Should Leaves be Mulched or Bagged

So if you're like me, you can't stand to look at the leaves and pine straw in the lawn for too long.  Don't get me wrong, I do love the fall season, maybe most of all, but after that first few weeks that the deciduous trees local to Columbia, S.C. start to lose their leaves and litter our lawns, I am ready to do something about it.  So a question I often get is: "should my yard service mulch the leaves with the mower or remove them from the lawn and bag the debris?". 

In my opinion, the leaves should be removed from the lawn.  Not just the leaves, but the pine cones, pine straw, sticks, nuts...all debris.  In my experience, this debris does 3 things: it is unsightly and you're neighbors are indeed wondering when you will be cleaning it up, it invites fungus and other diseases, and it can squelch out the grass in the spots where the hard debris lies. 

Now I'm not advocating filling our landfills with plastic trash bags that are going to remain there for a thousand years.  If your town or city allows for it, I think you should leave the debris loose at the curb for city pickup.  Otherwise, you can blow or rake the leaves into wooded areas of your property or blow them into your beds to help suppress weeds (unless you have "pretty", freshly mulched beds of course). 

I think, though, if you are talking about purely "leaves", that when properly chopped up into fine particals with a true mulching blade fall back into the turf and break down then, sure...mulching could be of benefit.  But what this translates to for many people is running a loud, dust creating riding mower with a standard blade over anything and everything in the lawn...which supposedly saves time and is good for the soil.

ALSO - lol - playing in leaf piles, although quaint and picturesque, can lead to bringing wolf spiders, mites, ticks, lice, and who knows what other creatures into your home *cringe* :)

This is your yard boy Ash, over and out... 

Sprinkler System Rain Sensor

Have you ever seen someone's sprinkler system on during the rain or just after a rain and thought about how wasteful that is or how that might negatively affect the lawn that is being oversaturated?  With all the rain in Columbia, S.C. that we've had lately, chances are you have.  Sprinkler System Rain Sensors are a great solution for this problem and can be installed on just about any modern lawn irrigation control panel.

If you do not have a more modern irrigation control panel timer, installing one would be the first necessary step in having a completely automated landscape watering system.  There will be a circuit inside the control panel where you can connect the new rain sensor wires.

The purpose of a rain sensor shutoff for an automatic irrigation system is to temporarily shut off the regular watering schedule of your system.  This is achieved by way of small, round leather discs that are inside the sensor that expand when they are wet.  This expansion trips the sensor and opens the circuit which shuts off the system.

Rain sensors can be adjusted to turn off the system from as little as 1/8th of an inch of rain to 1" of rain depending upon the product.  They can also be adjusted to dry out quicker and allow the regular watering schedule to begin sooner by way of the vent sleeve. 

Depending upon the situation, you can have wired or wireless sensors installed.  One consideration when looking at wireless rain sensors is battery life.  Consider that you will have to replace the batteries now and then which could be counterintuitive to the convenience factor of this upgrade.

In conclusion, if you are searching for an environmentally friendly way to save money, water, and the health of your turf you may want to look into having one of these sensors installed.  The cost depends upon the situation but can often be done in the $150-200 range by a qualified, local irrigation repair service.

Post Emergent kills weeds not grass

Do you have weeds in your grass and you're looking for a good solution to kill weeds in Lexington, Irmo or Columbia South Carolina?  Although the subject of weed control is very broad, I will attempt to address the question of what product to use at this time of year (summer) and what outcome to expect.  Weed controlling post emergent spray should be a part of your annual lawn weed control treatment plan.

Post emergent spray, not to be confused with PRE emergent (which we put down in granular form in the fall and in February) is a topical spray that when sprayed on many lawn weeds will yellow out and kill the weed to the root.  Some types of weeds like clover require 2 applications of post emergent.  As the name of the product implies, it is formulated to kill the weeds AFTER they have germinated as opposed to before they have germinated (pre emergent). 

Here is a centipede lawn that has been treated with post emergent, spray on application, 10 days after the chemical was applied.  Note ththat the weeds are yellowing out while the grass remains unaffected.

Post emergent is only one component of a comprehensive annual weed control program.  It should not be considered to be the "silver bullet", but, in my opinion, is one of the more effective spot treatments with nearly immediate results.  The timing of the application is critical - many post emergents should be applied well after the grass has come out of dormancy or it will affect the new, tender grass growth.

To apply this product, you basically just hook the hose-ready fitting on the bottle to your garden hose and apply as directed on the bottle.  Spray it on evenly and let it dry.  Be careful when using where there might be dogs or cats present as it can make them sick.  Don't get it in your pool.  Just use common sense, use enough to do the job, and that's it!