Lawn & Garden Tips

Home and Garden Tips Lawn and Garden Care Rules of Thumb for Water Use on Lawns and Gardens One deep watering is much better than watering several times lightly. Lawns need about 1 inch of water each week. If the weather is very hot, apply an inch of water about every 3 days. Watering to a depth of 4-6 inches encourages deeper, healthier root development. It allows longer periods between watering. To measure the water, put an empty tuna can (or cat food can) on the lawn while watering. Stop watering when the can is full or if you notice water running off the lawn. Know Your Soil Different soil types have different watering needs. You don't need to be a soil scientist to know how to water your soil properly. These tips can help. Loosen the soil around plants so it can quickly absorb water and nutrients. Use a 1- to 2-inch protective layer of mulch on the soil surface above the root area. Cultivating and mulching reduce evaporation and soil erosion. Clay soil: Add organic material such as compost or peat moss. Till or spade to help loosen the soil. Since clay soil absorbs water very slowly, water only as fast as the soil absorbs the water. Sandy soil: Add organic material to supplement sandy soil. Otherwise, the water can run through it so quickly that plants won't be able to absorb it. Loam soil: The best kind of soil. It's a combination of sand, silt, and clay. Loam absorbs water readily and stores it for plants to use. Water at the Right Time of the Day Early moring or night is the best time for watering to reduce evaporation. To help control where your water goes, water when it's not windy. Rules of Thumb for Proper Fertilizer Use Fertilizers provide nutrients necessary for plant health and growth, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These are what N, P, and K stand for on bags of fertilizer. Nitrogen (N) is needed for healthy green growth and regulation of other nutrients. Phosphorus (P) helps proper roots and seeds develop and resist disease. Potassium (K) is also important in root development and disease resistance. When properly applied, the nutrients in fertilizers are absorbed by plants and little of these nutrients enters ground or surface water resources. Use the Right Fertilizer Test your soil to find out what nutrients ar needed. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service or Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extention Service office to get information on obtaining a soil test. Local fertilizer dealers can also be helpful. A soil test will help you understand what your plants require. Follow label directions. Choose a fertilizer that has at least one-fourth of the nitrogen in a slow-release form, such as sulpher-coated urea. Mow Your Lawn Frequently Leave the grass clippings to decompose on the lawn. Annually, this will provide nutrients equivalent to one or two fertilizer applications. Set mower at 2 inches to reduce water use during hot weather. Apply Fertilizer Properly It is best to apply fertilizer when the soil is moist and then water lightly. This will help the fertilizer move into the root zone where it is available to the plants, rather than stay on top of the soil where it can be blown or washed away. Watch the weather. Avoid applying it immediately before a heavy rain system is predicted to arrive. Too much rain (or sprinkler water) will take the nutrients away from the lawn's root zone. Use the minimal amount of fertilizer necessary and apply it in small, frequent applications. An application of 2 pounds of fertilizer five times per year is better than 5 pounds of fertilizer twice a year. Calibrate your fertilizer spreader to be sure you know exactly how much material is being discharged in a given space. Follow instructions accompanying your spreader. When spreading fertilizer, cover ends of the lawn first, ten go back and forth across the rest of the lawn, using half of the recommended amount. Shut the spreader off before reaching the ends to avoik over-application. Apply the other half of the fertilizer going back and forth perpendicular to the first pattern. Dispose of fertilizer bags or containers in a safe and state-approved manner. Alternatives to Pesticides and Chemicals When used incorrectly, pesticides can pollute water. They also kill beneficial as well as harmful insects. Natural alternatives prevent both of these events from occurring and save you money. Consider using natural alternatives for chemical pesticides: Non-detergent insecticidal soaps, garlic, hot pepper sprays, 1 teaspoon of liquid soap in a gallon of water, used dishwater, or forceful stream of water to dislodge insects. Also consider using plants that naturally repel insects. These plants have their own chemical defense systems, and when planted among flowers and vegetables, they help keep unwanted insects away. The table below contains a partial list of nature's alternatives.

Quick Facts On Lawn Watering

• Lawns in Missouri may require as much as 1 to 1-1/2 inches of water per week from irrigation or rainfall during summer to remain green and actively growing.
• When managed properly, tall fescue requires 25 percent less water and zoysiagrass requires 50 percent less water than Kentucky bluegrass to maintain a green, actively growing lawn in Missouri.
• Turfgrasses in Missouri rank as follows in resistance to leaf wilting and browning during summer dry periods — bermuda, zoysia, tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass.
• During extended periods of summer drought, dormant lawns (browned-out leaves) containing Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue or perennial ryegrass should receive 1-1/2 inches of irrigation every two weeks to maintain hydrated grass crowns and allow for full lawn recovery when more favorable moisture and temperature return in the fall.
• Deeper roots draw moisture from a larger volume of soil and therefore require less supplemental irrigation.
• Taller grass has deeper roots and a lower tendency to wilt.
• Taller grass provides shading of the soil surface and reduces lethal temperatures near the base of grass plants.
• Lawns mowed weekly at a taller mowing height are less likely to be scalped. Scalped lawns lose density and have shallow root systems.

So you want to build a baseball field...

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Basic Baseball Field Layout

1. Start with a flat, open area. If some elevation is on-site, it should be in the infield area. Ideally, the open area has a good, dense stand of turf or with a little help one can be rejuvenated. If that is not the case, plan a turf management program to coincide with the construction of your ball field. It is helpful to mark out the components of an infield with paint as outlined below to visualize the field before you actually start removing turf.

2. Placement of home plate determines layout of the field. Be sure to plan for some type of backstop to contain stray pitches and to protect fans from tipped balls. If it is truly a backyard field and fans behind the batters box are not likely, planting shrubs about 60 feet (minimum required for high school and college fields) behind home plate may prevent errant balls from rolling too far away from the field.

3. Using the apex of home plate (back corner), cut out turf in a 13-foot radius.

4. The next step is to locate second base. Measure from the back tip of home plate to a distance of 127 feet and 3 3/8 inches (see Table 2 for distance between bases for other leagues). Mark with a wooden stake. When installing base pads, this will be the center of second base.

5. With the tape measure still in place, it is easiest to go ahead and mark the location of the pitching rubber at this time. The placement can be marked by measuring from the back tip of home plate along a string stretched to second base. The pitching rubber should be at 60 feet 6 inches.

6. The easiest way to find first and third base is to use two tape measures. Stretch one tape from second base stake toward the first base line and the second tape from the back tip of home plate toward first base area. The point where the two tapes cross at the 90-foot mark is the back corner of the bases. Repeat this step to find third base. A baseball diamond is actually a 90-foot square.

7. First and third base fit within the square, but second base is measured to the center of the bag. Improperly placed second base is one of the most common mistakes made when setting up a baseball field.

8. To make a "slide area" around the bases, cut out turf around bases by measuring a 13-foot radius within the 90-foot square. You can leave the base paths grassed if you like, or you can turn them into skinned base paths.

9. Next, turn your attention to the pitcher's mound. The diameter of a pitcher's mound clay is 18 feet, with 10 feet from the front of the rubber, toward home plate and 8 feet from the back of the rubber.

10. The top of the mound consists of a plateau that is 5 feet wide.

11. A regulation pitcher's mound is 10 ½ inches high (compared to surface level of home plate). Miscalculation of the pitcher's mound height is probably the second most common error in setting up a baseball field. A transit or field level is best for setting the height, but in a pinch, other methods my also work. I once saw a guy peering through a cheap scope clamped to a carpenter's level on a makeshift tripod. Another option is to use your stakes with taut string and a ruler. A standard pitcher's rubber is 24 inches by 6 inches.

12. Building a pitcher's mound is as much an art as it is a science. Build the mound from ground up, 1 inch at a time keeping in mind the mound's slope (see next step). As you add each layer, tamp or roll the soil.

13. Beginning 12 inches in front of the pitcher's rubber and measuring toward home plate, for every one foot of distance the slope will fall one inch (until the slope meets ground level).

Figure 2. Batting Area Detail
(click here for a full size image of Figure 2.)

Figure 3. Pitching Mound Detail
(click here for a full size image of Figure 3.)

The mix used to build the pitcher's landing area (and often the batter's box and catcher's box) should have a significant concentration of clay to provide the necessary stability to resist degradation from increased traffic. A good material will be about 40% sand, 20% silt, and 40% clay. If necessary, you can mix individual components together. Just be sure that individual components are evenly distributed throughout the material.

A quality infield material will have a lower concentration of clay than the pitcher's mound. The infield skin should be moist and firm, not hard and baked dry. To achieve firmness, an infield mix should not be too sandy. An infield mix with greater than 75% sand causes unstable footing for ballplayers and increases infield skin maintenance problems. A sandy infield will create low spots more quickly and is more likely to create lips at the infield skin/turf interface. Ideally, the infield mix should be between 50% and 75% sand and 25% to 50% clay and silt. A combination that has been successfully used is a 60% sand, 20% silt, 20% clay base mix (sandy clay loam to sandy loam). The silt and clay give the mix firmness. If the mix contains too much silt and clay, compaction and hardness become a problem.

Well, now you have your field of dreams. If you have some big hitters, you may want to erect your outfield fence. This distance varies with the level of play. Confer with League Officials for data listed and recommended placement of outfield fences. Refer to Table 2 for a summary of base, pitching rubber, and outfield wall distances.