 | Justin Cawyer is the CEO of American Lawn & Landscape Inc., and has been in the landscape industry for 22 years. Starting out as a mowing service, their business has expanded to include everything from landscaping to fertilizing and weed control. For a complete list of services, you can see their ad in Names and Numbers, visit yardsbyamerican.com, or call 620-249-5700. |
Lawn, Garden & Landscaping
2012-10-02 14:58:51
Thin or thatch lawn? Consider fall seeding.
Q- Over the years, my lawn has thinned out and just does not look as lush and attractive. I fertilize it regularly and it is otherwise well maintained. Any suggestions?
A- Late summer is the time to decide what, if any, seeding work your lawn will need this year. Careful advance planning and follow-up can make the difference between seeding success and failure.
Thin Lawns
Can you see the soil or thatch layer when you look down at the grass? Thinness allows weeds to get started in the lawn and also causes the lawn to dry out much faster. A thin lawn should be seeded.
Heavy Thatch
The thatch layer can become so heavy that the primary root system is growing more in the thatch than in the soil below. Shallow, thatch-rooted lawns are much more susceptible to drought damage.
Better turf variety
Do you want to develop a more disease, insect or drought tolerant lawn? There are grass varieties that bugs, disease and hot weather don’t bother as much as others. These are a few of the conditions that call for seeding work. Others include repairing lawn drainage problems, and fixing worn rutted areas.
Why fall is best
Most don’t understand why late summer and fall are ideal to plant grass seed. Consider the following and you’ll see the sense it makes.
- Seed planted late in the season has two good growing periods (fall and spring) to “harden off” before going through the drought and heat stress often associated with summer weather.
- In the fall, most fast-growing weeds like crabgrass will not be sprouting and choking out the slower growing permanent grass being planted
- Soil temperatures are higher in late summer which means faster germination and establishment of most grasses.
- Late summer seeding need not disrupt the proper timing of weed control as spring seeding almost always does (new grass should not be treated for broadleaf weeds until after the 4th or 5th mowing).
