September is Here… Time to Reseed Your Lawn

Has crabgrass taken over your lawn? Are you envious of your neighbor's sod, but don't want the expense? There is good news about crabgrass - it is an annual weed, meaning that it dies off at the end of the summer. Crabgrass grows during the hot and dry months of the summer and it has a shallow root system, which makes it easy to pull out.

JKZ Ventures, Inc has updated its lawn care website http://www.TheLawnCare.com to help homeowners with their crabgrass problems. TheLawnCare.com is a directory site that will answer all lawn care questions.

How does that help you now? At this point of the year, using an herbicide to kill it would be ill advised. Yes it will destroy the crabgrass that is there; however, it is going to die off anyway. If there is only a small amount, then you can manually pull it out of the ground. The key is prevention.

A thick and healthy lawn is your best defense against this dastardly weed. Reseed your lawn now - September is one of the best times to reseed because this is the time of year when grass naturally grows the best. By reseeding you are not only making you lawn look nicer, you are creating competition next year for crabgrass.

Reseeding is a four step procedure. First you must mow the existing lawn to an even height (in this case, the lower, the better). Next you spread lime over the soon-to-be seeded area followed by fertilizer (if this is your first time fertilizing, use a starter fertilizer; otherwise, use a less expensive organic fertilizer in a well established lawn). Finally you then distribute a fair amount of grass seed (its up to you to pick the kind that's best for you). Mowing and spreading can be done all in one day, but it must be sequentially. Mowing enables the products to get to the earth, lime and fertilizer feed the soil, and the seed sits on top until germination.

After you finish spreading the seed, you must water and keep the soil moist! This is a critically important step that cannot be overemphasized. For the first 7-10 days water twice a day for 15 minutes each time. This will keep the moisture near the top of the ground where the seeds are. After about 10 days the seed will germinate and you will see new grass. Once you start seeing new grass growing begin watering longer, but less frequently (i.e. 30 minutes twice a week). This will allow water to penetrate deeper into the soil and bring the grass's roots with it.

About 10 days after germination you can begin mowing again as usual. To maintain the health of your new lawn refertilize with an organic fertilizer in about 6 weeks. Next year you will have a thicker, healthier, and greener lawn.

Now that you have this foundation, keep it going by pulling the crabgrass as it comes up during the season (there will be less of it because there is less room for it to grow) and repeat this same procedure next September!

JKZ Ventures also has an existing website that promotes organic care for the homeowner's lawn and garden… http://www.TheOrganicGardeningSite.com, where you will learn about not using chemical pesticides that can seep into the ground and your family's feet.