MAINE-LY GARDENING: It’s not too early to be looking at your lawn

by Jude Hsiang

Between snowstorms and several mud seasons, we’re beginning to see a few signs of spring. Spring will bring warm weather, bird song, wildflowers, and, for many of us, lawncare.

Americans are said to be great lovers of lawns although this love affair is only about a century old. Before that time, while many people might have a nice patch of grass in front of the house along with a few shrubs and a flower bed, maintaining a lawn required significant work. When lawn mowers replaced scythes, it was possible to have a large well-tended lawn like the wealthy folks with hired help, who in turn emulated the greenswards of Merry Old England.

Our fondness for lawns originated in England, France, and neighboring countries with milder temperatures and wetter weather than most of the U.S. Those who study turf grasses say that Maine is luckier than other parts of our country because those grasses, brought here by the European settlers, tolerate our weather and soil quite well. The diseases and pests of turf grass are less of a problem here than further south or west.

Many people feel that having a lawn is part of the American Dream of home ownership and that keeping up with the examples of neighbors, or the requirements of a Homeowners Association, is just part of the package. One person really takes pride in a healthy, well-kept lawn and will admit to enjoying the mowing, weeding. Their neighbor grudgingly hires a lawn service and hopes the results are worth the money. And some people have been wondering why we spend so much money and effort to raise plants we don’t eat.

Our university’s soil laboratory offers tests used to assure we can have right nutrients for lawns or other crops. You can then avoid buying products that could be unnecessary or even make a problem worse. We lucky folks who live among wonderful lakes, ponds, and rivers can be confident we aren’t contributing to water problems.

Weeds are a common complaint. White clover is often considered a weed, but years ago consumers paid more for lawn seed mixes that included it. Its nitrogen-fixing ability encourages healthy grass growth, and it supports pollinators. Of course, people allergic to bee stings would avoid planting it.

Some weeds can diagnose a potential lawn problem. Plantains can signal too much fertilizer. Japanese knotweed and spotted spurge like dry, compacted areas. Dry, sandy spots attract purslane. Wild strawberries do fine in dry acid soil and outcompete lawn grass.

Moss annoys many lawn lovers. It thrives in shade, compacted soil, poor drainage, low fertility, poor air circulation. You can try moss-killing chemicals, moss will return if the conditions are better for it than for grass.

Bare spots in sunny areas may be home to the larvae of Japanese beetles. Cut into and peel back a patch and you may see their fat white grubs curled just under the grass. In early July the adult beetles emerge and feed on many plants. Japanese beetle traps are sold, but research has shown that the traps attract many more beetles than the traps hold and those will stay in your yard. You can pick the beetles off your plants and drop them into a can of water with a few drops of dish detergent on the surface to keep them from escaping. Chickens & ducks love to eat them!

© Judith Chute Hsiang
Jude Hsiang is a retired Extension Master Gardener instructor and member of the China Community Garden Project.