• no cutting
• watering
• fertilizing
• seeding
• aerating or pesticides
• and no expensive equipment to purchase

They are playable; rolls true, rolls and feels like a natural green. Convenient; Practice and entertainment needs are only steps away.

Since practice and entertainment needs are only steps away, manufactured turf is affordable. They are also durable in order to obtain years of enjoyment while maintaining its visual attraction. One last important feature is the weather resist. A man-made lawn retains the same playing characteristics year round, regardless of climate, and is constant year after year.

“real grass” “Synthetic grass”

Are you are looking for a putting green?, which give you many years of consistency, reliability and enjoyment, the best choice is to buy a synthetic turf. The maintenance will not be necessary. Once the product is installed, just enjoy it for long time. Forget to fertilize, watering or seeding. There’s no excuse not to practice. Homeowners can really enjoy practicing on the green. Some PGA professionals own a green, where they can practice the stroke with no distractions because the quality of the surface is excellent.

There also exists above ground greens. This quality putting green consists of a sturdy styro-foam base, nylon putting surface, beige vinyl border, cups and 30″ hole markers. This beautiful green is perfect for northern basements as well as southern patios. Assembly time approximately 1 hour. As well as above ground greens, there are sized available greens.

Most golf professionals suggest you practice 10 foot and shorter putts as it is where you practice your mechanics and develop a consistent putting stroke. Synthetic Turf International is a company that provides all kind of artificial grass and synthetic lawns..

The grass seed germination is basic for homeowner. Be wary of low-cost seed mixtures. Improved seed varieties will generally cost a bit more, but within that seed lies the potential for an improved quality of lawn.

Grass seed germination tips

The grass seed germination is the resumption of growth of the embryo plant inside the seed. For a proper grass growing we need special care and the three indispensable elements: water, temperature and oxygen; Water is always needed to allow active metabolism to begin.

It is needed to filter away a germination inhibitor within the seed too. Temperature is so much important for proper grass growing and grass seed germination. The seeds of many climate angiosperms will germinate only after a prolonged period of cold, therefore there is not enough to prevent germination when other conditions become favorable.

A majority of homeowners in the southern climatic regions will not generally purchase turf grass sod or lawn seed in mixtures or blends rather than a single variety.

It’s critical the correct choice of lawn seeds for a proper grass seed germination. Most cool season grasses are compatible and widely used in seed mixtures such as fine fescue or perennial ryegrass.

There exists one big question for homeowners in order to choose the correct seed grass. Does the majority of your turf receive a lot of sun? The sun is plenty of importance for some kind of grass.

As well as sun, a substantial amount of shade will be basic for another grass breed, such as semi-arid, and inter-mountain areas. Therefore, not all grass seeds will grow on your yard. Different locations will need different grass breed, lawn care in order to get a proper grass seed germination.

Turf philosophy and engineered system

Artificial surfaces are the best for sport contests, including:

• soccer
• American football
• baseball
• rugby
• lacrosse
• softball

You can now forget your lawnmower, just by featuring artificial turf. This kind of surface is as good as natural grass and has been designed to be like real grass, not like a carpet.

Ideas and Necessities of Real vs Artificl Grass

The most important ideas and necessities to start building artificial grass, were developing a synthetic system that was that it offered the beneficial biomechanical properties of natural grass, combined with the best features of a durable synthetic system:

• low maintenance
• all-weather playability
• and unlimited playing time.

Some turf companies have been designing artificial materials as an engineered system. They have been carefully and thoroughly developing it, with the usability purpose, not just thrown together for the purpose of a sale. In order to obtain total high level quality control, manufacturers have invested heavily in modernizing its plants with the latest technologies, top manufacturing talent and specialized installation equipment for its experienced install teams.

Artificial is so different from traditional synthetic turf. The most striking difference is immediately obvious. Instead of a dense and abrasive rug, fiber’s surface is soft and silky. Players can slide or tackle without fear of abrasions. Artificial grass is much more than just the absence of abrasions.

Unlike traditional turf, it does not rely on an underlying shock pad for safety, resilience and player comfort. Rather, it’s grass fiber are surrounded and stabilized by a special blend of synthetic earth also designed for that aim. A recently released interview shows that most American football players prefer to play on artificial surfaces, instead of on natural grass. The reason is that these surfaces are designed thinking in players, therefore professional football teams are starting to change they fields towards to synthetic turf.

Landscape Mulch

Mulching is the basic requirement of a well-maintained garden. Mulching has many advantages.

• It controls the pH value of the soil. Controlling the pH of soil has good effect on the plant growth and fruit & flower growth
• It prevents excessive water evaporation. The water retention capacity of soil is increased and the water requirement of crops and trees goes down.
• It slows the growth of weeds around the trees and plants. This has the effect of the trees and plants getting the nutrition in required quantities. The growth of the trees and plants is therefore very rapid than otherwise.
• It reduces the soil erosion. The top soil is very important for the growth of trees and plants as it provides essential nutrients required by the trees and plants

With such important functions of the mulch, it is necessary to select the mulch carefully. A large variety of mulches is available. The mulches can be either bought from market or even prepared at home by collecting the leaves of trees and composting them in your own backyard. A new variety of rubberstuff mulch is now available. Mulch can also be made from recycled paper and is equally good in providing all the above requirements.

Let us look at the types of mulches available in market

Pine Needle Mulch

Pine needles landscape mulch or cedar landscape mulch is a special type of mulch is one of the few types of mulch that can give you acidic mulch. It is great for the Azalea, Bluebell, Blueberry, Bog Columbine, Currant, Dogwood, Fir, Geranium, Hosta, Lupine, Meadow Rosemary, Rue, and many other trees.

The common factor in this motley looking crowd is they thrive on acidic soil and the pH balance is provided by the pine tree needles. The going rate for a bale of pine straw needles is about $15. Remember that this will be enough for just 100 square feet. People living in Texas go a long way in getting the pine tree straw. Some times the straw is brought from long distances like Georgia.

Rubberstuff Landscape Mulch

*picture from American Rubber Technologies

A new type of mulch developed by American Rubber Technologies gives you a new kind of mulch. Rubber landscape mulch is made from recycled rubber and nothing else except the dash of color added to the mulch. The mulch is a single time purchase as there is no replacement required for many years.

Benefits of RubberStuff® landscape mulch is

• It does not float when soaked in water
• In strong wind, it is not blown away.
• It can be made in colorful varieties and the color remains fast for a long time.
• It increases the appearance of your garden
• It reduces weed growth
• It is safe for all the plants & trees and can be used in any garden
• It saves time and money for you
• It gives you the colorful look throughout the entire year.

On the down side, the mulch does not do anything to change the pH of the soil and does not contribute to the growth of the tree or plant. The mulch is a colorful replacement for the pea gravel and rocks.

Recycled Paper Mulch

The best reason for using recycled paper mulch is that it is environment friendly. Many persons use the mulch directly by shredding the paper and using it in the garden. Using the paper this way usually not a very good-looking option and at the same time if the paper was a printed one, the chance are that you are introducing chemicals in you garden through use of recycled paper this way. Some of these chemicals contain dangerous chemicals like lead, tin, or antimony. Uncontrolled quantities going out to atmosphere should be prevented.

Hence, although recycled paper mulch can be used, it should be done with care and only the mulch made by an accredited manufacturer should be used. Such mulch will contain minimum of 85% recycled paper, about moisture of about 13% and rest of it ash. It can also have other additives like fertilizer or grass seeds added to it.

Natural Mulch – Landscape Bark Mulch

Wood chips make good natural mulch. The chips are ground and made into mulch. The natural mulch is closest duplication of what happens in nature and degeneration of natural product into useful convert the useful energy in nature to make new products for you in the natural way. As is the case with recycled paper, the mulch can be mixed with fertilizer or grass seeds for effective utilization of mulch.

The Mulch Industry – Mom & Pop Mulch Stores

The making of mulch is turning in to an industry. Some households are making their backyard into Mom & Pop mulch making outfit and making money out of it. While this is a good income generation activity for the homeowners, it can also take shape of an industry. The quality control in such industry would consist of making sure that you are using the right type of wood for the mulch you are making and the consistency of the process.

The raw material in such industry can be wood chips, cypress bark, pine bark, pine straw, rock chips, and similar material found in nature. The raw material is wood chips and transformed into mulch with out any major manufacturing process.

Persons desirous of making it big into manufacturing of mulch have to understand that this business operates in a smaller scale. The area it can serve is the village or town level and much will depend on the service that you give rather than the mulch itself.

The mulch is normally sold in bales or bags rather than by cubic feet or by weight. Many persons tend to transport the mulch purchased by their own cars so while making a bag of mulch for selling it is preferable to make it into small packets that can be transported in the trunk of car or a utility vehicle.

If properly done the home mulch industry can generate a good income for the family and remember that most of the raw material can be sourced from your own garden.

A lawn looks best when it is trimmed and well maintained. Maintaining your lawn is not just trimming. Over cutting or undercutting of the grass of your lawn can affect the growth rate of the grass and the overall health of the lawn.

The Ideal Length Of Grass Is Related To Grass Species

There are many varieties of lawn grass. Some of them are:

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa Pratensis): It has Fine to medium texture. It works best in well drained, fertile soil, pH 6.0 to 7.0. Used in Lawns, athletic fields, general purpose turf. The mowing height is around 1.5 to 2.5 inches
Red Fescue (Festuca rubra L. subsp. rubra): It has fine texture. It can be used in Well-drained to dry soils pH 5.5 to 6.5, 0.5. It has no tolerance to wet soils. It can grow in hostile soil such as infertile, dry, acid soils. The mowing height is around 2 to 2.5 inches
Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb): It has fine texture. It can grow in moist fertile soil with pH 4.7 to 8.5. It has higher tolerance to all soils. It is used in lawn transition areas, slopes and banks, near waterways. The mowing height is around 2 to 3 inches

Continue learning about trimming the lawn correctly at the article : Care Of Lawns And Trimming

When you are thinking of mowing your lawns, you can keep the following in your mind.

• Do not give a marine crew cut to your lawns. If you do that, there is reduced surface for photosynthesis. It is the factory for making food for the lawn. By reducing the lawn to a marine cut, you will have less workers in the food factory and even when the raw material (sunlight) is available for making food, there will be no food and hence the growth of lawn will be restricted. The crew cut grass will definitely not survive harsh winter.Therefore, mow high at least before the winter.
• The general rule is to cut a third of the blade. If you have a 3” long blade, cut only a 1” portion in a single pass. If you wish to cut it further arrange one more pass. Cutting in a single pass more than the third pf blade has an effect of pulling the blade instead of cutting it,
• Allow the cut grass in place when you cut a third of blade. By doing so, you help the grass in fixing nitrogen to the soil. This acts like fertilizer to the grass
• As the cut grass decomposes, enough nitrogen is generated to fulfill half the requirement of the growing grass. Your fertilizer requirement goes down by that ratio. The cut grass left in place also stimulates the biological activity. The increased organic matter will increase the growth rate of grass and it acts as water retention mass.

Why You Should Not Cut Grass Too Low

The depth of lawn grass tends to be shallow. If you cut the grass close to ground, you reduce the chances of its survival. Close cut grass might require more water for growth and if you give more water, the blades of grass might not spring back from ground and thus, there is a tendency for the grass to die out once you cut it close to the ground.

Therefore, never cut the grass close to the ground. In addition, remember that grass should be never, repeat never, be cut close to ground particularly before winter. The harsh winter following a close cut is death knell for the grass.

This is the second part of our series of articles on cutting grass tips. If you want to complete your reading, please go to the article entitled Cutting Grass – How High Should You Cut Grass

What To Do To The Cut Leaves

As has been said already, leave the cut leaves in place, if you have cut a third of its length. It will promote organic activity and will act as fertilizer. If the grass had grown too much and you have a fair amount of grass left, rake it up and take it to a compost pit. Allow it to be made into manure and then when it becomes a brown powder, take it out and apply to your lawn just as you would apply the fertilizer. Broadcasting (throwing by hand a small portion at a time) is the best method of applying fertilizer.

How To Plant Buffalo Grass

Before answering the question of planting a new grass, it might be necessary where and when this grows best.

The buffalo kind has a luxurious feel and requires minimal quantities of water compared to Kentucky blue grass, but can be grown only in Central America.

It gets its name from the fact that the great plains of America was full of this grass and was continually trodden by buffalos and yet it survived for long time.

Why Buffalo Grass

If you are looking for a luxurious feel under your feet but you do not wish to care much for it and also require a lawn that requires least amount of water, the buffalo grass is the one to select. The requirement of top soil for buffalo grass is very less and just 3 to 4 inches of top soil will do as its roots do not go deep into the soil. The grass can be planted form seeds or sods (plugs)

If you are thinking of planting buffalo grass from sods, read the second part of this article entitled : How to Plant Buffalo Grass from Sods

Buffalo Grass From Seeds

Planting buffalo grass from seeds is a difficult job particularly when the moisture is absent in the air. While the grass once grown requires low quantity of water, it needs good care while planting. Particularly if you wish to grow the lawn with seeds, you have to take more care.

The soil should be loose and should have been tilled before you plants seeds. A rototiller is favorably employed while preparing the soil for buffalo grass.

Seed Treatment

Seeds need to be treated chemically and mechanically to ensure that they grow properly. Chemical treatment is required to ensure that the seed dormancy is reduced to minimum. The mechanical treatment consists of keeping the seeds under 5 to 10 degrees centigrade for about 6 or 8 weeks before planting.

Treated seeds have higher germination rates of 80% compared to 20% for untreated seeds. Planting treated seeds is more important when you plan planting during summer or spring. Treated seeds give immediate results.

The seed requirement is generally 2 to 4 pounds per 1000 squire feet. Success rate is more with broadcasting compared to drilling. The drilled plantation requires higher rate of 10 to 20 pounds per 1000 square feet.

When the seeds are planted during fall season, the seeds remain dormant until the next spring season and germinate only during the next spring. The seeds also require watering at regular interval (avoid too much watering) so that the seeds germinate properly and germinated seeds survive the weather conditions.

If you rally want success with your seed plantation, you would plant the seeds in April or may. The coming spring and summer season will have the perfect conditions for germination of seeds and growing of buffalo grass.

You would receive the plugs or sods in a well-packaged box. When you get the plugs, they might require some watering immediately. Plugs on the outer edges might require more watering compared to those in the center

The plugs are to be kept in the sun for some time during the day every day. The watering and keeping in the sun is to be repeated every day until you are ready to plant them.

If you receive the sods in winter, you can plant them immediately but it is better to wait until the spring season for planting them. Keeping in the sun and watering is to be continued until you are ready to plant them. During winter if you see the plugs turning brown, do not worry, it is natural. The buffalo grass will turn dark green once again after you put them in sun for some time.

Buffalo grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) - Photo Credit by:http://www.flickr.com/photos/31031835@N08/ / CC BY 2.0

This is the 2nd part of our series of buffalo grass articles. If you want to read, or looking for how to plant grass from seeds, then your article is the first part, entitled : Buffalo Grass Planting Facts

Soil preparation for the plugs or sods

When you wish to plant the runners directly in to the soil, you have to make sure that the soil is well prepared before you plant the plugs. The soil preparation can be done by following the steps given below.

1. The soil can be prepared for planting by loosening the soil with help of rototiller. After using rototiller, the soil can be watered lightly and then exposed to sunlight before planting the grass.
2. Prepare the soil well in advance of planting so that weathering with sun light breaks the soil and the excess moisture is taken away.
3. The soil should be tested and the inadequacies of soil made known so the supplemental food can be given to the soil in form of micronutrients. These micronutrients will make the soil rich in calcium, potassium, and phosphates.
4. Fertilizers’ can be added as and when required. The fertilizer addition can be done after watering the soil.
5. Adding compost to the soil will give you better results than just adding the fertilizers and soil nutrients. Compost has all the soil nutrients & fertilizers to give you a rich crop of buffalo grass.
6. When using fertilizers, please make sure that super phosphates is added in the required quantities to the fertilizers you are using. Phosphorous is an essential ingredient for proper growing of buffalo grass.

Buffalo Grass propagation is by surface runners also called as stolons. The deep underground stems are absent and thus the grass can be removed from the flowerbeds very easily than the other lawn grass. The seeds thus planted in wrong places can be removed easily. The buffalo grass is a fine textured blue green grass that feels soft under the feet.

Buffalo grass cannot be planted in area that has heavy foot traffic. The grass cannot survive where other types of grass has been planted. Particularly where the Kentucky grass has been planted, the buffalo grass cannot survive.

Where the buffalo grass is to be put, the earlier grass should be weeded out by outing herbicide and making sure that the previous version of the lawn is eliminated. This alone will ensure that the buffalo grass will grow properly and will give you the least of the problems.

The poor quality of lawns results from bad maintenance rather than a disease of the lawn. Over fertilization, over watering, mowing too short and poor watering techniques are the major reasons for poor condition of the lawns rather than a pest attack. As everywhere else, prevention is the best form of cure and this goes for lawns too. Before going for the problems of lawns, let us look at the correct techniques of lawn maintenance

Over Fertilization

Correct application of fertilizer and avoiding the over fertilization is one of the first thing to understand regarding lawn care. The correct figure for application of a nicely growing lawn is about 3 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet of lawn. The soil can be tested and the need of the correct amount of fertilizer can be determined.

This usually consists of taking the soil sample to agricultural laboratory and finding out the amount of nitrogen required for the soil along with other nutrients. Other requirements of soil like potassium and phosphates can also be determined in the same step of testing. On that basis, the type of fertilizer to be used can be determined. The same laboratory where you had the soil tested, can also recommend the correct dose of fertilizer.

Timing of fertilizer application also has an effect in grass growth. The fertilizer application is done in 3 steps and usually 1 pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet is applied in each stage. This way the calculation becomes easy. You have the percentage of Nitrogen written on the fertilizer bag. (It is the first digit in percentage for nitrogen, second and third digit for other ingredients). Any additional fertilization is wastage of money and bad for the grass. Therefore, do not waste your money.

Over Pruning Of Grass

Many times the grass is over cut with the belief that the grass will grow at an increased rate after cutting. Nothing can be farther from truth. Over cutting reduces the food production for the grass and thus reduces the potential growth of grass. The golden rule is to cut only the third of the blade length and allow the remaining portion to make food for its growth.

Over Watering

Over watering and using incorrect timing for watering will have the effect of reducing the lawn growth. The correct water quantity can be determined from a simple test.

Take an open-mouthed dish and catch the water from sprinkler in this dish. Leave the dish in the open for the water to evaporate. The reduction in levels of water due to evaporation is thus found out. About 25 to 30%, more water can be applied to the grass to cater to use by the grass. Anything more than 30% is over watering.

Another way to find out the exact time of watering is foot printing. When your foot prints show on the grass as you walk on it, it is time to water the grass.

For watering your lawn you can have your own graph for watering of lawns over the entire year. Once you make your chart for one year, your problem of over watering will be a thing of past. Associated problems will also vanish.

This takes care of prevention part of the lawn care. This will solve a large part of your lawn problems.

Problems Of Kentucky Blue Grass

Most widely used grass in the Northern and Southern America is the Kentucky Blue grass. The grass growth is good and the feel of the grass is under feet is springy. The major problems with Kentucky Blue grass is snow mold, powdery mildew, slime mold, and brown patch.

Snow Mold

Snowmold is a type of disease that affects the grass in cold climate. The best way to reduce the snow mold is to drain the soil properly and make sure that the lawn is aerated properly

Powdery Mildew

When powdery mildew attacks the Kentucky grass, it looks as though someone has sprinkled wheat flour on the grass. You might find more flour like substance in the shade than in the sunlight. The care consists of making arrangement for draining of the soil and using fungicide where the attack has taken place.

Slimy Mold

Slimy mold is an indication of organic activity on the grass. The molds feed on the organic matter in the soil. The usual care consists of removing the molds with forceful spray of water and allowing it to go to drain.

Brown Patch

Common to most grasses, the brown patch is best prevented by aeration of the area, reducing shade, follow regular fertilization schedule and avoiding over fertilization. Fungicides like chlorothalonil andbenomyl usually work best in such cases.

Bermuda Grass Lawn Care

Bermuda is typically a summer grass and is best cared when you do not fertilize it during summer but addition during fall will help it in keeping fit. Bermuda grass is a true survivor and it springs back during the spring season. The best practice is to replant Bermuda grass every season. This way the grass will keep looking new every year.

Pesticide Use As Lawn Care

Pesticides and fungicides are to be used as minimum and are to be used with care. Pesticides can kill good as well as bad pests. The good pests are necessary to make sure that the lawn grow nicely and keep the grass healthy. The earthworms and other creatures that thrive on the pests are killed when you use pesticides indiscriminately. Therefore, care and minimal use of pesticides is recommended.

Ultimate Lawn Care Solutions

Please remember that the prevention is better than cure was never truer than in case of lawns. The common mistakes that take place during the lawn maintenance are given above and should be avoided at all costs. This alone will go a long way in elimination of problems of lawns.

The way you treat your lawns and the love and care you give to your lawn will be reciprocated by the lawns. The lawns will respond by growing the way you like them to grow and then you will be proud that your lawn has developed the way you want it to grow.

Gardening has so many aspects that need looking after that there are many tools that you will need to do a good job of maintaining your garden. There are 2 kinds of shovels: the round point shovel which is used for digging, and the square shovel which scoops up the soil. The fork and leaf rake are needed for aerating the soil, gathering leaves, scooping soil onto the newly sowed seeds.

The yard rake is used to clear the garden so that the flower beds can be made, or before the lawns are laid.

Weeds are a menace in all gardens and one of the most important jobs of a gardener is to see that the weeds are all cleared away. Hoes are very handy tools, and keep weeds at bay. There are several types of hoes: square, wide, V-shaped, bar-shaped, and they all do a good job. You should choose one you are comfortable with. A rolled steel blade riveted to a handle is the favourite choice of most gardeners. A rotary spreader is important to broadcast the seeds during the seeding of a lawn.

A drop spreader comes in handy when you want to plant seeds in a flower bed as it is smaller than a rotary spreader. Both these implements can also be used to spread fertilizer on either a lawn or on flower beds. Sprinklers and watering cans are essential tools. Shears for grass and hedge cutting are needed and secateurs are required for pruning.

Chrome armour and stainless steel tools cost more but in the long run, it is money well spent as they last long, are easy to use and keep clean. An important tool is a sprayer which sprays a fine mist.

This is to spray herbicides, preferably organic ones, on shrubs and other small plants. This helps in the control of the greenflies or aphids. Spraying on plants which are afflicted with fungal diseases like the black spot and mildew helps in controlling them to prevent their spreading. Sprayers are made of lightweight plastic materials, and are easy to use.

A variety of them are available. A good pneumatic sprayer with a strong plastic container and a spray rod of adequate length is ideal. A hand trowel and fork are useful to work in flower beds and for small jobs around the garden. A hand saw is used to trim branches, and if you have one in your gardening shed, you will be able to cut the lower branches, especially, of the trees in your yard. Other garden equipment that does not come under the category of tools, but which enhance a garden are bird baths, garden umbrellas and fountains. A lot of thought and care goes into garden lighting and lamps.