Reclaiming Your Lawn

Have you ever noticed how it sometimes seems that no matter what you try you can still have difficulties with your lawn? Seriously, it can be a little annoying to spend serious time and energy to grow the perfect lawn, and then find you have a dead patch, crab grass growing, or some other difficulty. Luckily, there are some things that you can do to help reclaim your lawn.

• Remove dead grass. If you have a large section of your lawn that has been killed off for whatever reason, try removing all of it. Simply get a sod cutter, or dig out the patch of dead grass to a depth of about two to three inches. Replace the old sod by either using new sod or replacing the missing dirt and planting new seeds. While this is the more labor intensive method, it generally produces the best possible results. Also keep in mind that unless you are replacing the sod that you removed with new, green sod, then there will be a dirt patch in your yard for a while.
• Semi-annual reseeding. Contrary to what many people think, you don't have to reseed only once a year. Instead of just reseeding in the Spring do it in the Fall as well. If you reseed your lawn semi-annually (meaning twice a year) then you will be able to replace any dead or barren patches in your lawn before they get to big, plus help make your lawn as strong and healthy as possible. Remember that any time you reseed, you should thoroughly rake your yard (whether it looks like it or not). This will help remove any and all debris that can hinder the growth of your lawn, as well as aerate your lawn to an extent, and promote proper drainage.
• Aerating. Aerating is an important part of reclaiming your lawn, particularly from the hazards of high traffic areas. High-traffic areas are a particular problem when you have children or areas of your yard that see more action than others. You can tell if you have a high traffic area by looking to see if the soil is more compact than it is in other areas. If you do, simply have that area of your yard (if not the entire yard) aerated a minimum of once a year, but more likely twice a year.
• Dethatching. Dethatching your lawn, which is removing the layers of grass stems, roots, clippings and other debris that can prohibit strong growth, is a great way to reclaim your lawn. While all lawns are susceptible to thatching, there are a few varieties of grass that are even more susceptible, and those are Kentucky Bluegrass, Bermuda, Zoysia and Bent grass.