Eastern Power Equipment
285 Route 9 PO Box 97 Barrington, NH 03825
Phone 603/664-7776 | Toll Free 866/664-7776 | Fax 603/664-7420 | email chuck@easternpowerequipment.com
These Easy Steps Make Your Lawn Thrive
If your neighbors' lawns look lush and green, while yours looks sparse and brown, your neighbors may know some lawn-care secrets that you easily can use, too.
Thatch probably is the culprit. And it's a problem many homeowners don't notice until their lawns look lifeless.
Here's how the problem develops. Thatch, which is a layer of interwoven grass, leaves and stems on your soil, builds up as summer progresses. The thatch blocks water and nutrients from reaching the roots of your grass. You know you have a problem when your soil is hard, your grass has shallow roots or is prone to disease.
Don't wait for the symptoms. The solution is simple: aerate your lawn and treat your thatch. You can rent an aerator, which is a gas-powered machine that actually pokes holes in the earth, removing cores of dirt as it goes. The holes allow nutrients, air and moisture to penetrate your lawn's root system.
You may need to go over your lawn two or three times, depending on your soil's condition. Aerate in spring if you think your lawn needs it, but aerate every fall to combat the soil compaction over the summer.
To keep the problem from recurring, you must deal with the thatch. Make a habit of collecting and composting grass clippings as you mow, so they don't add to the layer of thatch. And of course, you'll want to rake your leaves every fall.
To pull out the old thatch, you can rent a thatcher or power rake. It removes the tangle of grass clippings, leaves and stems that have collected in your grass. Watering will help your soil, and applying fertilizer, especially a fertilizer that decomposes thatch, helps too.
The next step is weeding. You'll probably be weeding most of the year, but experts agree that fall is the ideal time to tackle weeds. Get them before they go into winter dormancy.
If you have just a few weeds here and there, spot-kill them by pulling them or by treating them with chemicals. Pulling weeds is time-consuming, and the chemical method will save you time. But chemicals can be hazardous to the environment, so use them carefully and follow the chemical company's directions.
If you have weeds everywhere, you'll probably have to use a chemical treatment on your entire yard so that new grass seeds will have a chance to grow.
You'll see your lawn revive next summer if you weed, aerate and thatch now. And if you keep up the good work over several years, your lawn may just become the pride of the neighborhood.