Low Input Lawn Project

John — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:01:00 GMT

Introducing the Low Input Lawn Project

This will transform your lawn in to a healthier, more efficient and less demanding part of your American Dream.

I should say this idea is not new, nor is it untested. It works as promised. The University of Minnesota's Extension Service calls it Low Input Lawn Care (LILaC).

That's a lot of info, and it's a bit daunting.  But the goal is to get you off your lawn mower and out doing more productive stuff like looking for a job.

As a test to see if you can live with a Low Input Lawn, try the steps below this spring and summer.  Even doing the few things I'm suggesting, you'll discover two things: you'll have to mow less often, and you'll reduce your lawn's water and chemical requirements.  Now that's freedom.

Here's the test version for you:

Start in the early spring simply mowing your lawn as you normally would for a few weeks.  Keep track of how long it takes each time, then calculate a rough average and note it. This info will be useful for later comparisons.

Some time in mid to late April, "core aerate" your lawn. You can rent these lawn mower-like machines almost anywhere so there's no need to have a professional do it. It's important to leave the little soil plugs on top to disintegrate.

Warning: before you aerate, you must have your underground lines and wires located. In Minnesota, call Gopher State One-Call (it's a free service).  While most of your phone, power and gas lines should be deeper (and safe) in the ground, I promise you will cut your TV cable with the core aerating machine. In many areas TV cable is simply laid directly on the bare ground and sod laid right on top of it.

Don't let that dissuade you.  Core aerating is a critical step in your low input lawn since it loosens compacted soils, improving the air/water balance in the soil. This encourages grass roots to grow more deeply. In addition, core aerating will instantly improve water infiltration, reducing runoff into the storm sewer system. In fact, if you do nothing else, core aerate your lawn.

After the plugs have started to disappear (after a rain or two), check your lawn over for thin spots, dead patches of grass and general maneuver damage.  Also check for very dense thatch.  For our purposes, the core aerating will be stressful enough on both the grass plants and you so skip it for now.

You will, however, want to fill in any missing grass. If you're finicky about your lawn's appearance, you probably already have the exact seed blend you need. If not, don't worry too much, the important thing is to get grass growing on the bare soil. I'll address problem areas like extremely shady spots, or high traffic areas in later posts. So... some time in early April, you'll want to do any seeding.

Now for the hard part:

Let your lawn grow longer - between 3" and 4" long - and maintain it at that height for the rest of the summer. This isn't physically difficult of course, but it will be a mental challenge possibly greater than anything you've ever faced.  To make matters worse, your neighbors will think you've abandoned your home. You may want to warn them in advance.

Now, hopefully you have a mulching mower with a very sharp blade (as it should always be).  While you'll need to mow less frequently, you don't want to remove more than 1/2" off at a time so don't let it get out of hand. As your lawn gets longer, you'll also start noticing some spots growing faster than others. This is likely due to dog activity, but could be the result of using different types of grass seed in different spots. You can alleviate some of this by slowly raising your mowing height over a period of weeks. Also, a mild organic fertilizer at this point may help even things out a bit.

If you like the results of the longer lawn, you can do the full LILaC treatment in the fall.  Primarily, that consists of adding a few more steps to what you've already done; dethatching if needed, and overseeding your existing lawn with grasses more tolerant of low maintenance practices.

If you have an irrigation system, you probably have it on an every-other-day cycle and run it that way all summer long. This is very likely delivering much more water than your lawn requires, especially in spring and fall when the weather's cooler.  To keep things simple, try dialing down the frequency in the spring and fall. Your controller will probably allow you to set up an alternate program with different frequency and times. Set that up and you can simply switch between programs for the different times of year. If you don't have an irrigation system at all, you probably only water when your grass seems dry if you even water at all. That's not the best practice either, but more on that (and the dormancy vs. green debate) later.

In the next episode:

I'll talk about ways to reduce your lawn's size which will save even more time. Meanwhile, let me know what you think.  Send me some photos of your progress.

First Entry

John — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:01:00 GMT

Here's a question: Why do Americans spend so much time and energy on lawn care? This blog is about great lawns which require very little care and are actually "green" in every sense. If you are a slave to your lawn (and don't want to be) this is the place for you.

ECOFRIENDLYLAWN.COM

Low Input Lawn Project

First Entry