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Overland Park Lawns suffer from Brown Patch

all across Overland Park are suffering from a disease known as Brown Patch Rhizoctonia solani.

Overland Park lawn with Brown Patch

brown patch tall fescue kansas City lawn

 

Brown Patch is a serious infection on Type that often can be clearly identified by the large circular brown patches that quickly appear in a .  Unfortunately – what often happens when homeowners ere these patches appear they assume drought stress – since brown patchy usually appears during the first very hot humid stretch of the year.  However, this usually will only help spread the disease further since Brown patch thrives in that are moist for a prolonged amount of time when night time temps remain above 70 degrees.

 

The good news is that Brown patch rarely kills the entire and rather just causes leaf tissue damage and a thinning of the – which will recover once fall brings cooler temperatures and more vigorous grown back to ’s .

Once Brown Patch is present follow these recommendations in order of importance:

  • Stop all overhead except in the early morning hours.
  • Bag clippings and dispose of them off site. 
  • Use a fungicide such as Prostar, Bayleton of Daconil.  These are expensive and only somewhat useful as a curative.
  • Once Brown Patch has stopped spreading – fertilize with a  light .25#/n dose of nitrogen from an  organic source such as Miloganite, Bradfield’s or Espoma. 

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        RSS Feed   Published on July 9th, 2009  2 Comments   Posted by Jeff Hamons  

      Leaves falling on Kansas City Lawns

      A gift has been bequeathed to you. As part of this gift, each homeowner in will be given over 200 pounds of this miracle product –guaranteed to revitalize your soil, allow it to store more moisture, improve soil structure and provide high grade fertilizer. The gift will fall from above and scatter itself over your . Many of your neighbors will even freely share with you – some even purposely blowing this gift into your yard.

      If you haven’t yet figured it out, this gift is the leaves from .

       
      Leaves in Overland Park Lawn

      The sad thing is hundreds of people will throw this gift out. Collect it, bag it and put it on the curb.

      Instead of raking and bagging those bulky leaves, save yourself some time and put them to good use as a natural mulch and soil amendment from your .

      I suggest two ways of utilizing this gift for your based on your personality type. To determine your personality type, consider the cast of the popular TV sitcom Friends’. If your personality type mirrors the character of Monica, you are Type A. If you are more closely aligned with Joey, then you are type B. If you do not know what the show Friends is, you can assume you are Type A.

      The Monica Personalities

      Since you are very concerned with every detail of your , the best way for you to use your leaves is by regularly mowing your with the bag attached. Use a mower with a bag attachment to quickly gather your leaves and shred them into mulch. This will vacuum and clean your as well as shred the leaves at the same time. These shredded leaves are more valuable than gold for all the in your landscape. They can be piled in vegetable gardens to be tilled in later or they can be added as mulch in perennial gardens. Then spread these leaves up to 12" deep in your gardens. Mulching with leaves conserves moisture, controls weeds and grasses, protects against extreme heat and cold, and prevents soil erosion. Additionally, they can be composted in a compost pile to be used later.


      The Joey Personalities

      As a Type B personality you are focused on long term results of your . You are willing to deal with a little bit of shredded leaf clutter on the knowing that in the long run your will look better and be healthier. Mow your with a mulching mower regularly. The mulching mower will shred the leaves into fine particles which will filter down through the blades of onto your where they will disappear and benefit the soil. With regular mulch mowing, many homeowners would never have to rake their as an acre of can recycle the leaves of 60 .

      Either of these methods is paramount to the old standby of raking and trashing your leaves. By raking and trashing you are adding immense amounts of waste to our landfills and depriving your of necessary nutrients and organic matter. But more importantly, at least to all of us TYPE B’s in the world; it is a whole lot less work! There is only one reason I can see where raking is ever necessary. If you have small children, it is imperative that you rake the largest pile of leaves you can possibly assemble in the middle of the yard. Then, spend at least 3 hours jumping in and redistributing them all over your yard before mowing them by one of the methods mentioned above.

      Enjoy the gifts that fall from the sky this autumn and make sure you fully utilize them to make your more healthy and lush.

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        RSS Feed   Published on October 20th, 2008  No Comments   Posted by Jeff Hamons  

      Seeding Kansas City’s Lawns

      Summer is still burning strong and we surely have several weeks left of stifling heat in . Many of the in the city are showing the stresses of surviving yet another brutal summer of heat and dryness. If your no longer looks thick and healthy or has more weeds than , it is time to renovate. Renovating your involves removing all unwanted weeds and types and then reseeding with improved varieties of your choice of . Timing is critical for successfully renovating your – late enough to avoid the worst of the summer heat yet early enough to allow ample time for growth before the freezing arrives. 

       

      In , the first week of September is usually the ideal time to seed. 

       

      To seed your properly requires a broad knowledge of , several different pieces of specialized equipment and a large commitment of time.  For these reasons, I suggest that homeowners contact a qualified professional who specializes in growing quality .  Although cost is a consideration, when you look at the time, supplies and rental fees you might quickly realize that using a pro will pay off. Every year, I am disheartened by the dozens of calls I get in late fall from homeowners who have spent hundreds of dollars and lots of hard work seeding their with poor results. I have to tell these customers that we have missed the ideal time for seeding and the repair will require considerable extra time and cost without the guarantee of superior results.

       

      Of all the care tasks needed each year, I strongly believe that seeding is the most important one to be done by a professional.

       

      When you hire a care company, you will want to check their license, insurance and references to make sure you are working with a professional.  Then ask them about their seeding process.  The highest quality will come from a professional who includes all of the following steps:

       

      • Soil Test - imperative to start by fixing and soil chemistry problems (4 weeks prior)
      • Spray Herbicide - important to control weeds prior to seeding (4 weeks prior)
      • Spray with Growth Regulator - slows down growth of existing so it does not compete with new (2 weeks prior)
      • seed - prepared by first aerating and then followed with a slit seeder that will slice precise grooves into the soil creating ideal areas for seed to grow
      • Starter fertilizer and Rooting stimulant - applied to the soil to provide nutrients to emerging seedlings

       
       

       
       

      Now, the professional’s work is done and it’s time to care for your newly planted .  You will need to moisten the ground daily for two weeks to promote germination and then to pamper the young seedlings.  As the grows stronger, you will begin to establish a regular schedule of deep, thorough .  Proper is essential to your success and it involves quite a commitment – however, it is the last step to the lush, healthy you envisioned when you started the renovation process. Soon you will be walking barefoot through your enjoying the thick green carpet, underfoot.

       

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        RSS Feed   Published on October 20th, 2008  No Comments   Posted by Jeff Hamons  

      Crabgrass annihalated from Kansas City Lawns

      I have great news! Crabgrass has been eradicated from the state of Kansas. Absolutely annihilated — every single ! Not a single growing in anyone’s yard anywhere in the state or . Ok — here is the bad news, this is not a result of any miraculous event or secret government work. Instead, since crabgrass is a warm season annual, it all died after the first hard frost.

      However, there are literally billions of small crabgrass seeds laying in wait for the soil temperature to rise to 55 degrees for 10 consecutive days. Each crabgrass in your yard last year produced upwards of 180,000 seeds and flung them into the air. Even if you didn’t have a single in your yard last year — your neighbors did and they generously shared their crop of invasive weeds with you — guaranteed. Don’t worry though — you can outsmart the crabgrass and keep it from ruining your otherwise pristine yard. Here’s how.

      The battle against crabgrass is two pronged. One uses chemical warfare to initially suppress the onslaught and the second uses good cultural practices to make your uninviting and able to fight off the crabgrass gremlins before they get a chance to grow.

      Before you can fight the enemy — you have to know the enemy. Read the rest of this entry »

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        RSS Feed   Published on April 2nd, 2008  No Comments   Posted by Jeff Hamons  

      Aeration Essential for Kansas City Lawns

      Look out your window. Do you see the millions of gasping, choking organisms yelling for help? You didn’t do it on purpose, but slowly you have contributed to the painful suffocation of your prized . The incriminating activities have seemed innocent enough; children playing on the , weekly mowing, and diligent fertilization. However, the traffic of people and mowers has compacted the soil and eliminated all of the small spaces found throughout healthy soil. Without these spaces, oxygen has not been able to penetrate into the root system of the . Additionally, the use of chemical fertilizers has dramatically reduced the amount of living microorganisms naturally oxygenating the soil. To verify that your suffers from compaction problems, take the largest flat tipped screwdriver you have and push it into the ground. If it does not go down at least 3” with ease, then your is in serious trouble. Luckily, you don’t have to continue to watch your suffer. You can give it CPR and revive it with core aeration.

      To core aerate your , Read the rest of this entry »

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        RSS Feed   Published on March 29th, 2008  No Comments   Posted by Jeff Hamons  

      Kansas City Lawn Care Decisions

      It’s early and we are all biting at the bit to get outside. If you are like me, you are grasping at anything that even remotely looks like its green or growing. This is no doubt why you so anxiously picked up this magazine – looking for .

      One important thing with which you can busy yourself right now is deciding how you are going to care for your .

      1) Mow and fertilize by yourself.

      2) Mow yourself and have your professionally fertilized.

      3) Have your professionally mowed and fertilized.

      The right option for you is determined by many variables and each option should be considered to decide which would allow you to most enjoy your .

      1) Mow and Fertilize yourself. This option is great if you are a tinkerer, one who likes to be out in your several days a week and to be in complete control of each detail. This option allows you the freedom needed to attend to each detail of your . If you have the time and the expertise, this can lead to a wonderful . This option is the cheapest, if you consider your time very cheap. However, even if you consider your free time at a modest amount of $15-20/hr, this option can easily end up being the most expensive of all the options when you consider the time involved. Additionally, the resources available to you are much more limited and expensive than to a professional.

      2) Mow yourself and have your professionally fertilized. This option is best for the homeowner who enjoys spending some time in their , but does not have the time available to research and study proper fertilization and the science behind turfgrass maintenance. However, by mowing the on a regular basis you can still take pride in providing the primary care of your . This allows somebody who specializes in turfgrass to do the work that requires the expertise and allows the homeowner to do the hard “work” of mowing.

      4) Have your professionally mowed and fertilized. This option is ideal for the person who values their free time very highly. There are several reasons someone might choose to have their professionally maintained. The primary reason is that they work hard at something at which they are experts and would rather spend a small portion of their time doing extra work for which they get paid and pay a care expert to work in their . For instance, one of my customers is a nurse. By simply working two extra hours a week she was able to pay me to take care of all her and flowerbed needs. Yard work usually took her 4 or 5 hours a week, so she gained 3 hours of leisure time a week and her yard looked better than ever thanks to my helpful touch!

      It is important to consider the pros and cons for each of these options when you plan how to care for your . The value of time, money and expertise all play into what’s best for you.

      If you decide that mowing or fertilizing yourself is the best plan for you, make sure to do your research. There are a multitude of products from which to choose in regards to both fertilizers and weed controls. When you buy fertilizers, you have to be careful and look past the advertising. I have found that when shopping at the big box stores, the more expensive fertilizers tend to have the cheapest products inside. Oftentimes, you are paying more for the ink on the outside of the bags than the product on the inside. However, if you do your research and know what to look for on the labels you can find quality products.

      Research is also necessary when selecting a care company. Just like bags of fertilizer, you have to look past the flashy advertising and see what is offered. A high quality service starts and ends with the person doing the applications. The person needs to have a large well of knowledge in order to be able to diagnose and pamper your ’s every need. They should be fully licensed and insured and they should readily provide you with references of satisfied customers.

      The signs of are there – let them help lead you to the best way to enjoy your !

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        RSS Feed   Published on February 5th, 2008  No Comments   Posted by Jeff Hamons  

      Repairing Damage to Kansas City Trees and Landscapes

      Water — the life blood for , flowers and shrubs and is exactly what  gardeners pray for more than anything else.  EXCEPT when it comes down and freezes on the branches, leaves and trunks of the in our .  Then it becomes a massively destructive force.

      Beautiful Frozen Weeping Birch The victims are predictable, elms, , birches, Bradford pears and willows.  These are some of ’s favorite landscape — but they are on a landscaper’s hit list.  There wood is brittle and their growth structures is suspect.  They cannot withstand the mighty weight that ice puts upon their branches.

      If your have major damage, your first course of action is to make a decision. IS THE TREE WORTH SAVING?  Look at what the damage is.

      Is it major damage to an already weak tree?

      Will the aesthetic value of the tree be ruined permentantly?

      Will the damage make a weak tree more prone to disease and future damage?

      The costs of major repairs can be the same as removing a tree altogether.  has a plethora of UGLY dotting our streets and  from past years growth.  Many of these , even under the care of a certified arborist, would not be able to saved and would have been better off if cut down and replaced with another high quality tree that would add to the homes value and looks.

      Remember – -the best time to a tree was 10 years ago! The second best time is today!The next question to answer is – Can you handle the repair y0ourself? Small limbs can be easily repaired with pruning shears or pole-loppers provided they are within reach. Otherwise you will have to climb a ladder up into the tree. Unfortunately – more people are killed from ladders and tree climbing in the United States than are killed skydiving – so this can be more dangerous than you might expect. Power tools should NEVER be used from a ladder since this compounds the danger incredibly. Some repairs you might consider doing yourself.Broken limbs – These should be removed back to the next major branch. Do not leave branch stubs – they lead to decay and disease.Broken tops - For with tops broken out, remove the snags to the next major interior branch. Generally, this will be a major fork. Avoid topping the tree to allow small side branches to grow out and continue the tree’s height growth. These branches will be weak and prone to breakage.

      If the bark has been stripped from the trunk of the tree when it the ice broke the limb then cut any ragged edges off the trunk. Take care not to pull any extra bark off the tree. Cut any loose bark away with a sharp knife in the shape of an elongated football standing on it tip.

      To avoid doing further damage to the as you cut it then this 3 step procedure should be used when cutting any heavy branches off of the tree. The first cut is made on the underneath side of the branch about 18 inches out from the trunk. The cut should be approximately half-way through the branch or until its weight first starts to bind the saw. The next cut should be made on top of the branch about 1 to 2 inches in front (toward the end of the branch) of the bottom cut. Continue cutting until the branch drops free. The last cut removes the remaining branch stub from the trunk. The cut should be made from the top of the branch at the branch collar. The collar is the slight ridge where the branch attaches to the tree’s trunk or another major branch.

      with split trunks or major limb forks may possibly be salvaged if the split is not too extensive. Repairing this type of damage will involve a cable and brace technique that should be left to a professional tree service. Some small to medium-sized may have been uprooted. It may be possible to straighten these and brace them with guy wires. Do not attempt this unless one-half to one-third of the tree’s original root system is still in the soil and the remaining exposed roots are relatively compact and undisturbed. Before straightening the tree, remove some of the soil from beneath the root mass so the roots will be placed below the existing grade level. Attach two to three guy wires to the trunk and anchor the wires 10 to 12 feet away from the tree. Corrective pruning to help improve the shape of damaged is best done now. The tree will respond quickly this if it has not been severely damaged. Take care not to remove more than one-third of original branches. This will severely retard the tree’s growth in the and may damage it beyond recovery. Treatment of the trunk and limb wounds with tree paint is not necessary. In fact, research shows that painted areas can lead to increased rot and decay due to trapped moisture in areas where the paint cracks open. You may want to fertilize your tree this with a good quality tree fertilizer now to encourage new growth in the .

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        RSS Feed   Published on December 12th, 2007  No Comments   Posted by Jeff Hamons