Lawn Aeration Benefits

Aerating the lawn is a process whereby cores of soil are pulled up from the turf using a machine that is a little bit bigger than a lawn mower. The machine has tines on it that pierce down into the lawn and actually pull out cores that are each about the size of a roll of dimes. This accomplishes a couple things:

1) Hard compacted soil (especially clay soil) is effectively loosened when cores are removed. When you remove the cores, the rest of the soil “gives way” and becomes literally “aerated.” In addition, the extra space created allow the turf roots to expand. An expanded root system is a thicker root system – and thicker roots make a thicker top!

2) Aerating the lawn helps control your lawn’s thatch layer. Thatch is a layer of organic material in every lawn that resides just at the soil line. It is made up of dead grass material, leaves and other stuff and serves many good purposes. However, when the thatch layer gets too thick, it can cause problems. It will stop water and nutrients from getting deep into the soil, as well as harbor disease. It also creates shallow rooting. When you aerate, you are punching holes in the thatch, enough to keep it managed properly.

3) Aeration allows nutrients and water to hit the root system direct. Since you are going to open up the lawn when you aerate, you might as well throw some good nutrients down on the lawn at the same time. You will never get as good of penetration then at the time of aerating. Follow my instructions in my book to know what to put down.

Those are the main reasons to have your lawn aerated this year. Even if your lawn is super thick and healthy already, you should aerate it every fall.

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Brown Spots – Is It Grub Worms?

Towards the latter part of the summer, I get dozens of emails from people wondering why and what those brown areas are in their lawns. Now, there are any number of reasons your lawn turns brown in the summer. It could be from poor irrigation, heat stress, sod web worm insects, dollar spot fungus or maybe, just maybe — GRUB WORMS!

what caused these brown areas?

What you need to do is get down on your knees and start digging in that lawn! try to pull up the brown grass and see what you find. The tell-tail sign that you have grub worms is your lawn will pull right up and roll back like you are rolling back a carpet.

Does the lawn peel back?

Once you peel back the  lawn, start looking for little shrimp underneath – if you find them, then you have grub worm issues. I also recommend you look in several places. Look around the edges, in the middle of the brown spots, everywhere. If you find them, this is what they look like.

lawn grubs

How To Kill Grubs

Now you are going to need a pesticide to kill these guys. I know you want your lawn to be natural, but would you have it become naturally DEAD? No, so we need to treat it, but do it responsibly! Use the product below, use a hand spreader and only apply the product to the brown areas and 24″ outside of the brown areas. Don’t blanket treat the lawn. This is what we call Integrated Pest Management – just using enough pesticide to cure the problem but not going overboard. Be sure to water in the treatment immediately and then go ahead and re-seed in 3 weeks. Remember, the idea is to only put the pesticides in and around the affected areas and no where else. Of course, you need to monitor the situation to see if damage shows up in other areas of the lawn. The idea is to be conscious of what you are doing!

Dollar spot appears mostly in lawns that are “sod on clay” which means areas of the country where sod was laid directly on top of clay soil. That pretty much covers a good portion of the midwest and south. It’s a fungus that resides in the soil and attacks weakened root structures in turf causing small brown spots that start out the size of silver dollars. In the picture below, you can see the start of dollar spot in a very healthy lawn.

I have seen it in all kinds of grass from kentucky blue, perennial rye and st augustine. Like I said, in most years, I don’t see it as that big of a deal. But this year we have had sustained dumping rains pretty much all summer with intermittent super high temps and humidity. Now, I know we get these kind of conditions every year, but this season they have been long sustained over and over and over. This has made the disease spread faster and further in lawns where permanent damage may be seen.

In the second picture below, you can see a severe case of dollar spot. This is in a “heat zone” between the street and the sidewalk and the added heat allowed the fungus to spread very fast.

So How Can We Stop Dollar Spot Fungus?
The best way to cure dollar spot disease in your lawn is to prevent it using a natural fungicide called Serenade Disease Control. This product works very well on many lawn fungus problems, including dollar spot.

But you are here because you already have brown spots in your lawn! And the good news is that Serenade Disease Cont32 Oz Con is still the product of choice because using it will STOP the spread of the fungus any further. You will need to apply it a few times following the label instructions.

In addition, I would suggest cutting your watering and irrigation habits down to about once per week. When you do water, water for a solid hour in each spot. We want to go with infrequent yet deep waterings when dollar spot is evident.

I also want you to mow very tall and catch your clippings. Dollar spot can be spread through contaminated clippings so catching them and disposing of them is best when the disease is raging in your lawn.

Finally, I want you to fertilize normally using one of my recommended organic natural fertilizers. This will give you slow release nitrogen that will keep the lawn growing throughout the course of the problem.

Best Summer Lawn Fertilizer

Since it is hot and dry this time of year, I want you guys to consider using an organic lawn fertilizer. The reason for this is the natural slow release that organics give. You see, organic and natural lawn fertilizers break down and release their nutrients from heat, not water. This is why you have to water in most of the synthetic fert you get at the store, whereas organics just need time… slow time… slow release! THAT is why they work well and they won’t burn the lawn or push an over-abundance or growth.

I have two preferences for summer lawn fertilizers: Milorganite and Ringer Lawn Restore. Let’s talk about each one for a bit.

Milorganite Organic Fertilizer For Lawns

Milorganite should be used (in my opinion) at the end of May as your early summer boost fertilizer. It is basically sewage from Milwaukee that has been combined with iron and packaged for lawns! Gross I know, but by the time you get it, just little charcoal colored pellets remain. It is very slow release and contains iron and nitrogen in quantities that will give your lawn a sustained feeding during the transition from spring to summer.

You need to follow the directions on the label, which at the time I am writing this, call for 15lbs of Milorganite per 1,000 square feet of lawn space. Guys, that is gonna feel like you are shoveling it on, but trust me, it will be just fine. Milorganite will not burn your grass and you have to apply a lot in order to get the long-term sustained slow release we are looking for. A related article on lawn iron will help you understand why I like this fertilizer for early summer so much.

See a picture of my lawn below taken August 4 just after we had sustained temps in the mid-90s here in Indiana. Color stayed really nice.

Ringer Lawn Restore Organic Fertilizer

My second choice for a summer natural fertilizer is Ringer Lawn Restore. I recommend you apply this one in mid-August just to help push your lawn through later summer pressures and get you firmly into the fall lawn season. Ringer is lots of chicken poop and parts and all that… YUCK! … and it smells, but I tell you what guys, the results it brings are awesome.

Ringer works well because it contains nitrogen and potassium which are very essential elements when it comes to the turf’s ability to sustain summer heat, lack of water and insect stress.  You don’t need quite as much Ringer Lawn Restore to get good results; bout 10lbs of product applied to each 1,000 sq feet of lawn area. It will seem like a lot still, but have no fear!

If you use these two fertilizers on your lawn this summer and apply them properly, you will have nice results that will help your lawn look good during the hottest months. Of course, I must stress the importance of proper lawn watering and proper lawn mowing during the entire year, but especially when it is hot outside!

Good luck lawn care lovers… your questions are welcome below in the comment section:

What Are Grub Worms?

Grubs are the larvae of a number of May-June beetles and are found from about the Wisonsin/Illinois border all the way down to the far South. The May-June beetles (June bugs) lay eggs in lawns during the early and mid-summer. Those eggs hatch into grubs and those grubs feed, munch and chew on the roots of your turf. That is why areas die out and can be pulled up like patches of carpet.

The damage from grub worms begins in the summer and usually is seen sometime into Sept or Oct or later depending how far North you live. The point is that by the time the grub worm damage appears, it’s too late! That is why PREVENTION of grub worms is the main key.

Grub Worm Insecticides

Preventing grub worm damage is really what we want to shoot for, and since they damage lawns in the summer, we need to apply grub worm prevention in June or July at the very latest – with June being the optimum time. Most preventions on the market today that are most effective contain a product called “merit” which is watered into the soil, taken in my grass roots and has a residual value of up to 3 months. If you put it down in June, you will be covered and protected through the feeding season. Below are grub worm products that contain Merit as they main ingredient.

If you are reading this and you are already finding ACTIVE grubs in your lawn, then you have a bigger problem and need a faster solution. You need to kill the buggers NOW and that means you need a contact kill product like the ones below.

Natural and Organic Grub Controls

First off, I DO NOT RECOMMEND using organic grub controls if your lawn isn’t already thick and healthy. Here’s the thing guys: a very thick, healthy lawn will resist grubs in higher numbers on its own. The thicker the turf, the more stress and damage it can recover from naturally WITHOUT any chemicals.

If your lawn is like mine below, then you can use organic or natural grub controls and get very good results. The truth is that organic grub controls are super effective in the first place, so you need a thick, healthy lawn in order to rely on them. That is the main point here.

Below are some of the better organic or natural grub controls that I have used over the years with good effectiveness, milky spore grub prevention being the best one… but is does require multiple applications to build up in your soil.

Lawn Moths – Sod Web Worms – Kill Lawn Moths

Later spring means you guys will soon be asking me “what are those moths in my lawn, where do they come from, and how do I get rid of them?” You also may want to know what insect controls are safe for lawns that will still get rid of the moths… be safe, but be effective right? –So here you go… all you need to know about lawn moths…

What Are Lawn Moths?

No doubt you are here because you have seen those white moths that fly up whenever you walk through your grass. Sometimes they flutter in strange patterns, land back into the turf and seem to disappear right? Chances are that these white moths are the adult stage of the lawn damaging sod webworm.

Sod webworm is a sucking insect that feeds on grass crowns. The crown is the base of the grassplant, where the blades come from. (like the crown of your head is where your hair grows from!) Chew up the grass crown, kill the lawn!

Really though, sod webworm are not a major problem in most places. They can do some decent damage in areas that are very sunny and dry -  they don’t prefer the shade or moist areas either… picky little buggers!

At worse, they may give the lawn a brownish cast. Really though, it is the moths themselves that are more of a nuissance to you when they zip around all over the place while you are playing horseshoes or bean bags. I mean, who wants moths landing on the rim of their beer bottles right?

How Do You Kill Lawn Moths Safely?

If we are going to treat the lawn for sod webworms and the adult moths, we need a product that will take care of both the larval and adult stages. We also need a product that is more on the natural/organic side… ya know, safe!? — Otherwise, you are just wasting time and money.

You definitely should use a liquid insect control product. This is because it kills on contact. The moths are not feeding on the lawn and will not die if you use granular products! The liquid I recommend Green Light Organic Lawn & Garden Insect Control Spray With Spinosad – Quart #41140 because it works very well and comes in a hose end spray bottle that makes it fool proof. Get two bottles, one for now, and another for later July and you will have all the white lawn moths and sod webworms gone!! Good luck you guys!

Here is my lawn, 100% organic lawn treatments!

I give you guys a lot of lawn care tips here on this blog, but none mean as much to me as those that have to do with natural or organic lawn treatments. There are a lot of reasons for that, but really, it comes down to results! Now, I don’t have time to give you the entire lawn treatment program in this one post, but you can get my very own here!

But let’s talk about organics and why they are good for your lawn:

Slow Release Naturally!

Organic lawn fertilizers release their nutrients (like nitrogen and iron) into the lawn very slowly over time. This is because they rely on heat to break down or decompose. This decomposition lets the nutrients into the soil where the grass roots can grab and use them. This slow feeding means the lawn is strengthened over time. A lawn that grows healthy slowly will stay that way longer when troubles hit (troubles like drought stress, insect pressure, weed invasion or fungal attack).

On the flip side, synthetic lawn treatements (man-made fertilizers) throw nutrients in immediately as soon as water hits them. This give the lawn a fast green up, but if you are not careful, that fast green will end in a crash fast! Too many synthetic fertilizer lawn treatments are overly heavy in the nitrogen department. Too much nitrogen too fast makes the lawn go nuts (grow fast) but just like when you give the kids too much candy, that fast, hyper blowout ends fast!

When you follow my lawn treatment program, you learn how to use the right synthetics in the beginning to give the lawn a boost without over-pushing it, and then you learn to switch to good, slow release organic lawn treatments for the long haul!

It’s all about the slow release you guys!

I did an entire article are the best lawn sprinklers, and that was long and drawn out, so here is really the most basic part of lawn watering…

Water Deeply When You Do

The most important lawn watering advice I can give you is to water deep! If you don’t water deeply enough, then the moisture you do throw out sits on top of the lawn or stays in the thatch layer, never really getting to the soil and roots. Water that sits in the soil will cause those grass roots to turn upward where they will end up thickening the thatch layer! Ever walk on a super spongy lawn??? Chances are there is a thatch issue there and it was caused by frequent, light watering. Those of you will sprinkler systems are the biggest culprits here!!! You guys have your systems come on everyday for 10 or 15 minutes per zone.. THAT is TOO LIGHT! Change them puppies to every 3rd day for 40 minutes per zone or more! Trust me!

Above is a closeup of a lawn areas with a mega-heavy thatch buildup.

Notice how the green part of the lawn is struggling to get through the thatch.

Now look at the picture below and you can see where the grass roots are growing in the thatch layer…

no soil rooting at all! This lawn got this way from 10-minutes-per-day sprinkler system irrigation!

If you don’t have an in-ground sprinkler system, then you will need to do a little more work, but the same thing applies… watering deep means lay down 1/2 inch of water every third day. If you don’t know what that means, then leave your sprinkler out for 60+ minutes before you move it to another place. Easy!

Dog Urine Burns Grass How?

Dog urine concentrations burn lawns in much the same way over fertilizing burns lawns. Think of dog urine as super concentrated liquid lawn fertilizer, and too much in a contained area will burn up the roots. This is why lots of times, just outside of the urine burn spot, the grass will actually be super dark green.

How To Prevent Dog Urine Burn In Lawns

There are a few ways that folks have tried over the years to stop their dog’s pee from burning spots in the lawn. But the easiest, most effective and safest way is to cure the problem at the source, your dog. Some folks have tried feeding their dogs brewers yeast as a way to change the pH of dog urine, but this really does not work well. You need a specially formulated vitamin and amino acid supplement that will do it from the inside, effectively. I recommend NaturVet Grass Saver Tablets.

If feeding your dog tablets or liquids to prevent his urine burning the grass, then you have other options still. At this point, we need to work on the lawn instead to the guts of the dog. There are things we can do to the lawn to help this situation and the first is to get him to do his business in one central location, preferrably far away from the “human area” of the lawn and on some sort of mulched area. I mean, c’mon ya’ll, you can teach your dog NOT to go to the bathroom in your house at all, but you can’t teach him to do his business in a designated area in the back yard?

There is help, however, and that comes in the form of the Dog Pee Post. This little invention is placed in your dog’s designated bathroom area and it “attracts” him to the area to urinate and pee and whatever else. I dunno what it is, but the dog pee post has some sort of smell, or scent, or whatever it is, but is brings the dog over to pee… like a fire hydrant. See below:

You guys know that in the end, all this lawn care stuff we do has a purpose… and that is to make your lawn look better than everyone elses’s right? Yep, that’s it. And this article is gonna give you one of the top ways to make your lawn stand out big time!

Have you ever wondered how to mow stripes in your lawn like a baseball outfield, NASCAR infield or golf course fairway? Well, it’s called “lawn striping” and until recently, you had to have a special lawn mower or professional lawn striping kit to make it work. The good news is, however, that now you can stripe your lawn like a pro with a very inexpensive attachment called the Lawn Stryper lawn striping system.

I got ahold of one (complementary of course) and wanted to do this review for you guys and then also show you where to get one for cheap! Long story short, I am VERY impressed with the Lawn Stryper and highly recommend it.

My lawn mower is the Lawn Boy insight, so I was able to get a green Lawn Stryper to match. They come in other colors too, red and black. Anyway, I will say that the kit was pretty easy to put together and because of the way they designed it, it will fit pretty much any walk behind mower.

The roller that is pulled behind the mower pushes or presses the grass down just after the blades cut it, so when the sun hits it, reflections are different, giving you the striped appearance. And that’s really all lawn striping is, just making the grass blades lay differently in a pattern.

In the pictures here you will see that I did simple straight lines, but the designs you can do with the Lawn Stryper are virtually endless. And that brings me to some of the initial questions I had about this system and the answers I found after using it:

Lawn Stryper Review

1) Does the weight of the roller effect mower performance? When I first put the kit together, I had to fill the roller with pea gravel in order to give it some weight. (directions recommend sand). At first I thought this might cause me issues, but when you think about it, your mower is made to haul the bagger full or grass, and the Stryper roller doesn’t weight anymore than that. So, in short, the weight had not effect on my mower’s performance or handling.

2) How does the Lawn Stryper handle turns? Once again, I was concerned that lugging a roller behind my mower deck might effect it on tight turns, but no such issues came up. In fact, the stryper pulled right along like is was meant to be a part of the mower from the get go. It did not come loose or get in the way.

3) Can you still back up? As you all know, there are always times when you have to back up during mowing and at first I was concerned that the Stryper would get tangled in the way.. but once again, no issues. It rolls back just as easily and effortlessly as it rolls forward.

Final Lawn Styper Review

Does it work? Does it really mow stripes like a golf course fairway? YES! Just look at these pictures guys. I highly recommend the Lawn Stryper system and can tell you it is well worth the small price. Look below for where to get it.