Eco Lawn Science

We're into August and heading towards "The Final Hurdle," as Ete refers to this last push in the struggle to keep lawns healthy through the summer. What should your expectations be for your lawn during this time of year? What sort of problems should you be watching out for right now? What specific steps can you take to help your lawn get through? Ete discusses this and more in this episode of Eco Lawn Science.

Happy 50th episode! We never expected anyone to actually listen to this podcast except maybe our mom. But you're out there! And you're listening! We love that and we're so grateful to you. Really. Thank you so much.

Today Ete discusses lawn care subscription boxes. Subscription boxes are everywhere these days, and lawn care services are getting in on the action. Who would a subscription service be good for? What are the possible pros and cons of this kind of service? What kind of subscription service should you look for? Ete takes a look at all of this in this episode of Eco Lawn Science.

Weeds. What are they and how do you get rid of them? Today's episode is an overview of weeds. Ete discusses some often overlooked steps in controlling weeds: identifying the weed, identifying the category the weed belongs to, and understanding its life cycle. You'll learn some of the terminology you'll often hear in the weed control world. Ete brings it all together to help you kill those unwanted plants more effectively.

Year after year, you're seeing a brown patch develop in the same spot. You've checked and you are definitely watering the area correctly. The shape of the brown patch is inconsistent with a fungal issue. What could it possibly be? There's a chance it's a "localized dry spot (LDS)", also known as a "hot spot," or "hot pocket" (delicious). These patches are caused by a build-up of bicarbonate that keep water from penetrating into the soil where it's needed. How do you know if localized dry spots are your problem? And what can you do about them?

The summer heat is here. The sun is beating down on your lawn with brutal intensity. Your lawn needs water. And it needs the right amount of water at the right times. How should you water your lawn? How much water does your lawn need? When should you be running my irrigation? How do you make sure your sprinklers are giving adequate coverage? Get the answers to your lawn watering questions today on Eco Lawn Science.

See the video version of this podcast here.

Your lawn was looking great just a few weeks ago, but now patches of your grass are turning brown. What's going on? Is it a fungus? Do you have insects? Did your lawn company burn your lawn? At this time of year there's a good chance you're looking at drought stress. Today Ete discusses how to determine if you have drought stress and what you can do about it.

See the video version of this podcast here.

About this time of year it’s typical to see your grass doing something kind of weird-looking (see below). Your grass is seeding. Many people often mistake seeding grasses for weeds, but really your lawn is just doing what grasses naturally do, trying to make more it itself (though the seeds are probably sterile). The research isn’t definitive but it seems that this seeding is neither helpful nor harmful, just a little ugly. Learn more in the today’s episode of EcoLawn Science.

The lawn's looking pretty darn good. The fertilizer you put down has really helped green it up. It's come alive. It's popping. Unfortunately the weeds are popping too. It's time to take care of those suckers! Chances are you're going to want to use a liquid weed control and that means you're going to need some kind of spray equipment to apply it. Today Ete discusses some good sprayer options for the average homeowner, including hand cans, manual backpack sprayers, and electric backpack sprayers. He also recommends some of his favorite brands and models. 

Need to put down some fertilizer? The ubiquitous green push spreader is not your only option! Depending on the size of your lawn, you might actually be happier with a hand spreader, or one of our favorite tools, the chest pack. If you have a lot of ground to cover maybe you do need a push spreader, but know that you aren't limited to the same spreader all of your neighbors have. In this episode, Ete talks about some different types of granular spreading equipment, and offers some recommendations.

You (or your lawn service) have just applied weed control to those hideous weeds on your lawn. Now how long do you have to wait until they're dead and finally out of your sight? An hour? A day? A week? Well, as with all things lawn care, it depends on a lot of factors. What variables determine how long it takes for your weeds to die? How do you know if they even are dying? Should it be taking this long? How long should you wait before you decide it hasn't worked? Get your weed kill timing questions answered in this episode.