How you water and cut your lawn is an extremely important part of organic lawn care in south west Florida.
Lawn Care Organically (as possible)
by Eric Breuer
Mow High
Some experts recommend leaving it at 3 inches. By mowing high, your grass will shade the weed. Not the other way around. The shade of tall grass will prevent the weed from getting the essential light needed and will aid in the weeds destruction. The thought of having to mow more often is false. Your grass needs the BLADES to perform Photosynthesis (convert sunshine into sugar) to feed the root.
Water Less and Deep
For healthy, established lawns, you need to only water once per week. Sometimes less if we are getting rain. You want there to be 1 to 1-1/2 inches of water per event. If we are getting less than an inch of rain, water until you reach that depth. Weeds have a shallow root system. So, when you water less than an inch the weeds get fed, not your grass. Grass has a root system that can exceed 8 inches deep. Another thing about watering: Some times when the soil gets real dry, it will repel water. This is called SUPERDEFLOCCULATION. Imagine a dry sponge and another that is slightly damp. Pour water on the dry sponge and it will not absorb. Pour it on a damp sponge and you will not waste a drop. So, there may be a time that you need to water only a 1/2 inch at a time. Wait an hour and do the 2nd 1/2 inch, so it is absorbed properly, and without a lot of runoff.
Fertilize
Grass loves Nitrogen. Dollar weed, Sedge and Clover get their Nitrogen from the air. So when they begin to take over your lawn you have Nitrogen poor soil.
PH
Be sure to have your soil professionally tested at any garden center. Grass loves a PH level of about 6.5. These weeds love it at about 7.5. It is important to keep your soil at the proper PH level.
Mushrooms
Thrive in moist compost, like rotting stumps, roots and mulch. Same thing that termites like. Mushrooms also like CARBON rich soil. Grass likes NITROGEN rich soil. Want to get rid of Mushrooms? FERTILIZE!!!
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