Visited a lawn today.
On the front was a patch of exposed lawn.
This lawn was sodded in the past couple of years. But the thatch layer is very dense and thicker than it should be. Thatch is good and bad.
A little thatch does help to reduce moisture loss due to evaporation. A small amount can help to cushion the soil from excessive traffic and reduce the risk of compaction.
Too much thatch, however, can act more like a thatch roof. In this case, it prevents rain and water from reaching the root zone. Rain will wash off the lawn rather than seep into the soil. Excessive thatch also reduces the amount of beneficial oxygen that can reach the roots. It can also impede the movement of fertilizers to the roots. A thick layer of thatch also is where insects like chinch bugs can reside and then cause extensive damage to the turf. And lastly, grubs, while we think of them as eating grass roots, do seem to enjoy feeding on thatch as well. This makes "thatchy" lawns more likely to experience a grub attack.
Thatch as seen in the picture above is best removed by core-aeration. A dethatching will only treat the symptoms. The real problem is a lack of oxygen to the microbial population that normally decomposes the thatch layer. By improving the soil structure with an aeration, the excess thatch will disappear.
This lawn is in more than rough shape. It appears to have been neglected for some time. Lawn care is certainly essential to maintaining a healthy green lawn.
The bare and thin spots did not yield any white grubs or leatherjacket larvae. The thin lawn is likely to have been caused or exasperated by chinch bug damage.
The thinned out turf coupled with a lack of nutrients has also permitted moss to get a toehold on the lawn.
Our recommendation would be to aerate and overseed heavily with a high quality lawn seed mixture that contains endophytic perennial rye, in order to restore a healthy population of grass plants in the lawn.
A program of regular applications of a high quality, slow release fertilizer will help to thicken the lawn and to increase its density.
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Don't Settle for a Hamburger and Fries Lawn program when what you really want and what your lawn will prefer is a Steak and Potatoes Dinner.
Often people will say to me, "Why does your lawn program cost more than XYZ company's? They are giving me meat, potatoes, fresh vegetables and a drink for $xx."
I try to explain that it is like comparing the hamburger and fries from the fast food lawn company to our much more robust lawn meal. No one would ask Kelsey's why their meat, potatoes, fresh vegetables and a drink cost more than the meat, potatoes, fresh vegetables and a drink from the golden arches.
Unfortunately, it takes some time for people to learn that 3 fertilizers and a couple of weed treatments do not necessarily make for a good lawn meal.
What kind of nutrients are being applied? Is it "fast food" nutrition or is it a long-lasting, high quality fertilizer that is custom blended to the soil conditions in this area.
Is your meal being served by teenagers who work part-time or is your lawn being cared for by lawn technicians who have a career in this business?
If you're looking for more than a fast food lawn program, give us a call.
905-318-6677
1-888-887-3546 888-TURFKING
