Our friends over at John Deere sent us some great lawn care information that we wanted to share with everyone before Labor Day. There is no audio or video with this post. A survey with Harris Interactive found out that 79% of homeowners and renters in the U.S. are planning to mow their lawns in preparation for entertaining at home this Labor Day.

Here are some quick do’s and don’ts from the experts at John Deere for an envious lawn this holiday weekend:

Pre Labor Day Lawn Care Do’s

• Adjust the height of the mower deck to mow only the top one-third of the blade of grass. This helps encourage a deep root system and keeps the lawn looking and feeling healthy.
• Mow in the mid to late-morning, when it’s cool and dry. After the morning dew dries off is the best time for the grass–it isn’t suffering from afternoon sun stress, but it isn’t so damp that grass clumps form in the blades.
• Water your lawn if you notice curling grass blades or “footprinting.” If you’re dealing with drought, mow on the high side.

Pre Labor Day Lawn Care Don’ts

• Fertilize just yet. It can help revitalize a stressed lawn but it takes time, and the lawn should stay clear of activity for several days to allow the fertilizer to penetrate.
• Cut your grass too short. Higher heights usually look better, provide for a deeper root system, and help prevent from invading weeds.
• Mow the same direction every time. This will leave streaks and striped lines that grow back irregularly and look rather unsightly.

Road salt can damage lawns, concrete and sidewalks. The Handyguys answer a question about rock salt and lawns then discuss different types of de-icers.

De-icing salts and your lawn

The Handyguys answer the following question from Mike:

I live in Michigan and the snow plows push the snow (AND SALT) up on my yard. what can I do to negate the effects the salt will have on my newly planted grass, once the snow leaves?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/izik/ CC BY 2.0

Great question Mike. The bottom line is that road salt raises the PH in the soil. You need to neutralize it. Neutralize the damage with an application of dolopril style limestone or granular gypsum. Spread thinly and water. Follow the instructions and safety precautions on the package.

De-icing salt and concrete

There is a lot more research on the effects of de-icers and their effects on concrete. Brian and Paul make reference to a study performed by Iowa State University. The article has a lot of techno jargon in it that chemists may like. We gleaned that different types of de-icers had differing effects on the deterioration of concrete.

We will list the different de-icers used in the study and summarize the results

NaCl – also known as rock salt or sodium chloride. This is the most common de-icer. Its effectiveness is good to about 15 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit.  Its also usually the least expensive.

CaCl₂ - also known as calcium chloride. Its effectiveness is good for below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Calcium chloride was the second most destructive de-icer in the Iowa State University tests.

MgCl₂ – also known as magnesium chloride. Magnesium chloride will cut through ice at sub zero temperatures, will not damage lawns as much, reduces steel corrosion and groundwater chloride contamination. The downside is that magnesium chloride was found to be the MOST destructive to concrete, especially low quality concrete.

The Iowa State University concludes:

There is considerable interest in new deicers, especially magnesium chloride because of its anti-icing properties and its effectiveness at lower temperatures than rock salt, and calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) because it reduces steel corrosion and groundwater chloride contamination. Our experiments document that the substitution of magnesium and/or calcium deicers for rock salt may have unintended consequences in accelerating concrete deterioration. Long-term, carefully controlled field experiments with magnesium and calcium deicers are essential in order to fully determine the effects of long-term use of these deicers under highway conditions and to determine if they are suitable substitutes for rock salt.

The Handyguys conclusions

Handyguys Try Out Some Riding Mowers

The Handyguys are falling behind on the honey do list  because this year’s mowing season is taking all of their free time. Pennsylvania has been hit by lots of rain — making for nice fast growing lawns — but that comes with long hours of mowing.

Handyguy Paul is researching a riding mower to replace his slow walk behind but is undecided as to the best model. Should he get a traditional lawn tractor or one of the zero turn radius models? To help Paul decide, the Handyguys called on John Deere to provide some samples for us to test. Listen to our podcast (Click Play) to hear analysis of these mowers  Also, don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

Click on the Image to see a larger version of the mowers we tested.

John Deere was kind enough to loan us two models to try out. They didn’t sponsor this show nor did they let us keep the mowers.  Darn!  The two mowers were the Z445 with 54″ high capacity deck, the Zero Turn Radius ZTR model, and the X324 Tractor

So, how did they test these mowers?  The first test was in a field that only gets mowed four or five times a year and has some tall grass and weeds. The second test was a residential property with some hills and a number of different obstacles from trees, deck stairs, flower beds, walks, etc. The third test was a larger residential property, also with some slope in sections but with deck posts to mow around and also flower beds, walks, a play area and so forth.

The Handyguys started in the open field which was a good way to start. The ZTR takes several minutes to get used to the hand controls. To go forward with a ZTR you push both bars forward, to reverse pull both bars back. One forward and the other back and you pivot. You can easily make slight adjustments to your direction or you can also make sharp turns.

Once they got used to the handling of the ZTR, they were moving briskly through the field with no problems.  They noticed that this ZTR was significantly faster than the tractor (not that the Handyguys tried to race these mowers… we would never do that!).

The X324 has a steering wheel and gas pedal (actually two pedals… forward and reverse). This will be familiar to anyone who can drive a car. Its a very natural driving position and takes very little time to become proficient. One interesting feature that the Handyguys quickly appreciated on the X324 tractor was 4 wheel steering. The tractor could cut around a 9″ tree! The four wheel steer made it extremely maneuverable in tight spaces.

Handyguy Paul contends that the tractor is a must have fashion accessory for those living in the “exoburbs”.  He felt a little too much like a landscaper on the ZTR. For Paul, its all about looking cool when you mow your grass! All kidding aside – there are some advantages to a tractor for many people. The tractor supports a wider variety of accessories. Things from snow throwers, shovels, sweepers, baggers, aerators, carts, snow blades, and spreaders can all be attached to a tractor such as the X324. If we were just mowing grass, and had a lot to do, the ZTR is a hands down winner.

You can hear the full discussion by listening to the podcast. Also, if you want to see the mowers in action make sure you check out the video we put up last week.