Prepping lawn for spring - hardened dirt

[JHZR2]

First off I'll say that I'm neither trying to grow a golf course nor dump too much chemistry on my lawn. I'm ok with mixed grasses and a few weeds that look ok from 20 feet when mowed. Between small children playing and the fact that we grow a lot of our own food that we try to keep organic, I'll live with some issues...

But I do try to get rid of dead grass, maintain the right pH, feed it something lightly once in a while, overseed, etc.

So I was out raking some of the yard this weekend, and was using a metal rake with some decent pressure, and getting up a lot of dead grass. Kind of like this picture borrowed from toro:

In a few areas,mothers are some small bare spots, and in spots like that, I like to scratch the surface with my rake and then put down seed.

Strangely, scratching with the rake wouldn't "scratch the surface". In years past it was not an issue at all to easily break up the soil just with the rake. It's like the soil surface was rock hard. Beautiful mix of black dirt and sand, but it was just solid in place. It was like this in many spots.

So,it got me thinking... Grass has been growing, notionally untouched, for nearly 100 years. The soil has just been rising up over time with organic matter, but staying compressed with rain, traffic, etc. So, what's the best way to help reinvigorate the soil? I know that Home Depot rents an aerator machine by the hour. I've never done that - should I? Any other steps? I think they may also rent a detaching machine, fwiw.

Or is there anything manually I should do now and again? Random holes with a pick? Jab the ground with a pitchfork. Something else?

Thanks!

 

[doitmyself]

Lawns are very distant to the natural prairies of centuries past. There is very little that is natural about a lawn. Compaction can be a huge problem.

Google "Lawn compaction solutions".

Yes, a GOOD core aeration is helpful: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/the_secret_to_good_lawns_is_good_soil

 

[sleddriver]

Don't know much about your climate, soil structure, type of grass you have, etc. What that said, aerating your grass areas with a machine can really help. If it really is rock hard though, you should water thoroughly a day or two in advance BEFORE you plan on using the machine. Else it won't do much penetrating. Rake the grass thoroughly, then apply 50/50 mix of sand & compost. When the grass begins to grow or it warms up enough, then you can fertilize.

 

[dlundblad]

If that is a photo of your yard, I really like that wood fence and landscaping in the background. Looks very nice.

Since you're concerned about keeping it organic, as far as removing the grass clippings, I've always been told by old timers that keeping the clippings on the yard an entire summer equals about a bag of fertilizer (never understood what sized bag of course.. Lol)

If you mow enough, potentially 2 times a week depending on the time of year, keeping the clippings on the yard and keeping it looking good shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

It's still technically winter, and the ground is still hard from being frozen/snow packed. In an ideal world the earthworms would do the work, but most city dwellers have dumped enough chemicals on their lawns to make manual aeration a requirement. Once it warms up just aerate it and you'll be fine. If you have to dethatch your lawn then you have something out of balance-it should naturally break down the thatch and dethatch itself.

Originally Posted By: dlundblad
If that is a photo of your yard, I really like that wood fence and landscaping in the background. Looks very nice.


That's a stock photo swiped from another site.

 

[Shannow]

Was going to say worms, but Pop_Rivit beat me to it.

They work on thatch and all sorts of good things as well.

 

[dblshock]

dish soap..search the classic Jerry Baker mix.

 

[dblshock]

You will need:
■One full can of regular pop (any kind-no diet soda)
■One full can of beer (no light beer)
■1/2 Cup of Liquid dishwashing soap (do NOT use anti-bacterial dishwashing liquid)
■1/2 Cup of household ammonia
■1/2 Cup of mouthwash (any brand)

Directions:
■Pour into 10-gallon hose-end sprayer (other sizes will work too)
■In high heat, apply every three weeks

 

[dblshock]

another I used..

1 Can Coke (regular, not diet)

1 Can beer

1 Can apple juice

1 cup ammonia

1 cup any-type of lawn food Miracle Grow

1 cup urine (any kind)

 

[tom slick]

Aerate then gypsum

 

[Donald]

In the spring I think its beneficial to give the lawn a good raking with a metal leaf rake to deal with thatch, however I run over the raked thatch with lawn mower so it does not leave the lawn, but gets chopped into smaller pieces. If you have a mulching lawn mower, you may need to de-thatch it.

I use Milorganite as a natural fertilizer.

 

[Nate1979]

Aerate + compost/sand mix works great. You can also spread alfalfa pellets. They will break down into a compost.

 

[TWG1572]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Don't know much about your climate, soil structure, type of grass you have, etc. What that said, aerating your grass areas with a machine can really help. If it really is rock hard though, you should water thoroughly a day or two in advance BEFORE you plan on using the machine. Else it won't do much penetrating. Rake the grass thoroughly, then apply 50/50 mix of sand & compost. When the grass begins to grow or it warms up enough, then you can fertilize.


+1. There's not much I can add to this other than to point what seems to be obvious, but often isn't. Don't apply crabgrass preventer, corn gluten, etc. before or during the period that you want your new grass to sprout. I know you said you were low maintenance, so this is probably more for the benefit of others reading the thread.

 

[chiefsfan1]

Originally Posted By: dblshock
You will need:
■One full can of regular pop (any kind-no diet soda)
■One full can of beer (no light beer)
■1/2 Cup of Liquid dishwashing soap (do NOT use anti-bacterial dishwashing liquid)
■1/2 Cup of household ammonia
■1/2 Cup of mouthwash (any brand)

Directions:
■Pour into 10-gallon hose-end sprayer (other sizes will work too)
■In high heat, apply every three weeks



That sounds like a Jerry Baker concoction.
Those are chemicals as well.

Aerate the heck out of the yard. Then use Milorganite is a good organic fertilizer.
http://www.milorganite.com/using-milorganite/what-is-milorganite

http://rutgersnjfertilizerapp.blogspot.com/

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: tom slick
Aerate then gypsum


I have had some success with gypsum and that is major, considering the fact that my soil is pure clay and can get as hard as brick in some areas.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
That's a stock photo swiped from another site.


Haha I was about to say,he sure dresses up to do yard work

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
Was going to say worms, but Pop_Rivit beat me to it.

They work on thatch and all sorts of good things as well.


Im not sure we have a "lot" of thatch... That image I used from the Toro site was about what I raked up. Is that a lot really? And since I don't collect our clippings, who knows how much of what I raked was leftovers...

I didn't really think about worms... We had a really rainy day and a half, and I can say that the earthworms are VERY much alive and well. My toddler loves to pick them up off the sidewalk and put them back in the garden.

We don't apply any chemicals really, though Ill put very sparingly some winter fertilizer on the front lawn once in a blue moon (haven't done it in a few years). We have a substantial garden in our backyard that feeds us the summer and then some, so Im not interested in putting stuff down on the dirt, but growth wasn't really the issue anyway... It was just the hardness...

And I do need to give the worms some time. We must have picked up and moved fifty of them that were on the sidewalk in puddles today... It didn't really register to me.

As the yard has never to my knowledge been aerated, I suspect it may be a prudent move regardless, especially since I can easily rent the machine at HD.

Thanks!

P.S. Our soil is a very nice sandy loam that in our foodcrop areas we have added a lot of rich black soil. The "yard" is that original sandy loam with years of composted grass clippings and leaves.

 

[sleddriver]

Originally Posted By: dblshock
another I used..
1 Can Coke (regular, not diet)
1 Can beer
1 Can apple juice
1 cup ammonia
1 cup any-type of lawn food Miracle Grow
1 cup urine (any kind)
I remember those old JB yard specials on PBS down here about 20yrs ago??? That guy was a hoot! "Tips, tricks & tonics" I think his moto was. Not sure how well any of his concoctions worked.

I do know from personal experience that sugar of any form, causes my compost bins to get even hotter than usual. A few weeks ago, I began layering shredded oak leaves with finished compost in one bin with a light sprinkling of fertilizer between the layers and with each layer watered in well. At the time, that pile was about 2' deep x 4' wide by 4' high or so. I use a 18" piece of 1/2" rebar as my thermometer, stuck into the piles core. Within 4 days the end was already too hot to grab more than a second or two. And that was without sugar! One more detail: I probably used about 20ga. of water to soak that pile and the water temp was around 55°F. So that pile generated enough heat to raise the temp of that water from there to about 130°F. That's quite a lot of energy when you think about it.

I added another 3' onto it last weekend, then we got a good rain here (>3"), so it's been thoroughly soaked. Haven't checked the temp lately, but sure it's still hot. Bigger piles get hotter and stay that way longer, which is really needed to break down tough oak leaves.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: Donald
In the spring I think its beneficial to give the lawn a good raking with a metal leaf rake to deal with thatch, however I run over the raked thatch with lawn mower so it does not leave the lawn, but gets chopped into smaller pieces. If you have a mulching lawn mower, you may need to de-thatch it.

I use Milorganite as a natural fertilizer.


+1

Same here....

 

[supton]

Can you thatch (dethatch?) using a bow rake? Just give it a good rubbing with the rake so as to dig up anything dead. I try to do that in the spring, dig up dead grass and to dig out pine needles. I just have to gauge the work by how soft the ground is, so as to avoid ripping up good grass (or the moss imitating grass).