Lawn-care guides, from seed to snow mold.
Every spring I get calls about mysterious dead patches that appear the moment the snow melts. Across most of the cool-season belt, pink snow mold (Microdochium nivale) is the common one. Gray…
Bare spots and thin patches are common in northern lawns. The key is knowing when a simple patch will hold and when you’re better off renovating the whole area. Large thin areas,…
The most common mistake I see is applying pre-emergent too early or too late. Calendar dates are useless — soil temperature is what matters. Common active ingredients that perform well in our…
pH affects every nutrient your grass can or cannot access. Many northern soils run acidic, so lime is often needed (some, especially in the Plains and mountain West, run alkaline, so test…
Overseeding is the single highest-ROI practice most homeowners can do. Done correctly in fall, it can transform a thin, weed-prone lawn into a dense, competitive turf in one season. This article details…
Nutsedge (often called nutgrass) looks like grass but is actually a sedge. Most “weed and feed” products and standard broadleaf herbicides do almost nothing to it. It spreads by underground tubers (nuts)…
Most homeowners fertilize blind. A professional soil test from a lab like the University of Illinois or a private service removes the guesswork and saves money while protecting the environment. Follow the…
Choosing the right grass is the single most important decision you’ll make for your lawn. Across the northern US, cool-season grasses are the right choice, but they don’t all perform equally. Soil…
One of the fastest ways to ruin a lawn’s long-term resilience is to water it like a houseplant — a little bit every day. Frequent shallow watering creates weak, shallow roots that…
Topdressing with compost is one of the best things you can do for the heavy clay soils so many northern yards sit on. It improves structure, adds biology, and slowly builds thatch…
The earlier you identify a weed, the easier and cheaper it is to control. This guide covers the most common culprits in northern cool-season lawns, with notes on when cultural practices alone…
Most homeowners fertilize too much, too little, or at the wrong times. On golf courses we apply nitrogen in small, frequent doses timed to growth cycles. This is called spoon-feeding, and it…
