Lawn after Winter
I have thatch!!! plenty…
The tools I’m using
Detaching…
Hands on work, using first the scarifier with the sharp blades and then several passes with the brushes (i believe i have made 6 passes until it stopped removing thatch).
Early March..
we got some nice warm sunny days, so i put ferlizer and kept watering twice a day (perfect conditions here to grow grass).
NPK 12+12+17 (+2) and irrigation system on 7:30am and 8:00pm 10 min each session.
Some of the grass started to look good but i had a lot of yellow spots that wouldn’t react to water and fertilizer (see picture bellow).
I read somewhere in the internet that i could have a poor soil and the only way to make it better would be to “inject” quality to the soil. The guy suggested doing some holes and filling them with organic stuff like grass from the mower, trees leaves, fruit garbage, etc. I just added some organic soil used on plants. Well i know digging the entire lawn is not a solution, but just made a few holes to see if it would make any changes and afterall had big fun with my older sun as he enjoyed a lot digging holes and filling with stuff :)
What now, I won’t be able to dig holes in the entire lawn… well if i can’t add organic stuff inside the soil, why not give it a try to topdress with that. I will add some sand as well to fix the bumps…
Late March / Early April
Top dressing with organic soil had immediate results 1 week later lawn was looking nice! Still could see a few spots where grass looks like its still recovering but after all was really good and i could even cut it as short as my mower can handle and it would look green.
Happy with the organic soil results, decided to add some sand to make the surface smooth and remove the small bumps. Just made in a small area of the lawn, just in case it would give any problems. But was all fine…
June …and very warm days…
Read somewhere that grass needs nitrogen, iron, water and sunlight. Well i bought some iron suphate and the package even shows a yellow grass turning green, so had big hopes. Made a trial in a few areas and nothing happened… ahah :)
Lawn is 50% Rye + 50% KBG. On this closeup I can see the thinner grass (Rye) is all yellow/brown, while KGB is holding well with just a few leaves turning yellow.
Last week i added some topsoil 50% organic soil + 50% sand in a specific area. I also made a full fertilizer in the entire lawn. The goal was to see if i could see any difference on fertilizing and adding organic soil. Doing it with sand also to gradually smooth the lawn and fill the small bumps.
weed…
Weed is spreading and getting worst everyday. They come back every year in the same spot…I confirm it’s crabgrass.
Next step, something i should have done a long time ago…. soil test in a proper lab.
Also changing the irrigation schedule, fewer days and longer sessions.