My Simmer Lawn

That's not a typo - my lawn is not very large (it's all about the flower garden) but it's really simmering in the recent heat.

We have fallen down on maintaining the lawn this past Spring so I'm not surprised we have a 'crunchy' looking lawn this Summer. Even though we've been careful with not watering too much or too often, the lawn is suffering.

My dear husband's answer to a crummy looking lawn is more water.  If that doesn't work, it must mean we need even MORE water! And if the grass still seems more like a parking lot than a lawn, buy some fertilizer. And water some more.

 You know what Einstein said is the definition of insanity: Repeating the same action and expecting a different outcome. We don't need to add anything - we need to subtract. We've got a buildup of old grass stems and roots, and all that water isn't moving down very far.  Nature, being as accommodating as she is, has made the grass roots move up into the thatch layer, a fraction of an inch into the soil. Since the roots dry out faster that close to the surface, the grass needs more frequent watering and gets 'crunchy' really fast on hot days (the roots are heating up in the thin soil layer). And we probably have a bit of scalping - a unique problem of lawns with dense thatch layers when the lawn mower wheels sink into the thick pad of dead grass material, which lowers the blades & cuts the grass stems too short.

So now that I know what I've got, how do I prevent this from happening again?

I'll have to be patient & wait until cooler weather to remove the thatch.  I once tried to steel rake it out but it was deadly work and I don't think I was able to pull it all out. I've rented a mechanical dethatcher in the past but my hubby loves new toys and bought an electric one, about the size of a small lawnmower.

Once I've ripped out the thatch, I know the lawn will look terrible, so I'll put down some new grass seed in the bare spots and cover it with moist peat moss. It'll mean a little work to keep it damp until it sprouts but I know it's worth it.

The kind of grass I plant can affect the amount of thatch that builds up: Kentucky blue and creeping fescue seem to produce more thatch; perennial rye and tall fescue, less. I'd better choose carefully when I'm at the store.

My research also says that too much nitrogen fertilizer and too acidic a soil can increase thatch as well as excessive pesticide use, primarily fungicides. Insecticides can kill earthworms that help break down thatch so I'm going to keep a close eye on our use of all pesticides and make sure we use that handy-dandy dethatcher every other year, maybe alternating with an aerator to remove plugs from the lawn.

It's a lot of work to correct the problem so I'll have to try harder to keep the thatch at bay in the future. For now, I'm looking forward to a lush, green, fire-resistant lawn next summer!