A Healthy Lawn Is Only A Few Simple Rules Away

Few of us have the time, or the inclination, to learn all there is to know about turf grasses. So we blunder forward in a perpetual struggle for damage control. It’s enough to make us long for a middle ground, where a few simple rules and a minimum of chemicals would carry us happily from season to season.

Fertilize your grass to produce a healthy root system. If the roots are healthy, the top growth will be too. While some stores recommend fertilizing several times a year, a late-fall treatment with high nitrogen content is best for cool-weather grasses.

The best time for a fall fertilization is after you have put the lawn mower away. The goal is to build the root system while the top remains dormant. The root system remains active right up to when the ground freezes solid. By fertilizing in the spring, you produce more top growth instead of contributing to a healthier root system.

Tall fescues seldom need dethaching, but bluegrass and creeping red fescue should be dethatched yearly. Thatch is a dense accumulation of dead plant matter that accumulates at the base of the grass. As it builds, grass sends roots into it instead of the soil. In cool weather, the plant thrives in this nitrogen-rich substrata, but in warm weather, the thatch dries out and the roots burn. Rent a dethatcher each spring. Go over your lawn and remove the thatch that is turned up.

An aerator is similar to a rototiller, but instead of turning up the soil, it removes thousands of small soil plugs as you walk it over your lawn. By aerating the soil, the machine reduces weed growth because weeds grow best in compacted soil, while grasses thrive in uncompacted soil.

The holes poked through the turf provide a direct path for moisture and nutrients to reach roots, and the plugs of sod that are scattered over the turf quickly break down. Aerate and dethatch just before you fertilize.