Summer annual grasses continue to be pervasive weed problems in many turfgrass areas throughout Pennsylvania.
In golf, successfully managed greens are often associated with speed. Speed alone, however, does not symbolize a good or healthy golf green. The ultimate fast green would be as hard as a rock, smooth as glass and void of grass. No golfer would want to play on this type of surface. The green would have no “feel” or “touch” and making a putt would be a function of luck.
Grass cutting is the major time-consuming operation in the maintenance of any turfgrass area. Good mowing practices are perhaps the most important single factor contributing to a well-groomed appearance and the longevity of any turfgrass area.
Collection and disposal of grass clippings from lawns is laborious, time consuming, and unnecessary. The best way to deal with clippings produced by mowing is to recycle them back to your lawn. If performed correctly, recycled grass clippings should not detract from the appearance of your lawn or accumulate on the soil surface.
To develop successful lawn management programs and avoid problems, you must be able to identify turfgrass species. Species react differently to management practices such as mowing, fertilization, and liming; thus, you should know which grasses are present in the lawn so that you can adjust your management program accordingly.
This fact sheet describes the general steps in turfgrass establishment.
One of the most important steps in turfgrass establishment is the selection of high quality seed or a seed mixture that is adapted to the site conditions and intended use of the turf. Poor quality seed may be low in viability and contain weed seeds as well as undesirable grass species.