Turf and the Three-legged Stool

As the Yard doctor, I am constantly thinking of ways to relate the importance of good lawn care practices (mowing, fertilization, and irrigation) to the goal of the homeowner: a nice, dense green lawn that isn't full of weeds.

Think of a three-legged stool! A simple design that can provide many functions, but must have all its parts in order or it will fail. The legs need to be sturdy and equal in length. Anything out of balance will lead to instability.

We'll use this stool to explain how maintaining your lawn relates to good lawn care practices. The working part of the stool, the seat, is your lawn. The three primary cultural practices, - mowing, fertilization and irrigation - are the stool's legs. Finally, you have the surface on which the stool stands - that's your soil. Every one of these elements must be in balance to create a great, healthy lawn.

Now that we have the parts of the stool equating to your lawn, let's look at each component more closely. Each leg is independent of one another, but if any are removed, the stool is in trouble. Your lawn works the same way.

"Stoolology 101", Let's call it, to drive home some points. You need those three lawn care maintenance "legs" to keep the stool standing firm. Balance is the key. Take the mowing "leg", for example. If you consistently scalp your lawn rather than following the rule of cutting only one-third the length of the grass in any one mowing you will eventually topple the stool. Even if you fertilize and water correctly, mowing poorly will topple the stool. Weeds and pests will easily take over your damaged lawn. If you don't fertilize correctly - say you don't fertilize at all or put down less fertilizer than recommended - that leg of the stool will collapse, affecting the health and appearance of your lawn. Maybe you have been over-watering, this can remove the nutrients from the soil as well as create the perfect environment for certain lawn diseases. If your soil is hard and compacted, it has an effect - that's what the stool (or your lawn) depends on for its foundation. Remember to aerate to increase oxygen, nutrient and water flow to the roots. Staying in balance is the key.

We can also use the stool to show how weed control products help you balance your stool. For some time now, I've advocated that the best way to reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides and still have a nice lawn is to keep your stool in balance: mow, water and fertilizer correctly. A healthy lawn can put up with a lot, fending off pests and disease. But if you do have an invasion of weeds, you will likely need some additional help to get that stool upright and balanced once again. Getting weeds back under control doesn't mean that your lawn will be void of them, but rather that any weeds or pests will be at a tolerable level and one that isn't particularly noticeable.

The amount of herbicide that will keep the legs of the stool in balance will be in direct relation to your ability to maintain your lawn correctly. Think of herbicides and pesticides as an aid to help get everything back in balance again. Correct lawn care techniques are at the core of maintaining a balanced lawn.

So there you have it "Stoolology 101". Now you know how a simple three-legged stool relates to your yard and its care. Or maybe you can begin to see how my crazy Yard Doctor mind works. Either way, if it helps to get a point across or visualize the issues, it works for me.