of the latest catch. Hope you'll stop by again, and thanks for visiting my blog!