GARDENING CALENDAR

TEXAS AGRILIFE EXTENSION SERVICE

BEXAR COUNTY  BY DAVID RODRIGUEZ

May 10, 2008

This is the best time for starting or rejuvenating a lawn. Extension recommended grass varieties that do well in warm weather. There is still time for it to get established before the summer heat arrives.

Don’t bag those lawn clippings when you are mowing. Mow with a mulching mower that shreds the clippings, which then fall back to the soil as compost and return essential nutrients to the roots of the grass. If bagging is needed, do not throw them to the curve, but let them dry out and incorporate into a well blended compost pile.

Buffalograss should only be fertilized once a year, and that is now. Always keep away from weed & feed fertilizers. Fertilize with a 4-2-3 or 6-2-2 analysis at about 3 to 5 pounds per 1,000 sq. feet.

If you’re starting a new Bermudagrass lawn by seed, use 2-3 lbs. of Sahara, Black Jack, or an improved common selection per 1,000 sq. ft. on well-prepared soil and water twice a day. It will be up in 3-6 days and need mowing in about 3 weeks.

Your St. Augustinegrass will fill in drought-killed areas quickly if you can water regularly. Water when the grass doesn’t spring back in your footprints as you walk across it. In lieu of any significant rainfall it should be watered at about one half inch to one full inch a week during the warm growing season.

David Rodriguez is the County Extension Agent-Horticulture with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County. For more information, call the Master Gardener “Hotline” (210) 467-6575 or visit our County Extension website at http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu.