Warren Co SWCD
  • Home
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • NRCS Partner
    • Board Supervisors
    • Staff
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events
    • AG Chat Series
    • Urban Chats
    • Stream Clean Ups
    • Stream Encounters
    • Tree Sale
  • Technical Services
    • Land Preservation
    • Property Owner Assistance >
      • Drainage, Pond & Stream Assistance
      • Soils & Erosion Assistance
      • Dam Safety Program
      • Test Your Water
    • Backyard Conservation >
      • Ohio Native Plants
      • Rain Gardens
      • Rain Barrels
      • Composting
    • Agriculture >
      • Cover Crops
    • Urban >
      • Stormwater Basin Inspection Program
      • Illicit Discharge Detection Program
      • GIS/Mapping
      • Natural Resource Review
    • Earth Disturbing in Warren County
  • Education
    • Programs
    • Virtual Classroom
    • Program Loan Portal
    • Contests
    • Scholarship Opportunities
    • HS Envirothon
    • Educator Workshops
  • Caesar Creek Collaborative
  • Operation Rain Garden
  • Media
    • Conservation Connection: A Blog
    • Education Connection: A Blog
    • Newsletters
    • Annual Reports
    • Articles

conservation connection
​a Blog...

From the desk of Warren County SWCD Staff

Conservation Minded Lawn Care

5/26/2020

0 Comments

 
Having a nice lawn is something that many people think about, especially during the summer. By targeting several management strategies, lawn care can become more environmentally friendly and help keep our water clean.

Leave the clippings on your lawn. Over time the action of mowing and taking away the clippings can deplete the soil of valuable nutrients. Leaving the clippings returns these nutrients to the soil and can promote less fertilizer usage over time.
Mow high. Adjust your lawn mower to mow in the 3 to 4 inch range. In general, grass should be in the 4 to 4.5 range at its longest. The health of the grass significantly increases when you can leave more green growth on the plant. Healthier grass means that your lawn will have less instances of disease, insect and weed issues.
Keep your lawn mower blades sharp. This ensures that you are not tearing/shredding the blades of grass. Continuously tearing and/or shredding the plant can hurt the crown of the plant and ultimately kill the grass. Check at your local hardware store as to who in your local area can sharpen your blades.
Fertilize in the fall. Fertilizer applications should always be based on a soil test. Fertilizing without a soil test can easily lead to over-applying fertilizer, which can cause problems for our environment such as algae blooms in our local waterways. If you choose to fertilize, a late fall application in September and then in mid to late October is the best time.  Adding a fertilizer application again in mid- to late May helps keep the lawn green and healthy throughout the summer. Do not add fertilizer during or right before an expected rain event as that is throwing money away, and adding nutrient pollution to local waterways.
Consider letting the grass go dormant in a dry summer. If the summer is dry, you may decide to save water and not irrigate your lawn. If you choose this option, the grass will go dormant and turn brown. Don’t worry, the grass is not dead. It will revive when cooler weather and rain come back in the fall. Grass generally does not die until you have 4-6 weeks of very dry weather. Choosing to water is your personal decision but know that you should water deeply and infrequently rather that quickly and often. As a general rule apply a half-inch of water every four weeks after the lawn turns brown. Also, it is important to minimize traffic on a dormant lawn to reduce possible damage.
Rethink your lawn. Did you know that we can thank pollinators for 1 in 3 bites of our food? Unfortunately, grass does not offer the nectar or pollen sources that pollinators need to survive. Consider turning part of your landscape into a pollinator garden or admiring the beauty that clover, violets and dandelions provide in a sea of green. It is important to do your research on local ordinances especially if you choose to make your yard a “pollinator lawn”. To check out more information on pollinator lawns, go to Michigan State University, https://pollinators.msu.edu or the Blue Print Partnership, https://bluethumb.org/ .
Picture
Photo credit: Metro Blooms
For additional questions on conservation minded lawn care, contact the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District main office at 513-695-1337.

Additional Resources: 
  • Soil Testing for Ohio Lawns, landscapes, Fruit Crops, and Vegetable Gardens- https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/hyg=1132
  • Ohio State University Extension, Natural Organic Lawn Care - https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/hyg-4031
  • Blue Thumb Partnership – https://bluethumb.org/
  • Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District- https://warrenswcd.com
  • Purdue Extension, Taking Care of Your Yard (HO-236-W) - https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/HO/HO-236-W.pdf
  • Michigan State University, Pollinator Lawns - https://pollinators.msu.edu/resources/pollinator-planting/pollinator-lawns/

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Warren County SWCD Staff Blog

    A blog to keep you informed on all the latest news at Warren County SWCD and in the conservation world.

    Archives

    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016

    Categories

    All
    Clean Water Rule
    Compost
    Conservation
    Cover Crop
    Drain Tagging
    Earth Day
    Garden
    Great Outdoor Weekend
    Hazardous Waste Disposal
    Invasives
    Little Miami River
    Milkweed
    NACD
    Native Plants
    No-till
    OPHI
    Pollinators
    Poster Contest
    Rain Barrel
    Rain Garden
    Rain Water
    Recycling
    Reforestation
    Soil
    Soil Health
    Storm Drain
    Trees
    Water
    Wildlife
    Winter
    Women For Land Conservation

GO TO TOP

home

about

Technical Assistance

education

land preservation

gis/mapping

events & publications

Warren County Soil & Water Conservation District Copyright © 2016
Warren SWCD Privacy Notice. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.  Constant Contact's Privacy Notice.
  • Home
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • NRCS Partner
    • Board Supervisors
    • Staff
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events
    • AG Chat Series
    • Urban Chats
    • Stream Clean Ups
    • Stream Encounters
    • Tree Sale
  • Technical Services
    • Land Preservation
    • Property Owner Assistance >
      • Drainage, Pond & Stream Assistance
      • Soils & Erosion Assistance
      • Dam Safety Program
      • Test Your Water
    • Backyard Conservation >
      • Ohio Native Plants
      • Rain Gardens
      • Rain Barrels
      • Composting
    • Agriculture >
      • Cover Crops
    • Urban >
      • Stormwater Basin Inspection Program
      • Illicit Discharge Detection Program
      • GIS/Mapping
      • Natural Resource Review
    • Earth Disturbing in Warren County
  • Education
    • Programs
    • Virtual Classroom
    • Program Loan Portal
    • Contests
    • Scholarship Opportunities
    • HS Envirothon
    • Educator Workshops
  • Caesar Creek Collaborative
  • Operation Rain Garden
  • Media
    • Conservation Connection: A Blog
    • Education Connection: A Blog
    • Newsletters
    • Annual Reports
    • Articles