Winter is closing in fast. If you live in the northern part of the country, the sprinkler system should be winterized or at least should be done soon. Keeping up with leaves is the best way to ensure that there won't be any left on the ground through the winter. Do not leave them on the ground until spring!

The mower should be set a little lower than usual and there may be one or two more mowings left before winter sets in. Try and time the final mowing with mulching up the remaining leaves.

Once the lawn has been mowed for the final time, the mower should be winterized and stored out of the way. Your string trimmer should be winterized, and any other lawn tools should be cleaned up and put away in favor of snow shovels, ice melt, and other winter tools (again, depending on where you live).

Late fall fertilizing should be done after the grass stops growing but before the ground freezes. The timing varies depending on where you live and weather can be unpredictable but for my region (southern New England) it's around late November. Keep the spreader handy to spread sand or ice-melt come winter.

A Chemical Reaction, a documentary by Brett Plymale, is making the rounds at various film festivals around the globe. It tracks the rise of the anti-pesticide movement beginning in 1984 when dermatologist Dr. June Irwin discovered a link between her patients' health conditions and their exposure to common lawn pesticides and herbicides. Her determination resulted in the first town council mandated pesticide ban in North America. What has followed in it's wake has been nothing short of a landslide with pesticide bans (specifically cosmetic chemical pesticides like 2,4-D) being outlawed at an increasing rate across Canada and the rise of a worldwide "green" movement.

Another key component of the film is the story of Paul Tukey who I can only describe as the godfather of organic lawn care. I will talk more about him in future posts and an upcoming review of his book The Organic Lawn Care Manual. Through his non-profit organization SafeLawns.org, Mr. Tukey spreads the gospel of natural, organic, pesticide-free, lawn care. I'll admit, I'm smitten with his style of lawn care and am transitioning one of the properties I maintain to organic this spring.

See the trailer:

Sometimes it's more effective to remind people what they should do by pointing out first what they shouldn't do. I've compiled a list of what I consider the ten most common lawn care mistakes. Most lawn care mistakes are a result of over-doing things rather than negligence or ignorance.

Proper mowing, feeding, watering and maintenance of a lawn is best achieved through a knowledgeable approach to lawn care. Working with nature to grow the best lawn possible is easier, safer, less expensive, and more responsible than bombarding the lawn with products in a futile quest for perfection.

Avoiding these common mistakes is guaranteed to put any lawn on the path to greatness.

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photo © Jamie Burke

We had our first frost of the season last week which has prompted me to remind all my northern lawn care enthusiasts to stay off the lawn on frosty mornings. A frosty lawn that gets compromised by walking on it (or worse) can sustain damages that will last into the spring. Usually in the form of dead-grass footprints.

When I worked at golf courses we all loved frosty mornings. The Greens Department was the absolute authority on when golfers could begin their round and that sometimes meant up to a two hour wait. Our usual frenetic morning routine would come to a crawl and we'd have a couple of extra cups of coffee as we monitored the sun's progress while the golfers stewed. We all had a story about an over-eager greens chairman, club president or co-worker who defied our expertise, couldn't wait, and subsequently left dead tire marks and foot prints up and down the fairways. Frosty mornings are not to be taken lightly when it comes to activity on the grass.

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Keep Off the Lawn on Frosty Mornings

photo © Chris Windsor/Getty Images

An annual tradition has begun for people who live up north and don't want their irrigation lines to freeze up in the winter. Yes, it's time to winterize the sprinkler system. If you're not doing it soon, it should at least be on your radar.

The property across the street from mine was blowing out their irrigation system already, prompting me to book an air compressor for early November. There's no set time for winterizing a sprinkler system although it is best to do it before winter sets in. In Canada that might be now, while in New England, early to late November is more common. In New York, Thanksgiving used to be our week for winterizing the system.

If you are germinating seed or growing in sod, you may want to hold off winterizing the sprinkler system as long as possible if the weather dictates continued watering. Keep an eye on the weather, winterizing the system too soon could result in dried out sod or seed.

If you don't have access to an air compressor or don't want to be bothered with winterizing your sprinkler system, call a professional irrigation company. Choose a professionally licensed company with a good reputation. Frozen lines can cause a lot of costly damage come spring and winterizing the system is not something to be taken lightly.

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On October 18th Baltimore residents can bring in their old gas powered lawn mowers and exchange them for $110 coupons to use towards quieter, cleaner, battery powered mowers.

"Cash for Lawn Guzzlers" program, sponsored by Together Green, Audubon Maryland-DC and the Herring Run Watershed Association is part of a growing trend to get homeowners away from using dirty, gas powered mowers which are among the worst known contributors of greenhouse gasses.

The $110 coupons can be redeemed towards a Neuton battery powered mower which range in price from $299 for a reconditioned model to $439. It's a great incentive, especially if you were thinking about replacing your mower anyway.

I have used the Neuton in commercial applications for the entire season, operating it twice a week for the full duration of two batteries. It has held up as well as any of my commercial grade gas powered mowers and is much easier to maintain and operate. My favorite part of the Neuton is the relative silence compared to gas powered mowers. The Neuton costs pennies to operate and it requires no gas, oil, filters or spark plug. It is lightweight, low maintenance, and has very few moving parts.

Read more:
• Trade in your gas-powered lawnmower & save
• Review of Neuton CE 6 Battery Powered Lawn Mower
• Newton Battery Lawn Mowers

It's getting cold and a little snowy in northern Alberta where I'm originally from, but for most of North America there's still time to overseed the lawn. Fall lawn overseeding is simply the act of sowing seed within the lawn, either with seeding machines or over aeration holes. It can be done on any lawn but is often associated with southern lawns entering winter. To maintain year-round color, ryegrass is usually seeded on warm season turf which goes dormant in the winter.

Overseeding in the fall is crucial for beefing up any thin patches, repairing bare patches and rejuvenating older lawns. The fall, not the spring is when overseeding needs to be done. It doesn't quite feel right because plants are getting ready to go to sleep for the season and everything is waking up in the spring, but doing it now will give the seedlings a head start on weeds.

Another key reason to overseed in the fall is to not interfere with spring herbicide applications. Many people use a pre-emergent herbicide in the spring to control crabgrass. The problem is that most pre-emergents inhibit all seed growth for up to 12 weeks. Once this product is applied, seeding can't be done until mid-summer and by then it can be difficult to germinate and establish seed.

Read the article:
• Fall Lawn Overseeding

photo © Jamie Burke

There is a water crisis in North America. That is fact. Many states are experiencing multi-year drought conditions. Rivers, lakes and reservoirs are drying up, and water restrictions are widespread. There is no arguing these facts, but all too often people want to blame the lawn.

Millions of gallons of water get wasted on lawns every year but is it the lawns' fault? Does the lawn even need all the water that is dumped on it? The answer is no, so why blame the lawn? Most lawns are over-watered, so is the solution to do away with lawns? That's just silly.

When it comes to the American lawn, especially watering the lawn, perceptions need to be altered. Something akin to the perfect lawn is still achievable, it's just the methodology that needs to change. The truth is that the healthiest lawn is an organically maintained lawn that receives little water. A lawn mowed high and on the dry side will be continuously sending out deep roots in search of moisture. An extensive root zone is the key to a healthy lawn. A healthy lawn can out-compete weeds, resist diseases, and thrive with little water. A healthy lawn of the appropriate species for it's region doesn't need all the stuff that people put on it. Most American lawns are in a vicious circle of over consumption brought on by the lawn care industry convincing the public that all their products are necessary for the perfect lawn. It's all perception and commerce.

People waste water, grass doesn't. People wash their cars in the driveway, they fill their pools, they over-water their lawn, they take baths, they leave the water running while they brush their teeth, and they flush the toilet after every use. Farmers are subsidized to grow crops that are water hogs and inappropriate for their region. Industries regularly pollute what little freshwater supplies we have left and climate change has altered the water supply in ways that will never recover. Clearly the lawn is not to blame.

There's too much going on in the world of water resources to center out lawns and demonize them as the cause of all our water woes. At the very least proper stewardship should be encouraged rather than blaming the lawn. Most people think water is free to use however they choose. As long as that is the perception, they will continue to over-water lawns, fill pools, wash cars, and leave the water running when they brush their teeth.

A holistic change in attitude needs to take place with regards to water, but it's easier to find a bad guy and point the finger. In this case, it's the lawn.

Here's the article that got me all worked up:

Aside from the irresponsible headline, the article is actually one of the more balanced ones I've read with regards to the "anti-lawn" sentiment. Filled with appropriate facts and reasons as to why our perceptions about water need to change, it could have avoided blaming the lawn altogether and been a great article about the water crisis.

A couple of recent articles are shedding light on what some of us have known all along, artificial turf is no good. While colleges and secondary schools are installing more fake turf, major league baseball and professional soccer are having none of it.

Having outgrown it's novelty since it's heyday of the late 60's and 70's, artificial turf is becoming known for increased injury, shortened careers, bad bounces, and missed opportunities. Professional athletes have suffered while organizations struggled with what playing surface to use to accommodate multi-use, covered, or partially covered sporting venues.

At one time 10 major league baseball fields had artificial playing surfaces, now there are soon to be only two. In Toronto their major league soccer team is converting to real turf so the game can be played as it was meant to be, and to attract quality players. They even had to install a temporary real turf field just to get the famous Spanish team Real Madrid to show up.

As a turf manager I applaud the move back to real turf, if anything just to employ more of my brethren. I understand the need for multi-purpose fields and shrinking school budgets which drive the use of artificial turf, but there is truly nothing like the look and feel of real grass and the tradition of sport upon that surface.

I found it ironic that chemical giant/corporate villain Monsanto was the pioneer of the Astroturf first installed for the Houston Astros in 1966. The green carpet was originally and creepily called Chemgrass. Oh what innocent days those must have been.

Read the articles:

Is Real Grass Coming to BMO Field?

An excellent article in the LA Times details the effort of turf scientists in developing the ultimate lawn grass. Not only do they seek drought tolerance, the ideal grass must be traffic tolerant and resistant to insects and turf diseases. Through extensive genetic-type work like breeding and cross breeding, the top turf scientists in the country hope to leave a legacy of superior grass types in their wake.

Water shortages and drought continue to plague the country with cities and municipalities increasingly implementing water bans and restrictions. Many people are doing away with lawns entirely choosing instead to plant xeriscapes and low impact native species. For golf courses, athletic fields, and stalwart lawn enthusiasts though, turf will never go out of style. Although there are warm season and cool season grasses with varying degrees of drought tolerance, a grass better suited to extreme conditions is ideal for the new American landscape.

Sometimes the noise machine of overzealous anti-lawn types can be deafening and it's hard for all sides to be heard. It's not necessary to rip up the lawn because of water restrictions and pesticide concerns. Utilize drought tolerant grass species, organic alternatives to pesticides, and manage the soil properly. When that is not enough, rest assured the scientific community is working hard to ensure that we can all have a nice lawn.

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