Lawn

Your lawn does not need to be as green as money to be healthy. Some types of grass naturally browns to stay alive. "The lawn just goes dormant basically, typically it shouldn't die," said Marty Johnson of Johnson's Garden Center. "It will come back again later in the fall if it turns brown. If the crown of the grass is pretyt much gone, the lawn would be dead. " For the next several days, the temperatures will exceed 100 degrees. You might be tempted to water your lawn more often, but Johnson says that's a bad idea.

The turfgrass specialist has just posted several short “how-to” videos on the Web at http://www.ksuturf.org/blog/2011/07/turf-and-landscape-irrigation-videos/ . They demonstrate such tricks of the trade as: * Calculating when a lawn actually needs water, using local rain and evapotranspiration data reported daily by such services as the Kansas Weather Data Library (http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/wdl/).   * Measuring how deeply water has soaked in. * Checking whether a sprinkler or irrigation system is distributing water evenly to all parts of the lawn.

OLATHE, Kan. - If central U.S. lawns are looking faded or patchy and increasingly wheat-colored, that's because most area homeowners grow cool-season turfs - tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass. Unless irrigated regularly, those turfs normally go dormant in summer. But, July's weather has been so extreme that even some well-watered lawns are now slipping into dormancy, said Rodney St. John, K-State Research and Extension turfgrass specialist. “Lawn management needs to be in survival mode, not problem-fixing mode.

You wouldn't know we're in the middle of a drought by looking at Ken Tector's lawn. "It's pretty good for the heat,” Tector said. He's trying to keep his grass green, considering what happened during last year's dry period. "This is rebel fescue.  We replanted it last fall because everything was dead,” Tector said. And he doesn't want a repeat.  Neither do the countless callers trying to squeeze every last drop of information from Sedgwick County Extension horticulture agent, Rebecca McMahon.

“By this fall, we've had this drought now two years.  You're not going to recoup it in one or two good rains,” said Ned Bergkamp, who farms near Garden Plain. Cautious optimism is the attitude of many Kansas farmers after this weekend's heavy rains.  Whether you've been fighting to grow a crop, plant one or just keep your lawn alive the rains were welcome.  But, we can't stop now. “It was a help,” said Bergkamp.  But was it too little, too late?  The two or so inches that fell on Bergkamp's fields might be enough to help out his summer double bean crop.

The drought has taken a toll on most lawns. Landscaper say now is the time to breathe some new life into your yard. With the weather starting to cool down, and more regular rainfall, they say now is when you should over-seed. Experts say the first thing you need to do is aerate. Grass that turned brown over the hot summer may just be dormant. That should start bouncing back. If it doesn't, it could be dead. ------------ Previous Coverage, July 16 You wouldn't know we're in the middle of a drought by looking at Ken Tector's lawn.

Mark Matney from Tree Top Nursery says you should aim to keep your lawn alive this year but not to worry about the grass getting a little brown. Eyewitness News reporter Michael Schwanke talks to the expert about how to help your garden and lawn through this summer heat.

  Fall is the best time to fertilize your fescue lawn. We recommend applying Fertilome Winterizer in September, October and November waiting at least 30 days between applications. In the fall, Grass uses fertilizer to develop a stronger root system and store energy for the following year. A lawn properly fed in the fall will be healthier and better looking the entire year and require less fertilization in the spring.

It's still not spring and your grass is brown. Can you change either one of those things? We can't mess with the seasons, but we can try to make your lawn green, no matter what time of year it is. "Grass Stain" claims to change the color of your lawn with a green spray paint. A Wichita man owns the local franchise, which we just had to try out---on Jason Brabander's lawn. Jason wanted to be a DIW tester, but was thinking we give him some cute little gadget.  Instead, we ask if we could spray paint his grass!

It's that time of year - the time when the leaves fall...and leave a big mess in your back yard.  Bagging up those leaves can be a real pain - especially since the bags never seem to cooperate! That's where the EZ Bagger comes in.  The company says it will keep any size or type of bag standing upright...so you can fill it up with ease. But...Does it Work? Melissa Scheffler caught up with a local lawn care worker to find out.  Don't miss Does it Work? tonight on Eyewitness News at Ten.

Lawns and gardens need water to grow and thrive. However, water is a precious resource that is not an unlimited supply. You can install a rain garden to utilize excess stormwater and plant native, drought-tolerant plants in drier locations. Follow these tips planting and watering during drought conditions: All plants need adequate watering to establish a solid root system; the savings in a drought-tolerant plant come once the roots are in place. A little water stress is a good thing; it will actually strengthen the plant by acclimating it to future drought.

It's that time of year - the time when the leaves fall...and leave a big mess in your back yard.  Bagging up those leaves can be a real pain - especially since the bags never seem to cooperate! That's where the EZ Bagger comes in.  The company says it will keep any size or type of bag standing upright...so you can fill it up with ease. But...Does it Work? Melissa Scheffler caught up with a local lawn care worker to find out.  Don't miss Does it Work? tonight on Eyewitness News at Ten.

The drought has taken a toll on most lawns. Landscaper say now is the time to breathe some new life into your yard. With the weather starting to cool down, and more regular rainfall, they say now is when you should over-seed. Experts say the first thing you need to do is aerate. Grass that turned brown over the hot summer may just be dormant. That should start bouncing back. If it doesn't, it could be dead. ------------ Previous Coverage, July 16 You wouldn't know we're in the middle of a drought by looking at Ken Tector's lawn.

“By this fall, we've had this drought now two years.  You're not going to recoup it in one or two good rains,” said Ned Bergkamp, who farms near Garden Plain. Cautious optimism is the attitude of many Kansas farmers after this weekend's heavy rains.  Whether you've been fighting to grow a crop, plant one or just keep your lawn alive the rains were welcome.  But, we can't stop now. “It was a help,” said Bergkamp.  But was it too little, too late?  The two or so inches that fell on Bergkamp's fields might be enough to help out his summer double bean crop.

One second it was there…the next second an $11,000 dollar mower was stolen from an eastside home and it all happened in the middle of daylight. A Wichita man who makes some side money mowing lawns says his business has hit quite a set-back after the expensive piece of machinery was taken. The last thing anyone wants to do on a sweltering summer day is mow the lawn. For Jeremiah Unruh he has been doing just that for the past 15 years to earn some extra cash. But he never thought in all that time that 11,000 dollars could be yanked away from him so quickly.

You wouldn't know we're in the middle of a drought by looking at Ken Tector's lawn. "It's pretty good for the heat,” Tector said. He's trying to keep his grass green, considering what happened during last year's dry period. "This is rebel fescue.  We replanted it last fall because everything was dead,” Tector said. And he doesn't want a repeat.  Neither do the countless callers trying to squeeze every last drop of information from Sedgwick County Extension horticulture agent, Rebecca McMahon.

A north-central Kansas man dies after his riding lawn mower rolls over the weekend. The accident happened Saturday afternoon around 1:30 in rural Concordia. Our news partners at The Salina Journal report that 63-year-old Bob Johnson was mowing on a steep slope in the 1600 block of 160th Rd. The Journal reports that Johnson's mower tipped over and rolled, pinning Johnson underneath. Passing drivers saw what happened and stopped to help. The drivers called 911 and were able to get the mower off of Johnson.

If your lawn looks more like a jungle right now, you're not alone. Lawn and garden services tell us they are really behind because of the warm spring and rain we've had. While their busy season usually starts in April, many have been on the job since mid-March. They still can't stay ahead of the weather. That causes problems with scheduling, and more. Scott Manners of Lawn Appeal tells us, "We're also concerned with starting to do more landscape jobs. We get some hard freezes and we're going to run into problems putting new nice flowers in for our clients....we'll get a freeze in there and that's not going to help the flowers whatsoever.

Mark Matney from Tree Top Nursery says you should aim to keep your lawn alive this year but not to worry about the grass getting a little brown. Eyewitness News reporter Michael Schwanke talks to the expert about how to help your garden and lawn through this summer heat.

The turfgrass specialist has just posted several short “how-to” videos on the Web at http://www.ksuturf.org/blog/2011/07/turf-and-landscape-irrigation-videos/ . They demonstrate such tricks of the trade as: * Calculating when a lawn actually needs water, using local rain and evapotranspiration data reported daily by such services as the Kansas Weather Data Library (http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/wdl/).   * Measuring how deeply water has soaked in. * Checking whether a sprinkler or irrigation system is distributing water evenly to all parts of the lawn.