Four Steps To A Better Lawn

Rake. Feed. Punch. Zap. The latest video game? No! This fall, they’re the keys to healthy turf.

You can’t trust every old saying, but here’s one your yard can benefit from: Beautiful lawns are made in the fall.

It’s so true, and so often ignored by homeowners. Autumn is when lawns do their big preparation for the next 12 months - developing root systems that will help them be drought- and stress-tolerant in the coming year. It’s also when they can withstand stressful, but helpful procedures covered in these pages, since the grass is actively growing but isn’t strained by heat.

So get outside and spend some quality time with your lawn this fall, performing these four basic procedures that benefit every lawn. You’ll be glad you did come spring, when your grass is greener and lusher than ever.

1: Rake it (dethatch)

Thatch is the icky brown stuff that builds up from the dead crowns and stems of grass plants. The top of the grass is green, but if you look more closely at the base of the plants, it is brown and dry looking.

Some thatch is actually helpful because it protects the crown of the grass plant and acts as a mulch, helping the soil stay moist. It also acts as a cushion, preventing soil compaction. But too much thatch is a problem. It blocks water and air from the soil and harbors insects and disease pathogens.

When thatch becomes more than 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick, it’s time to take action. Luckily, the remedy is simple: dethatching. Do it in the fall while grass is still growing and can recover, yet isn’t stressed by summer heat and drought. In small areas, you can use a hand cultivator or ground rake to rake out the thatch. In larger areas, it’s worth your while to invest in a dethatcher attachment for your mower.

In the future, prevent thatch buildup by doing a few things that will benefit your lawn in many ways:

Aerate. Proper aeration diminishes thatch. Pulling plugs from the soil not only removes the thatch and encourages it to break down, it alleviates soil compaction, which can contribute to thatch buildup.

Top-dress the soil every year or two. This further breaks down thatch. Just spread a thin 1/4-inch layer of high quality topsoil or compost atop the grass.

Choose grass varieties carefully. Some such as zoysiagrass, are more prone than others to developing thatch.

Fertilize carefully. Over-fertilizing contributes to thatch buildup.

2: Feed it (fertilize)

There’s a lot of confusion about how often to fertilize a lawn, but it’s really not that complicated. If you want an immaculate lawn, feed the grass often - up to four times a year. If you’re less concerned about perfection, in the north you can get away with feeding just once a year in the spring or fall. In the south, with it’s longer growing season, you’ll need to feed twice, spring and fall.

Fall feeding is critical to the ongoing health of your lawn. That’s when grass is focusing on root growth rather than leaf growth, creating stronger plants for the winter and the following year. Your local garden center will have products labeled as fall or “winterizer” fertilizers have the right blend of nutrients to stimulate vigorous root growth. You can use either a liquid or granular fertilizer.

If you’d like to fertilize organically, check out the variety of organic products at your garden center. Or, just rake 1/4 inch of compost atop the soil.

3: Punch it (aerate)

As with dethatching, aerating is important so the air, water and nutrients can penetrate to the grass roots. Aerating punches through thatch and loosens compacted soil - a common problem in higher traffic areas. Compaction can occur because of children’s play, foot traffic, mowing, parked cars, heavy rains and construction equipment.

In larger yards, a great way to aerate is with an aerator attachment pulled behind your riding mower. This will remove plugs of soil about the size of baby carrots and throw them on the lawn to break down.

In smaller yards or on slopes that are difficult to navigate with heavy equipment, use a core aerator tool. It looks a little like a hoe with plug-cutting cylinders on the end. Press it into the soil with your foot to remove five or six plugs at a time.

Aerate in fall or spring, when the grass is actively growing but isn’t stressed by summer heat. As a rule of thumb, you should aerate your lawn every other year. Those lawns with very heavy traffic or those growing in heavy clay soil may need aerating more often.

4: Zap it (kill weeds)

Fall is the perfect time to take care of broadleaf perennial weeds such as plantation, curly dock, dandelion, English daisy, ground ivy, speedwell and clover. Annual weeds, such as crabgrass, purslane, spotted spurge, knotweed and chickweed, are spread by seed and therefore should be controlled by applying a pre-emergence herbicide in the spring. This kills the seeds before they can germinate.

If the infestation is small, you can control the weeds somewhat by pulling or digging them, being sure to get as much of the root as possible. If you fail to get enough of the root, you’ll simply be doing a prune job. With dandelions in particular, it’s important to get at least the top inch of the plant’s long, narrow taproot.

For larger problems, you should turn to a broadleaf herbicide. Early fall or late spring is an excellent time to do this because weeds need to be actively growing for herbicide to work. Once the weeds are killed, healthy turfgrass, which grows more slowly in summer’s drier weather, can fill in.

Your local garden center can advise you on specific products to use.