Why now is the best time to grow your grass
“In September you can lay sod upside-down, and it will still grow.”
Those are the words of my late father Len, great Canadian gardener that he was. And he should have known: he laid a lot of sod in his early days in the landscaping business. Soaking wet, a roll back then could weigh over 36 kilograms. Not so today — we grow sod on lighter soil, generally, and growers cut them in smaller “jelly rolls.”
But one thing hasn’t changed. And there is not one self-respecting sod grower in the country who would disagree with it: that this is the best time of year to either lay sod or sow grass seed. The reasons for this are simple, but often overlooked:
Cool evenings. Grass is a cool season “crop.” You may not think of it as a crop at all, but it is an important contributor to the farm gate value of Canada’s agricultural crops. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) have estimated that more than 4,450 hectares of sod were grown last year in Ontario alone.
Heavy morning dew. If you walk through grass in bare feet early in the morning at this time of year, you are reminded that dew falls heavy starting in the late summer.
Shorter days. The long days of summer are behind us, as is the heat that we often associate with it. Grass responds best to half days of sun. Like hydrangea and other lateflowering plants, grass wakes up and gets frisky about now.
Cooler soil. We may have some hot weather ahead of us — and we may not. But soil temperatures moderate, whether air temperatures are cold or hot. Gradually the soil cools, producing a root-inducing environment for this “cool” crop.
If you are a golfer, you know that fall provides some of the best conditions of the year. One of the reasons is that golf management professionals take the time now to strengthen and grow better turf.
Here’s how the experts do it: Sow grass seed: This is the best time of year to thicken an established but thin lawn or to start a new lawn from scratch. Make sure that you spread a lawn soil mixture or weed-free triple mix over the area first, about 2 to 3 centimetres thick. Spread grass seed at the rate of about one pound per 400 square feet. Do this by hand or use a small whirligig, hand-held spreader. Rake it smooth. Step on it to bring the seed and soil in firm contact, water it and keep the area moist until the seed has germinated. You’ll be amazed at how quickly it grows and establishes a thick carpet of green. Sow seed and compost together: Premier Tech, a Canadian company, introduced a new product this year that includes quality grass seed, a charge of nitrogen, chelated iron and pelletized compost. It is the first product of its kind that can be applied through a fertilizer spreader. As the compost is watered or rained upon, it expands to provide a medium for the grass seed to germinate. Look for Golfgreen Iron Plus 4-in-1 Lawn Recovery. Fertilize: Don’t apply fall fertilizer just yet. Your lawn doesn’t need fall lawn food until it prepares itself for winter, in late October or early November. I apply a regular-season lawn food in September, while the lawn is growing actively and can absorb the nutrients. Look for a slow-release nitrogen, 18-0-8, with chelated iron to do the best job this time of year. Weed: If controlling weeds in your lawn is important to you, now is a great time to control many of them. Dandelions are bi-annuals that seeded early this spring. Small plants established themselves in the weak areas of your lawn this summer and next year they will grow into the dandies that we know. Dig them now or use one of the new environmentally responsible broad- leafed weed killers like the Wilson WeedOut. Cut your lawn high: It is very important to cut your lawn at least 6 to 8 centimetres high, especially this time of year, when it is growing actively. Use a mulching mower, to return the nitrogen-rich goodness of grass clippings back to the root zone of grass plants.
Grass is the most sophisticated living carpet of green on the face of the Earth. You can walk, run and roll on it, knowing that an average-sized lawn produces enough oxygen to support a family of four. It sequesters carbon, filters toxins out of rain water and it cools the atmosphere.
September: The best month of the year for (real) grass. Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, Order of Canada recipient, author and broadcaster. Get his free monthly newsletter at markcullen.com. Look for his new bestseller, The New Canadian Garden, published by Dundurn Press. Follow him on Twitter @MarkCullen4 and Facebook.