Tips from the Top
The Roger Bossard way to great grass
- By Mike Thomas
- Smithsonian magazine, April 2008, Subscribe
1. Fertilize six times a year.
2. Apply grub control insecticide at
the end of April and in late July or early August.
3. Aerate the lawn once in the spring and again in the fall. It helps increase the percolation rate of water, allows the proper gas exchange and alleviates organic buildup from clippings.
4. Cut the grass every three or four days.
5. Never cut off more than one-third of your plant. Keep your lawn at one and three-quarters to two inches.
6. Bagging beats mulching for those who mow once or twice a week.
7. A typical rotary mower is fine, but sharpen the blade every season.
Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.
Comments (1)
I was dismayed to see in Mike Thomas's article, The Sodfather, "Tips From The Top - The Roger Bossard Way To Great Grass" presented as the way we all should treat our lawns. Several organizations, from my county's Division of Solid Waste Services to Sierra Club and the U.S. EPA recommend far more environmentally responsible ways to take care of lawns. Fertilizing as much as was suggested would dump large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous into our streams due to runoff. Applying insecticides kills some beneficial insects as well as the targeted harmful ones. Although aerating the lawn is a good idea, cutting it too often is not, especially since most push mowers put high amounts of pollutants into the air. Never cutting off more than one-third of the plant is fine, but not all grasses are the same; some can be kept higher than what was suggested. And almost everyone recommends leaving the grass clippings on the lawn; it returns nitrogen and other nutrients to the lawn and keeps the grass out of the landfills. Most of us are not maintaining Major League Ballparks, and thus it behooves each of us to respect our environment, locally and globally.
Posted by G. Edward Van Slyke on April 23,2008 | 04:27 PM