Millborn Seeds Newsletter - September 2009

Fall Turf Tips

You still have time before the first frost to make a positive impact on your lawn. Make time today and enjoy the results next spring!

What your lush lawn wants: Attaining a lush healthy lawn begins with the basics - quality seed, nutrient rich soil and plenty of moisture. We've got your seed & fertility needs covered! So, what if one of the other factors is missing? Let me explain a few steps you can take this fall to make a noticeable difference next spring:

Aerate: Aeration is important to your lawn's health. It alleviates compaction, allows oxygen into the soil and increases water penetration. I always say you can't aerate too much. I run over my own yard four times annually.

Fertilize: Typically you'll want to apply a maximum of 1 pound of a slow release nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn. The idea is to get your plants as healthy as possible and give them as many nutrients as possible before winter.

Re-seed: Go ahead and re-seed bare or thin patches. If you do this within the first three weeks of September, you should be safe and see growth before the first hard freeze.

Mowing: Nearly 100% of grass seed and mixes are made up of cool season grasses. Cool season grasses thrive in 55-75 degree weather. When temperatures rise, so should your mower blade - a shorter plant is more susceptible to heat stress and disease. Now that it's cooler out, you can lower your mower blade again.

Moisture: The ideal time to water is between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. Never water during the heat of the day. Heat plus water equals disease! When Mother Nature doesn't provide a weekly rain, I encourage homeowners to water up to (or as often as) every other day. Watering too often doesn't give the plants a reason to develop and maintain a deep root system.

Increase Deer & Pheasant Populations with Food Plots
By Jason Tronbak, Conservation Specialist

Hunting has been a passion of Dr. Erik Wiseman's for as long as he can remember.

"I used to go deer hunting with my dad before I was old enough to hunt," says Wiseman, a dentist in Brookings, S.D. "My mom has photos of me when I was 7 with my BB gun."

Today, Wiseman carries on his family's hunting tradition on land the family owns south of Vermillion, S.D. To attract deer and improve the overall landscape, Wiseman plants and manages food plots on 550 acres.

In our part of the world, food plots are utilized by wildlife - deer, pheasants, turkeys - as a source of food and shelter during the harsh winters. Millborn Seeds customizes our food plot mixes depending on your current habitat and what you, the landowner, want to achieve.

Wiseman wanted to increase the deer population on his property. His food plots have not only increased the number of deer on his property, but also impacted their size.

"Every year the deer seem to get bigger and bigger. We've stopped shooting small deer. Bow hunting last year, I had a difficult time finding a doe that was dry - it was hard to find a doe that didn't have two fawns - they must be healthy, we saw pair after pair of twins," says Wiseman, who began working with the team at Millborn Seeds after winning a bag of "Buck & Tom" seed mix. "I talked to Matt Fenske and he told me how to plant. I took his advice and everything came up great!"

Along with providing food and cover, food plots can also work to the hunter's advantage. Chris Goldade manages Smoky Mountain Ranch, a 3,000-acre private hunting club near Frederick, S.D. He plants food plots for easier hunting.

"Food plots put the pheasants in places where they are easier to hunt, or near tree stands to attract deer for archery. We plant them in places we can easily access, walk and hunt," says Goldade, who also works as a resource biologist for the South Dakota Game Fish and Parks.

Goldade first began working with Millborn Seeds about six years ago.

"I started buying seed from them because of the quality of their native grass seed. It's the highest quality I could find. Their customer service is always the best. They deliver on time and find whatever seed you need," Goldade says.

Because of Goldade's years of field experience, we work closely with him sharing information and resources.

To learn how planting food plots and wildlife habitat can work on your land, give me a call, 605-697-6306.