5 Ways You Sabotage Your Lawn and How to Fix It Now

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5 Ways You Sabotage Your Lawn and How to Fix It
Now
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From dog marks to grubs to fertilizer burns, its
easy to repair a damaged lawnLike with most
things, the best defense against a damaged lawn
is prevention, but when it comes to lawn care,
even the most diligent green thumb can end up
with a burnt out, unattractive lawn.These are
the top 5 issues we see with damaged lawns on a
regular basisOver-fertilization, resulting in
burnt or bare patchesUrine damage from pets,
also resulting in yellow, bare patches Insect
and critter damage
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Weeds, including dandelions and crabgrass Lack
of moisture Over-fertilization And Pet Urine
DamageThis kind of damage causes patches of
burnt out lawn, where the grass has died and
thinned out, or bare patches where there is
basically no lawn left. There are two ways to
tackle the problem in the specific patches
seeding or sod.For seeding, you need high
quality topsoil and grass seed, and you need to
know the kind of soil youre working with.Step
1 Mow the whole lawn, paying particular
attention to the areas you plan to re-seed
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Step 2 Rake the soil areas that you want to
re-seedStep 3 Spread the grass seed according
to the package instructions and roll the area to
ensure that the seeds have good contact with the
soilStep 4 Add a layer of topsoil to the areas.
This will help protect the seeds from blowing
away or being picked up by birds and insects,
while they germinate. It also helps to retain
moisture, which the seeds will also need to
effectively take hold.For sod, preparation is
key.First off, plant your sod right away.
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The sod needs to be watered frequently throughout
the first season, and it will take a few weeks
for the roots to truly take Be patient! Insect
damageDamage from insects occurs in two ways
from the insects themselves and from the birds
and small animals that prey on the insects. Very
often, lawn damage that is due to insects isnt
immediately visible, such as when the lawn is
growing in the summer, but come the following
spring, the damage may be very easy to spot.
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Watch out for evidence of small animals, like
raccoon droppings or a proliferation of skunks or
birds congregating in one area of your lawn
these are signs that youve got grubs or other
insects infesting your lawn. If your infestation
is heavy, It will be hard to miss the quantify of
torn grass resulting from these critters nightly
grub hunts. They do provide a form of free pest
control, but its at the cost of your
lawn!Pesticide bans in Ontario have made it
difficult to deal with this type of infestation
so your best bet is a thick healthy lawn and the
easiest way to achieve that, again, is to re-seed
or sod the affected areas, as described above.
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Its important to really work the ground,
removing all the old sod, and keep an eye on
re-seeded areas to make sure that weeds dont
take root.TIP! A well-watered, appropriately
fertilized and overseeded lawn is less likely to
have issues with grubs and insects (and weeds,
for that matter) simply because theyre more
robust and can withstand the insects better, from
the root upwards.
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Weeds be goneIssues with weeds like dandelions
and crabgrass are similar to those of insects
theyre more likely to invade less healthy and
bare areas of your lawn where competition for
water and nutrients is less, and again, pesticide
bans have made them more difficult to manage. A
healthy lawn will block out weeds before they can
gain a foothold, so really the true solution to
weed problems is prevention.Unfortunately, once
you have weeks, theres no magic cure. You simply
need to pull them by hand or by raking them from
the root, then fix the lawn with seed or sod.
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After that, you can keep them at bay with a
thick, healthy and well maintained lawn.TIP!
Dont over-mow your lawn! A good lawn mower will
have adjustable cutting heights so be sure to set
it at the highest level you want to be taking
off no more than a third of the grass blade, each
time you mow. Too short and the weeds will have
an opportunity to invade!Lack of moistureThe
single biggest threat to a healthy lawn is lack
of moisture. Without it, the grass roots will be
shallow and easily disturbed, to say nothing of
their inability to get the available nutrients in
the soil.
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How can you tell if your lawn needs
moisturebefore it turns brown, that is? Step on
it. Does the grass retain your footprints or does
it bounce back? If the former, you need to water.
If the latter? Good job watering!
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