Fall is fast approaching and with it comes an opportunity to restore your lawn after the heat of summer.  The Blue Crew at Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping recommend the following steps to restore your lawn. 

Weed Control 

When your grass is struggling and thinning out, weeds take the opportunity to grow and spread.  If you are planning to overseed your grass, you cannot put a pre-emergent on your lawn because it will keep your seeds from growing.  We recommend spot spraying a post-emergent spray to kill clumps of weeds.  If there are just a few weeds, it is easier to just pull them up.  In either case, they need to be removed before you overseed your lawn, or they will crowd the new grass out. 

Flag And Adjust Sprinklers 

Before going any further in your lawn restoration, it is important to mark where your sprinkler heads are so you do not rip them out when dethatching or aerating your lawn.  You can buy small flags on thin wires from big box stores and nurseries and use them to mark each head.  Marking them gives you a chance to repair any sprinkler heads that are damaged or don’t work properly.  In addition, it is important to adjust your sprinkler to water the new seeds you are planting.  If you fail to do this, your new grass will have a hard time establishing itself. 

Dethatch  

Thatch is a layer of dead grass, roots, and debris that builds up between the grass and the soil surface.  It can form an almost impenetrable layer that keeps water, nutrients, and air from reaching the roots.  Any time thatch is one inch thick or deeper, you need to remove it.  Before you overseed, dethatch so your seeds can reach the soil surface and grow. 

For a small yard, you can use a dethatching rake to rip out the dead grass and roots.  If you have a large yard, you will want to rent a dethatching machine.  Dethatching rakes work great, but they are tiring to use.  After dethatching your lawn, rake the debris up and compost it or throw it away.  Water your lawn until the soil is saturated with water before you move to the next step. 

Aerate 

Plants absorb water, nutrients, and air from the soil around them.  When the soil gets compacted, these things have a hard time penetrating the surface.  To fix that, you want to rent a core aerator and run it across the lawn.  Watering the lawn before aerating helps the aerator get as deep as it needs to in the soil.  Aerators punch holes in the soil and leave the soil they remove on your lawn in plugs.  After you aerate, rake these plugs until they fall into the grass.  They will dissolve the next time you water. 

Overseed 

The easiest way to overseed a lawn is to use a push spreader.  Set the dispersal rate according to the grass seed package instructions.  Walk back and forth in one direction, such as north to south, then walk back and forth in the other way, such as east to west.  This provides plenty of seed everywhere in the lawn.  Missing a spot leaves a thin area that does not look good. 

Top Dress With Peat Moss or Compost 

After you seed the lawn, spread about an inch of peat moss or compost on your lawn.  Rake it in so the amendments touch the ground.  This will provide the seeds with a burst of nitrogen that is slow enough releasing to avoid burning the seedlings. 

Fertilize 

Now is a good time to fertilize your lawn, too.  Pick a fall fertilizer and spread it according to the label instructions. Cover the lawn in one direction, then in the perpendicular direction to get good coverage. 

Water 

After you sow your seeds, top dress them, and fertilize the lawn, water the yard well.  This dissolves the plugs from aerating the soil, tells the seeds to germinate, and moves the nutrients from the top dressing and fertilizing into the root zone so the grass can use them.  Make sure you don’t let any water run off into the storm drain.  That wastes your expensive seed, top dressing, and fertilizer and pollutes streams and rivers. 

Care Guide 

If this sounds like a lot of work that is because it is a lot of work.  Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can do your fall lawn restoration for you.  Simply subscribe to our lawn care program and enjoy your yard.  We will even leave a detailed care guide for you to follow to maximize success.  Call (816) 825-2524 for the details and to sign up.