Mark Cullen: Give Your Dad the Best Lawn on the Block!
By Lucas on Jun 07, 2013
By Mark Cullen
Give your Dad a great looking lawn this Father’s Day! Put together a ‘kit’ of lawn stuff that will help him to produce the great looking lawn that he dreams of. And believe me, he DOES dream of these things. I know: I am one.
Your ‘lawn care package’ could include any of the following:
A bag of the best lawn seed in the business. Weeds? Compete them out of existence by spreading good quality grass seed over the areas that are thin. I use Golfgreen grass seed because it is virtually weed free, contains excellent quality grass seed varieties and is produced here in Canada. Keep in mind that one kg spreads over about 100 sq. meters (one pound over 400 sq. feet).
Several bags of triple mix. You cannot just spread grass seed over your lawn and expect it to grow new grass plants. It has to have somewhere to put down some new roots. That is where triple mix comes in – it is a combination of equal parts top soil, compost and peat moss. Together, these ingredients provide a quality base for your new lawn or the thickening of an old one.
A good lawn sprinkler. There are lots of lawn sprinklers on the market. Not all are created equal. Look for a sprinkler that produces a fine spray: these water droplets will penetrate the soil quickly and get to the root zone of your grass plants more efficiently. Look for a great line up of Rainforest sprinklers that are inexpensive, designed and made in Canada.
Fertilizer. O.k., so Dad fertilized the lawn early in the spring. If he used a good quality brand like Golfgreen or Vigoro, he would be well advised to re-apply after 8 or 10 weeks. Why? #1 to thicken up his lawn and #2 to keep it healthy. A healthy lawn is more resistant to disease and insect problems. If concern about the environment is an issue, the new formula of Golfgreen is phosphate free. Slow release nitrogen, found in good quality lawn fertilizers, only releases as the temperature rises, rain falls and microbial activity takes place in the soil. In other words: only when the lawn needs it.
Happy shopping!
Keep your knees dirty,
Mark
