Lawns - particularly organic lawns.
Weeds
Dandelions are bothering you. Well, here's how to get rid of them.
Crab grass is an annual weed, germinating a new crop each year to infest our grass. If the desirable grass plants are numerous, the crab grass is less of a problem because sunlight can not reach the soil to germinate the crab grass seed.
Creeping Charlie is another scourge. (Would you believe they sell the variegated form of this for rock gardens?)but it tends to disappear under organic systems. Here's how to get rid of this pest.
Will Creeping Charlie spread by mowing?
Will boron stop grass seeding and how much water to use when mixing borax?
Sumac and Trumpet Vine have invaded - what to do?
Pests
June Beetles.
Japanese Beetles.
White grubs
Chinch bugs
Voles are vegetable eaters
Moles are meat eaters.
Care Tips
Dog damage is a curse.
I may have been reading too many old gardening books but here are a few spring care tips.
Here are a few tips on fall lawn care
Never roll your lawn. Here's why.
What to do with grass clippings
Moss on your turfgrass and what to do.
Play a grass whistle.I learned how to do this as a kid (didn't every kid?) and here's the tricks of the grass whistle blowing trade.
My lawn has no top soil and is a poor. What do I do?
Three Tips for Great Organic Lawncare
Questions and Answers
Got a Lawn Growing Problem?
If you have a lawn growing problem question (and isn't answered in an article listed on the lawn growing page, then feel free to ask it here.
If you have a picture of the problem or situation, feel free to upload it here as well (keep the pic under 100K please for faster uploading)
See what other gardeners have asked
Click below to see plants that we've identified for other gardeners.
Earth Worms How can I get rid of earth worms that are under my lawn and are destroying it. The lawn has lumps all over and is difficult to walk on without shoes, and ...
converting to a moss lawn
Hi Doug,
My front yard lies on the north side of the house. I have rather huge and healthy spruce trees that further shade the property and ferns that ...
lumpy lawn Yes my lawn is full of weeds and moss, but I'm getting those under control. what I can't control is the extreme lumpiness! There are some serious dips,...
How to get rid of lawn mushroom? My front lawn is infested with mushroom now. I am desperate for a solution from you, Doug: Do I have to remove all the lawn which is $1000 square feet,...
Rejuvenate old uneven lawn
Hi Doug,
I asked this question 10 - 12 days ago and have not found an answer - maybe I am not looking in the right place or --- you just have not had ...
Bare spots
It's April 19, and I have lots of bare spots in my lawn.
What can I do to have grass growing in these spots instead of weeds?
Doug says to use a little ...
What grass in no light, too much water
What type of grass seed grows best where drainage is poor, sunlight is limited, and there is too much natural water from slope drainage and rain.
Doug ...
Lawn alternative A couple of us in Maine are using white clover instead of grass as a lawn cover. It mows really well, is soft when walking barefoot on it and looks nice....
wrong soil When we put our lawn in they got me to put in Pebble dirt, which is 1/2 dirt and 1/2 pea gravel. The dirt has washed away in some places and grass not ...
No sign of new grass Last fall I top dressed my lawn with grass seed. I could see the grass starting to come up after a week or two, so far this year I don't see too much of ...
environmentally friendly roundup What can I use to control weeds on my interlocking brick patio. I used to use roundup. Is there a alternitive to prevent weeds from growing in the cracks ...
Lawn Drainage We have a large 12 month old lawn, which is very wet in patches. The builder / landscaper reckoned we have underground springs that prevents the ground ...
care of existing lawn in southwest florida What products do you use and when and how do you apply them? We want to start organic on our lawn and shrubs/flowers Our lawn is small at about 2500 sq ...
Sowing grass seed in fall
Hi Doug,
I read your Fall Lawn Care page and you mention sowing grass seed is a good way to thicken up the turf for spring.
I'm wondering how exactly ...
when is it best to start a new lawn?
I am ready to give up and start over, adding loam and sod. Should I do this in fall or wait till spring?
Doug says that fall is a good time to start ...
Bent grass in a Blue grass lawn How do you get rid of Bent Grass (zone 3) in a lush Blue grass lawn? We have talked to several golf course turf guys and they all say remove all lawn and ...
how to get a new lawn on stripped topsoil.
What is left is hard pan and small rocks, nothing will grow except weeds.
Doug says that grass requires at least 2-3 inches of topsoil if it's going ...
patches of brown surrounded by dark green grass My lawn has patches of dead grass surrounded by a beautiful green colour grass. The surrounding grass grows taller and faster than the rest of the lawn....
corn gluten and grass seed
Hi Doug
I have planted grass seed but it is not sprouting. I seeded the area 5 days ago and nothing is happening. But, I think I know why...I spread corn ...
circles of long thicker grass When we resodded our front lawn we noticed the following year that there was circles all over the lawn. These were different kinds of grass we assumed ...
laying sod and bonemeal
We are about to lay new sod and I am first spreading some corn gluten before the new sod goes down but should I also add some bone meal?
Thanks for your ...
growing grass under a large maple tree We have a large maple tree in our large and have very little luck growing our lawn under it. Last summer we laid down fresh soil and shade grass seed. this ...
start a new lawn from scratch or try and renovate current mess? My lawn has been damaged by leaves that I didn't rake and grubs/moles. It is squishy,lumpy,bare in some areas. I am just not sure what to do. If I should ...
lawn watering I live in Zone 5, in Illinois. We have an irrigation system, and my question is , what is the appropriate (approx.) time and amount of water necessary ...
