Posts Tagged ‘ mowing ’
Grasscycling
posted on October 14th, 2010 by John
Grasscycling is a simple and “green” way to nourish your Zoysia lawn. This process is the natural recycling of grass by leaving clippings on the lawn when mowing. Grass clippings quickly decompose, returning valuable nutrients to the soil to nourish your Zoysia lawn.
Advantages of Grasscycling
- No bagging or raking of the lawn required.
- Plastic bags full of lawn clippings don’t end up in the landfill.
- Clippings help your Zoysia lawn reach its fertilizing needs, reducing both time and money spent fertilizing.
- Grasscycling reduces the need for fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides, reducing pollution to the environment and chemicals in your yard.
- Does not cause thatch, making your lawn more durable.
How to Grasscycle Effectively
- Cut up to 1/3 of the leaf surface while mowing, but no more.
- Mow when the lawn is dry.
- Mow using a sharp mower blade. Dull blades bruise and tear at grass, leading to a ragged tip on the top of the blade.
- Aerate your lawn. This will open up the soil and increase the movement of water, fertilizer, and air by speeding up decomposition of the grass clippings and enhancing deep root growth.
- Follow the lawn care schedule for your type of Zoysia grass.
Grasscycling is environmentally responsible, and an opportunity for homeowners to reduce their waste while saving both time and energy. For more information about what you can do to protect the environment while caring for your Zoysia lawn, learn about organic lawn care.
Organic Lawn Care
posted on July 7th, 2010 by Steve Schug
As we learn more and more about how to best take care of the earth around us, here are a few tips on how to make lawn care more eco-friendly.
Water
Most grasses only require an inch of water per week, and with zoysia grass, that is even less. Be wary of how much you are watering; too much can be bad for your lawn and your wallet.
To give the grass the water it needs, water in the early morning or evening so that less evaporation occurs. Also, think about using rain barrels to reduce dependence on your town or city’s water source. It can also save you money.
Mowers
While electric mowers can save gas emissions, they still use up energy resources. Try using a reel mower. While older reel mowers might have a bad reputation, newer reel mowers have sharp blades and cut just as well as electric
Clippings
Next time you think to buy fertilizer for your lawn, consider leaving lawn clippings. Lawn clippings can provide as a great natural fertilizer and don’t cause thatch buildup.
Nutrients
When adding nutrient to alter your soil, make sure that you are using organic products like organic lime or elemental sulfur. This will help your soil absorb sunlight and water the appropriate way, ultimately conserving resources.
Climate Change Means Lawn Care Change
posted on May 18th, 2010 by John
Climate change has changed the way that people are living. Whether it be investing in hybrid cars or using organic products, it has become increasingly important to try to do our part. Surprisingly, small adjustments in your lawn care regiment can have significant benefits. Here are a few reasons to start a zoysia lawn this spring.
1. Watering
Watering and drought restrictions have become a part of life, happening more and more often over the past few years. And with over 80% of water usage during the summer being used towards lawn and garden watering, it is important to find ways to cut back.
To apply one inch of water on a ¼ acre lawn requires 2,000 gallons of water. And some grasses require multiple watering applications a week to stay green in the heat of summer. So having the ability to save a little goes a long way.
Since Amazoy’s root system is deep and extensive, necessary watering is rare. Grass will stay lush all summer with little or no water, which means less work from you.
You can check the drought monitor to see about water usage in your area.
2. Mowing
Amazoy grass is a slow growing grass that really takes the time to establish roots and fill in to form a dense carpet of grass. For this reason, it doesn’t need to be cut as often as other grasses. Weekly cutting with carbon burning mowers does not need to be the norm anymore.
3. Chemicals
With ordinary grasses, you may experience problems with weeds or pests. This might lead you to use chemicals like herbicides or pesticides to help solve the problem.
However, spraying harsh herbicides and pesticides on your lawn can be harmful to the environment and to the health of you, your kids, and your pets. Luckily, Amazoy attacks these problems by growing a strong dense network that crowds out weeds and doesn’t let weed seed and pests make your lawn their new home.
4. Soil
Attempting to grow grass in an improper soil can be frustrating and require chemicals to help solve the problem. Amazoy thrives in a variety of soils: porous, rocky, sandy, clay, salty, etc. There is no need for frustration or chemical processes because one spring feeding of water-soluble fertilizer will suffice for an entire year. This helps keep harmful chemicals out of the ground.
Starting an Amazoy lawn today can help give a head start on helping the environment. The simple act of changing the type of grass in your lawn will allow you to make steps to have a lush, green lawn all summer while still doing your part. The nicest side affect will be a healthier wallet, as well.
Spring Cleaning is for Your Lawn, Too!
posted on May 12th, 2010 by Steve Schug
Spring maintenance is important for Zoysia grass upkeep. You should remove dead leaves and other materials from the previous seasons to improve passage of air, nutrients, and water. This will help your zoysia lawn to return to its lush, green appearance after a season of dormancy.
If you have a confined turf area, you can remove this material best by setting the mower at a lower setting to cut at approximately one to two inches height and mowing the lawn in two directions (north to south and east to west). After doing this, use a spring or grass rake to remove all dead materials by vigorously raking. This will promote earlier growth by removing the shade provided by old leaf surface.
You can also use a de-thatcher as well, which will help simplify the project.
Zoysia vs. Regular Grass: The Bottom Line
posted on February 10th, 2010 by Steve Schug
When it comes to making decisions, sometimes it really is about the bottom line. This is especially true of a home investment purchases, like an improved lawn. When comparing Amazoy Zoysia to other grasses like Kentucky Blue or Rye, there is quite a difference in continual costs and maintenance.
With Amazoy Zoysia, mowing is reduced to about once per month. In regions with a growing season of 6 months, that is only six times a year. Other grasses require more, often about once a week during the active growing season. That is 26 times a year! And if you put that in terms of cost of a lawn service or gas for your mower, mowing less would obviously save you money.
Grasses like Kentucky Blue require a multi-step program throughout the growing season, so you would have to pay for and apply fertilizer three to four times a year. With Amazoy, you can choose to apply fertilizer, but you will only need to do so one time at the start of the growing season.
Amazoy Zoysia also requires less watering, if any at all. Many grasses require at least one, if not multiple, watering each week to stay green in the heat of the summer, resulting in a higher water bill or strain on your well, and more of your time.
Weed Control
Less densely growing grasses tend to need weed control, requiring costly general applications and spot treatments. Densely growing Zoysia will choke out most existing summer weeds once it has become established, but if a weed or two pops up, a quick spot application should take care of it.