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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend March 8, 2007 For a good lawn, build up the soil By STAN MAPOLSKI for the Mail Tribune Most of us look forward to the coming gardening season with great anticipation. We love to renew the cycle of growth. But how many of us really look forward to another year of mowing the lawn? Or moving sprinklers around and still watching sections of the lawn turn gray, then brown. Pouring seemingly tons of fertilizer on the grass and still having an anemic sea of yellow blades waving back at us between flourishing dandelions. If this is how it has been for you in years past and you dread the thought of caring for your lawn this year, please read on and maybe I can help lessen the stress you're feeling. Lawn care can be broken down into its primary elements so we won't feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the task ahead. After all, a lawn is composed of lots of little grass plants, and we can grow plants, right? What does a plant need? A plant needs a good home. That means our grass plants would like to live in a fertile, well-drained, loamy soil located in full sun. Advertisement It should have a pH of 6.5 to 7.0 (from just slightly acid to neutral). It should have an abundant supply of available food to sustain good growth. It should be watered as the root zone water becomes depleted. It should be mowed to the proper length as necessary. And it should be kept free from the competition of weeds and the debilitating effects of insects and diseases. Simple enough. If it were simple, every lawn would be perfect. As simple as it is in principle, it can be difficult to achieve because most homeowners chase symptoms of lawn problems around, often throwing great amounts of time and money into Band-Aids that don't fix the cause of the problems, just provide temporary relief from the symptoms. Let's take a look at each of these elements and see where we as gardeners can begin a program to lessen our work while still achieving fantastic results. Soil is where the roots live, derive water and food for the plant and anchor the grass to the ground. It is, to me, the single most important building block to a good lawn. And it is the most neglected. This is where most of the time and money should be spent on lawn care: before a single seed is put down. The problem is, most of us already have a lawn in place and just the thought of ripping up the old turf is daunting. Never mind the soil conditioning, or in some cases, the soil replacement that might be necessary to provide a suitable foundation for grass growth. What can we do to improve the soil in which our grass plants live once the lawn is installed? Obviously we can't rototill organic matter into it. But we can do several very important operations that won't degrade the soil, and we can add conditioner by going back to a technique that went out of favor when cheap synthetic fertilizers became popular. Topdressing your lawn with organic matter that also contains nutrients and microorganisms that benefit your soil is one of the best practices you can perform. It can also help level an uneven surface. Apply Milorganite, a composted sludge, or mushroom soil, or compost made from grass clippings and shredded leaves, or a mixture of peat and topsoil if you need serious leveling, twice yearly and you will be rebuilding your soil's structure as well as providing nutrients not available in commercial plant foods. The benefits of topdressing might take some time to become apparent. It will not single-handedly cure all lawn problems. It is a great first step in reversing years of abuse your lawn has suffered from the over-application of chemicals and the lack of replenishing organic elements to our soils. Next week we'll look at the other factors in lawn care that will contribute to a healthier, happier lawn. Stan Mapolski, aka The Rogue Gardener, can be heard from 9-11 a.m. Sunday mornings on KMED 1440 AM and seen in periodic gardening segments for KTVL Channel 10 News. Reach him at [email protected] Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. 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