It's SPRINGI (well almost) Time to get that lawn ready for the new year of Cook outs and spring and summer time fun! Winter often takes a toll on your lawn. lt can look thin with muddy dead patches that look unsightly and prohibit use of the lawn.
What can be done to fix this issue?
First and foremost, the lawn area needs to be assessed for proper drainage. lf the lawn isn't draining properly then all the water we here in the NW via rain will soak in and make your yard a muddy mess. ldeally your lawn should be sloped for positive draining and the soil should be porous and able to drain the rain water way from itself. lf this is not the case then it's possible that your lawn was improperly installed and the company that installed it should be contacted to remedy the situation. However, sometimes even with proper slope that lawn still doesn't drain properly, in that case you may need to have your lawn evaluated by professionals and different solutions offered.
The following are some issues that you, as the home owner can address.
Soil compaction; This hinders root growth and traps water in the turf turning areas into dead spots filled with mud. The fix for this problem can be multi faceted, there's usually more than issue going on that needs to be addressed.
The first thing that you can do to help your lawn is; Aerating it to improve the root growth and help dry out the soil. Thatching will also improve aeration and keep dead grasses from choking out the new spring growth. Over seeding will provide new and improved grass varieties, increase the number of individual grass plants per unit of area and replace the grass plants that may have died over the winter. Lastly fertilization of the lawn is key in having a healthy, thick, green lawn. We recommend using a weed and feed product formulated for the NW. These can be easily picked up at any home improvement store or even some grocery stores. These fertilizers will nourish the turf grasses while eliminating the competing weed seeds allowing for a more luxurious lawn.
Remember that your lawn NEEDS sunlight, even the turf varieties that are formulated specifically for shaded areas need light. So trim and thin your trees and shrubs that could potentially shade your lawn areas giving them more light and better air circulation will also help eliminate the barren muddy areas.
Moss and disease are other issues that can cause a lawn to have dead patches and we'll cover that in our next segment.