Maintaining your yard is an art. At WaterWays Township, residents are diligent and creative in the management of their lawn. Like an artist, residents' garden tools are their paintbrush and their lawn is a canvas where they illustrate their masterpiece. Taking a stroll around our community feels like a day in Picasso's workshop.

There's nothing quite like walking out on your lawn and feeling grass between your toes. In order to keep your lawn healthy you must maintain it and protect it from turfgrass diseases. If your lawn isn't beaming like you expected this spring, you are not alone. The environmental conditions in Georgia have caused the development of botanical diseases across the entire state. The best way to prevent diseases infesting your yard is to practice efficient turf management and agronomics.

Here are some tips from the University of Georgia's plant pathologists and turfgrass specialists:

• Use the best adapted turfgrass species for your area.
• Set your mower to the proper mowing height and maintain the one-third mowing rule.
• When disease is active, increase the mowing height (e.g. go from 1.0 inch to 1.5 inches).
• Fertilize according to recommendations for your turfgrass species. Not all grasses need the same amount of nitrogen.
• Don't apply nitrogen containing fertilizers before temperatures are consistently 65áµ’ F and rising.
• Use the recommended level of nitrogen, particularly in the late spring and early summer.
• Correct drainage issues to reduce soil and canopy wetness.
• Irrigate turf early in the morning, allowing the canopy to dry throughout the day and decreasing the time for infection to occur. An inch a week of water is recommended.
• When thatch builds up at the surface, and you see lots of dead brown grass, get a work-out and rake it up.
• Use fungicides for disease control only when necessary – follow label directions carefully.

Proper turf care and lawn management is essential in defending your grass. Luckily, the specialists at the UGA Extension Campus in Bryan County are ready to help you defend your lawn! For more information on the latest tips in landscaping, visit their website at http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/bryan/. You can also reach their office at 912-653-2231.

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