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The rainy season ended abruptly and early here in South Florida and the landscape is showing the stress. Some lawns are turning brown and a few trees and shrubs a dropping leaves. But one sign of fall is still showing up at least in irrigated lawns, the fairies have been dancing leaving behind a ring of mushrooms.
The term "Fairy Ring" conjures up visions of sugar plums maybe? The term has been around for centuries and mentions of the phenomena can be found in English myths and superstitions dating back to medieval times where it was believed that the rings were formed by dancing fairies and the area a place of enchantment.
Actually, Fairy Rings are the result of the growth of various fungi and occur in all types of turfgrasses. They tend to occur where quantities of organic
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Even here where the sun shine warm most of the year, the seasons are changing, It is a good time to take stock of the lawn; spend a little time in observation of your grass. Look for changes and investigate the causes. Are there patches of yellow? Maybe a few leaf blades are red at the tip. Are the weeds getting the upper hand? Make a few notes and then it is time to get on your hands and knees for a closer observation.
Weeds are symptoms of problems rather than a problem in and of themselves. Weeds indicate the turf is thinning; your job is to figure out what caused the loss of grass. Is the spot too shady? If so plant a ground cover instead of spending lots of personal and monetary capital to force grass to grow where it's not happy.
Off-color spots in the lawn may indicate
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When it's warm, humid and rainy, the grass grows a lot! It's the perfect weather for these warm-season grasses. Mowing is a weekend chore for most of us and therefore the grass usually gets mowed once a week. Most of the time, this is OK, but if you think of mowing as pruning grass plants, then you can easily see that the once-a-week plan may not be the best for the health of the turf.
Remember the 1/3 rule for pruning plants; never remove than 1/3 of a plant when pruning. This practice allows enough of the life-producing leaves to remain on the plant and helps it to recover from the traumatic pruning process quickly. Also, small clippings break down rapidly returning their nutrients to the soil.
So, if you are maintaining your St Augustine turf at 4 inches high (and you should be) mow
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It was a glorious day along the Indian River Lagoon. The sun was shining, the water inviting and a stroll though the green market left my pockets lighter but we were going home with a few tasty treats - a little fresh conch salad and a couple of last-of-the-season homegrown heirloom tomatoes. With visions of BLTs for supper on my mind, a stop on a shady bench to cool off and enjoy the view before heading to the hot car was not just a good thing but surely seemed to be required.
Let me say, I think turfgrass is a good thing in the right place. It slows erosion, cools the area and prevents tracking so much sand into the house. It is also a great place to send the kids and the dogs, I admit to sounding like my mother with a quick "Go outside and play!" But as I sat watching people, boats
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