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Welcome to postulate a professional ! Every calendar month , we ’ll take your questions about home melioration , DIY , lawn and garden , and homeownership and reply them with the aid of professional . Our experts are vetted and verified — and they ’re eager to share their noesis .
Last calendar month , BobVila.com readers submit lawn and garden questions on Facebook and Instagram , and via our newssheet . We hand - pick our favorites , and tappedThe Pest and Lawn Ginja — to answer some of them . In this Ask a Pro tower , the Pest and Lawn Ginja help our readerscontrol weeds in a walkway , get rid of fungus in the lawn , how to get rid of moles , and more .
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run across the Expert : The Pest and Lawn Ginja
The Pest and Lawn Ginja is known for solving lawn and pesterer problem , big or little . He has been a licensed technician since 2004 and owned a pest control and lawn tending company for over 15 long time . He has also developed his own five - tone approach for solving any lawn problem .
Check out the Pest and Lawn Ginja’sYouTube pageandwebsite .
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Does the old adage “feed in the fall, seed in the spring” still hold true? —Jerryvia the newsletter
Ginja ’s Advice : The answer to this enquiry all depends on where you populate and what you ’re planting . But overall , I finger this former byword is really ordinarily false . If we are planting dope , seed in the recent summer or early fall is best , then feeding the grass every 4 weeks during the growing season will give the best results .
at last when it comes to “ feeding , ” it will all depend on what the soil already has in it versus what the plant needs . Perform a simple soil trial , which will show the nutrient contentedness of the ground .
I planted grass seed throughout my yard in bare spots, only not the same as what was there. How do I go about switching it out to match my tall fescue grass? —Linda via the newsletter
Ginja ’s Advice : The good option is to dig out the grass that you imbed . You ’ll call for to dig deeply and be certain to get below all the roots . Then you ’ll need some topsoil to fill up in the trap , followed by seeding or sodding the area with the desired Gunter Grass to match .
What is the best material to put between pavers to control weeds on a walkway? —Deborah via the newsletter
Ginja ’s Advice : The good materials to set between pavers to preclude green goddess would be crushed asphalt route base or polymeric sand with a high salt content . To ensure skunk that have already appeared , you could practice a nonselective organic herbicide . One I usually stray by from is mix in baking soda with vinegar . I commonly nullify this selection because it can and often will sterilise the soil . But in your case this is exactly what we require to do . Mix one part baking soda with two parts white vinegar in a spray bottleful . Add a spurt of dish max after the intermixture stop bubbling . Shake the feeding bottle , then spray the foliage of the weeds . Other organic control methods include spot - treating the weeds with stewing water . Or , use a pressure washing machine through the cracks and crevices as the weed get down to show , or burn them ( safely ) .
I love my shade trees but grass doesn’t grow under them. What can I plant (or do)?— Deirdre via the newsletter
Ginja ’s Advice : Most grass types need 4 to 6 hours of direct sunshine , even if they are considered wraith sort . With that say , my favorite affair to do in these areas is to burn a border bound around the trees and use chunky mulch . If the country is enceinte , a few chairs and a modest table is a nice touch to liven the area and give it some purpose .
I have a sunny backyard and the grass is good, but I have been finding a lot of fungus growing in the grass. I have never had this problem until last year, and I treated it with a spray that I found at Home Depot. It didn’t solve the problem. Help!—Dorothy via the newsletter
Ginja ’s Advice : Hi Dorothy . Fungus can come in in all different forms . Sometimes it ’s as simple as a mushroom-shaped cloud popping up , and other times it ’s black superman growing on the blades of the grass .
The first step is identifying what kind of fungus we have . Oftentimes thisquestion revolves around mushrooms . The simple solution is to dial back your watering by a few moment per round and then test that for a workweek .
If we ’re talking about other types of fungus , it ’s important to recollect that the root cause of a fungus is excess water . We can control fungus organically by slightly dehydrating the area . If you have a sprinkler scheme , taste turning the water off for 4 to 7 days , just to the full point where the lawn is starting to look tired . This can assist deactivate many types of fungus , and then you’re able to resume your normal watering . But ultimately , we want to know what causing is , although overwatering is commonly the perpetrator . A soil test will discover if you have nutrient deficiencies that may be causing the situation .
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My lawn is mostly sand and has brown spots and bare spots. Grass doesn’t grow very tall. Is it fungus or insects? —James via the newsletter
Ginja ’s Advice : From my experience , when multitude say the lawn is chocolate-brown , it commonly refers to sphere that lack body of water . guts does n’t have the capacity to deem urine well over a long period of time . For citizenry with sandy lawns , my good word is to water 5 to 7 Day per week .
With that say , it ’s important to do what we call a water yield cupful test to quiz your piss coverage . This is done by placing out a series of same - size cups in a grid rule throughout the zone or section in question in both the fleeceable area and the brown domain . bunk a 20 - minute cycle and then quantify how much water system you have in each cup . If cups A , B , and C are all catch 0.25 in , cup D and E are catching 0.15 column inch , and cupful F , G , and H are catching 0.25 inch , then we know we need to make some adjustment to cup D and E. Then , rerun the test.Slowtheflow.orgshould have a chart indicating how many inch of piddle per week is recommended to keep a healthy lawn in your area .
How do I keep chipmunks, gophers, and moles out of my yard? I’ve tried everything. I can control the moles, but not the chipmunks and gophers. —Linda via the newsletter
Ginja ’s Advice : Chipmunks are difficult , consider the nature of the brute . It walk , run , jump-start , and climbs trees . Eliminating any food source is the most recommend choice , but it ’s never a guarantee .
As for gophers and moles , I prefer to use an organic repellant calledMoleMax . But it involve to be applied every 4 to 8 week for best results . When applied regularly it helps change the taste of the roots and soil that the rodents are passing through . Keep in mind that this is forrepelling said rodents , not eliminating them .
Some query have been redact for clarity .
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