Areas in your yard which are bare of vegetation can cause more than just a muddy mess.
Soil left bare can result in problems in your local watershed.
Lets explore some reason and ways to help.
Soil left bare can result in problems in your local watershed.
Lets explore some reason and ways to help.
Why Is It Bad For My Watershed To Have Vegetative Bare Spots?
When stormwater flows over your property it collects soil from your bare spots including the nutrients, fertilizer and pesticides it contains. This polluted runoff then enters nearby storm drains and waterways eventually leading to the bodies of water you use for swimming, fishing and drinking. This pollution is detrimental to fresh water supplies and will negatively affect local animals, fish, plants and the people who utilize the watershed either for recreational purposes or for drinking.
Vegetative cover is not only important for keeping your own home healthy, it vital in keeping our community healthy too!
Vegetative cover is not only important for keeping your own home healthy, it vital in keeping our community healthy too!
Why Is My Soil Bare?
There are a lot of reason that your soil might be bare of vegetation. Sometimes its rather obvious like where your dog always relieves itself, it is where my kids always play or this is where I dump the grease from the deep fryer. Other reasons can be more difficult to figure out, such as a chemical imbalance in the soil.
Here are some common reasons for a lack of vegetation on your soil.
Here are some common reasons for a lack of vegetation on your soil.
- Excessive Foot Traffic: where you kids always play or the run you created for a pet.
- Animal Urine
- Dulled Mower Blades or Cutting Your Yard To Short
- Chemical Spill
- Poor Soil Condition / Lack or Over Fertilization
- Drought or Excessive Water
- Bug/Grub/Insects
- Fungal Disease
- Your grass is dormant, the wrong plant for the wrong place.
What Can I Do?
Lawn Seeding: Not all lawn seeds are the same. Check that what you are wanting to plant is right for where you want to plant it.
If you are looking at trying to just grow grass in your bare area then the best time to seed a cool-season lawn is in the late summer to early fall. Adequate soil moisture, warm soil, and limited weed pressure allow for excellent seedling growth. Normally, we recommend seeding between mid August and mid September as the optimum seeding window. Seeding early (later summer) allows the turf to maximize its establishment and rooting prior to the next summer's heat and drought. Another advantage to early seeding is that annual bluegrass and other winter annual weeds will be more problematic with fall seeding dates than late summer seeding dates.
If what you have in your lawn is a warm-season grass, then that might be your problem. These grasses grow best with long summers and mild winters. Planting is best in late spring/early summer and they become dormant when temperatures drop. Southern Indiana is at the top of the transitional line where you might be able to grow a warm-season lawn one year but the following year it might not be warm enough for it to "wake up." Consider your local climate before you buy and plant.
If you are looking at trying to just grow grass in your bare area then the best time to seed a cool-season lawn is in the late summer to early fall. Adequate soil moisture, warm soil, and limited weed pressure allow for excellent seedling growth. Normally, we recommend seeding between mid August and mid September as the optimum seeding window. Seeding early (later summer) allows the turf to maximize its establishment and rooting prior to the next summer's heat and drought. Another advantage to early seeding is that annual bluegrass and other winter annual weeds will be more problematic with fall seeding dates than late summer seeding dates.
If what you have in your lawn is a warm-season grass, then that might be your problem. These grasses grow best with long summers and mild winters. Planting is best in late spring/early summer and they become dormant when temperatures drop. Southern Indiana is at the top of the transitional line where you might be able to grow a warm-season lawn one year but the following year it might not be warm enough for it to "wake up." Consider your local climate before you buy and plant.
Soil Tests: If your problematic area has been bare for a while and you can't seem to figure out how to get vegetation to grow, then a soil test might be your best next step. Soil tests help insure that plants receive adequate amounts of fertilizer while helping to prevent over-applications which cost money as well as endanger the environment. For folks wanting to take soil samples of their lawn or garden, field or forage the Purdue Extension - Dubois County office has sampling kits available for pick-up. Kits contain instructions and mailing materials for the complete submission to a laboratory for professional analysis, with a fee of $19.95 per submitted sample. Instructions in the kit describe where and how to take a sample, depth for specific sample use areas (i.e. a lawn vs. a garden vs. a field), how to dry and bag the sample, and, finally, how to submit the sample using the included mailing envelope. Results will be returned to the owner with specific fertilizer and liming suggestions based on the submitted test results as well as the intended plant use of the sampled area. Sample kits can be picked up during normal business hours of 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM at the Purdue Extension office at 1482 Executive Blvd., Jasper, IN 47546.
The Right Plant For The Right Place
Consider the layout of your land and observe how water drains throughout it. Here are a few thought as to what might thrive in a problem area.
Sunny & Dry: If your problem area is a dry place that gets a lot of sun then consider a prairie planting. A native plant prairie will thrive in this area.
Always Wet: If you have an area that is always wet, an area where all the water seems to accumulate and no matter what you do it's always a soggy mess. They you might look at creating a rain garden. Given the right mix of water tolerant plants you could create a diverse and beautiful pollinator habitat...plus you wouldn't have to try and mow through the soggy grown.
To Shaded: If you have an area with lovely cool shade that's perfect for a hammock but grass just won't grow well then the grass you are trying to grow is probably not getting enough sun. There are a lot of great ground cover options for shaded areas. Just make sure you do your research and avoid planting invasive ground covers. Periwinkle might pretty but it's bad for our native plants and wildlife.
Erosion Control: The best way to prevent erosion is to keep plants growing in your soil year round. There are a lot of different approached, what works best for your land will depend on how healthy your soil is to begin with and the slope of your property. Native grasses are not only great for our pollinators, they also have deeper and stronger roots which provide better protection than non-native grasses with a shallow root system. To help better understand the erosion happening you can call our office and schedule a site visit 812-482-1171 ext 3. Our resource specialists can help you identify the problem and provide you with ideas on what can help.
Overall, the most important thing to consider is how to keep organic material in your yard and out of the lakes and streams. No matter if you have a small back yard or hundreds of acres, erosion control is vital to maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
Sunny & Dry: If your problem area is a dry place that gets a lot of sun then consider a prairie planting. A native plant prairie will thrive in this area.
Always Wet: If you have an area that is always wet, an area where all the water seems to accumulate and no matter what you do it's always a soggy mess. They you might look at creating a rain garden. Given the right mix of water tolerant plants you could create a diverse and beautiful pollinator habitat...plus you wouldn't have to try and mow through the soggy grown.
To Shaded: If you have an area with lovely cool shade that's perfect for a hammock but grass just won't grow well then the grass you are trying to grow is probably not getting enough sun. There are a lot of great ground cover options for shaded areas. Just make sure you do your research and avoid planting invasive ground covers. Periwinkle might pretty but it's bad for our native plants and wildlife.
Erosion Control: The best way to prevent erosion is to keep plants growing in your soil year round. There are a lot of different approached, what works best for your land will depend on how healthy your soil is to begin with and the slope of your property. Native grasses are not only great for our pollinators, they also have deeper and stronger roots which provide better protection than non-native grasses with a shallow root system. To help better understand the erosion happening you can call our office and schedule a site visit 812-482-1171 ext 3. Our resource specialists can help you identify the problem and provide you with ideas on what can help.
Overall, the most important thing to consider is how to keep organic material in your yard and out of the lakes and streams. No matter if you have a small back yard or hundreds of acres, erosion control is vital to maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
