Taunton's Lawn Guide by John Fech - Gardening - Books

Taunton's Lawn Guide

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SKU# 070620

Maintaining a Great-Looking Yard

John Fech

Paperback

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Details

Product # 070620
Type Paperback
ISBN 978-1-56158-520-5
Published Date 2002
Dimensions 8-1/2 x 11
Pages 144
Photos color photos
Drawings and drawings

Want a great lawn without spending a lot of time? Follow the practical, step-by-step advice in Taunton's Lawn Guide. Noted horticulturist and columnist John Fech offers a common-sense approach to creating and maintaining a lush, healthy lawn -- from choosing the right grass for your environment, to mowing, fertilizing, and watering for best results.

In Taunton's Lawn Guide, you'll learn...

how your lawn relates to your landscape design
how to start a lawn through seeding or sodding and which cultivar of grass is best for your yard
how, why, and when to aerate, remove thatch, and overseed
how to rid your lawn of weeds, disease, and harmful insects
how to create a low-maintenance, or high-maintenance, lawn -- whichever you prefer

You'll find all this information, plus a regional lawn-care calendar and tips for finding lawn-care professionals, in Taunton's Lawn Guide.

About the author
John Fech is a horticulturist with the University of Nebraska. He co-authored Ortho's All About Trees, has a weekly radio show and newspaper column, and makes more than 100 television appearances every year.

Table of Contents

Introduction

How to Use This Book

1. Surveying the Yard
Getting to Know Your Yard
Coming Up with a Plan
Keeping Lawns on Their Own Turf
Choosing Your Maintenance Level
Hiring a Landscape Pro

2. It All Begins with Soil
It Isn't Just Dirt!
Testing Your Soil
Common Problems

3. Starting the Lawn
The First Steps
Seeding
Sodding
Plugging and Sprigging
If Your Lawn Won't Grow
Follow-Up Care

4. Mowing, Fertilizing, and Watering
Mowing 101
A Fertilizing Primer
Watering Wisdom

5. Other Lawn Chores
Dealing with Thatch
Aerating
Overseeding

6. Problem Solving
Diagnosis Comes First
Is It a Bug Problem?
Is It a Disease?
Is It a Weed?
Surface-Feeding Insects
Underground-Feeding Insects
Circular and Irregular-Patch Diseases
Other Maladies
Weeds

7. The Grasses
A Quick Review
Alternatives to Grasses
Which Grass Is Best?
Cool-Season Grasses
Warm-Season Grasses

8. Lawn Calendars
Cool Humid and Cool Arid Zones:
Cool-Season Grasses
Cool Humid and Cool Arid Zones:
Warm-Season Grasses
Warm Arid Zone
Warm Humid Zone
Tropical Humid Zone

Appendix: Lawn-Care Companies

Resources

Photo Credits

Index

Introduction

There's nothing more welcoming to the eyes -- and the feet -- than a lush, green carpet of grass. Envision this scenario: You walk out onto your patio on a Saturday morning, cup of coffee in hand, still barefoot and full of ideas for the day ahead. The lawn looks inviting. You take a step out onto it.

The grass feels soft and supple between your toes and cool to your feet.

A healthy lawn is more than just a pleasant backdrop. It provides a place to be active without walls. It traps dust and generates oxygen. It helps absorb the noise of traffic. It prevents erosion. A good-looking lawn increases property values. Small wonder that for the great majority of us, a lawn is an integral part of what we call home.

Although this book is concerned with a particular short, green plant, I begin by talking about landscaping -- the ways in which lawns fit into an overall plan. After all, chances are your yard isn't exclusively devoted to grass. In deciding whether a part of your property should be devoted to lawn or to something else, I suggest following the simple rule of "Right plant, right place." Any plant will thrive if grown in a place suited to it. This book guides you in two ways: determining which parts of the yard are best for lawn, then choosing the particular cultivars of grass.

Once you've made these choices, I suggest that you take an active approach to lawn care. Otherwise, mowing and other lawn-care tasks can become a boring chore, something to be put off as long as possible.

Your idea of a great weekend may not be seeding, fertilizing, and mowing, but there are proven ways to go about lawn care that take surprisingly little time. It all begins with deciding just how involved you want to be, and I'll suggest how to go about that.

You can have an attractive low-maintenance lawn by planning it to be that way, not just by allowing the grass to tend to itself. Or, if you prefer a high-maintenance carpet that will be the envy of your neighbors, there's a systematic approach for that, too. How about the moderate, middle path that yields a presentable lawn with modest effort? There are certain grasses and practices that will get you there, as well.

Will this book make lawn care fun? That depends on your idea of a good time. If you enjoy spending several hours outdoors each month, helping nature to create a garden setting for your family, then the answer is "yes." I'll offer well-planned regimens that are very satisfying to carry out. And there is the added incentive of knowing that your yard is a highly public display of the way you feel about your home.

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