How Much is the Right Amount of Thatch in the Back Yard?

Have you ever wondered why there are so many lawn thatch removal tools available if thatch is supposed to be good for a lawn?  Lawn thatch, like almost everything else, is beneficial only in moderation.

Lawn thatch is the buildup of dead roots, stems and lawn cuttings. The debris decomposes and the nutrients return to the soil, nourishing the grass as an organic fertilizer. If the thatch gets too thick, however, it can prevent moisture from penetrating down into the soil to the roots that need it. A heavy thatch buildup is also an inviting place for diseases and insect pests to multiply.

One of the main causes of excessive thatch buildup is letting the grass grow too high between mowing. If the grass cannot be cut at regular intervals, the clippings should be gathered and removed from the lawn.

A healthy level of thatch in the lawn can usually be achieved when maintenance includes the use of a power rake once a year. After that, cutting the grass on a regular schedule and letting the clippings remain on the lawn will keep a healthy layer of thatch that will continuously decompose and act as a natural fertilizer.

How to Keep Your Lawn Safe This Halloween

It’s that time of year again when you get to unveil your creative side and get your home and lawn ready for Halloween. Decorating the yard can be loads of fun, which is one of the reasons Halloween is such a popular holiday. How often do you get to go wild and turn your lawn into a creepy place with ghost, goblins and other spooky characters? You can go all out and transform your entire lawn into a frightful site that has all of your neighbors stopping in their tracks to take a second look.

Still, you need to make sure that your lawn is safe for anyone who dares to make the journey to your front door to receive that much awaited treat and the following tips can help:

• Light the path leading to the door to make it easy for smaller children to walk without stumbling or falling.
• Consider using lights in the jack-o-lanterns instead of candles that could get knocked over or catch a costume on fire.
• Keep the path free of debris, including decorations, to prevent anyone from tripping and getting hurt.
• Keep the porch light on at all times and if you use a decorative color light bulb, make sure it still shines bright enough to light the walkway.
• If you have pets, keep them in a secured area for both their protection and to make sure all trick-or-treaters are safe. The unusual costumes could frighten your pet and even cause them to attack unexpectedly.

Make this Halloween a safe and fun one by taking the extra precautions to ensure no one gets hurt on your property. You can still enjoy all the fun and excitement of decorating by letting your imagination run wild as long as you keep a clear path leading to your front door.

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How to Get Rid of Crabgrass

Do you have a problem with crabgrass? Many home owners do and it can be very annoying to say the least. It invades your yard, kills your grass and it seems to take over your whole lawn. This rooting grass can be difficult to get rid of once it invades your lawn but it’s not impossible. Still, it would be better to prevent it whenever possible instead of trying to get rid of it later.

The following steps can help you prevent crabgrass:

• Don’t leave bare spots in your yard because this is simply inviting this type of grass to take root and grow. If your lawn is full of thick grass, there won’t be any room for it to get a start.
• Don’t cut your grass too short because this can increase the number of bare spots in your yard.
• Mow regularly to prevent the flowering and seeding of crabgrass from spreading across your lawn.
• Apply fertilizer in the fall because this is the best time of year to feed your lawn.

Crabgrass is a warm season weed that appears annually. In other words, it reproduces with seeds. If you are unfortunate enough to end up with it in your backyard, here are a few suggestions on how to get rid of it.

• Using pre-emergent herbicides will usually provide the best results when you are trying to get rid of it because they prevent the seeds from spreading.
• If there are only a few plants scattered about your lawn, then you may want to consider pulling them out by hand. Just make sure you get all of the roots.
• If you see this annoying rooting grass growing in your yard, you can cut it extra short during the summer to prevent its seeds from spreading.

Using these tips can help you eliminate crabgrass from your backyard if it does show up. However, when using herbicides, be sure and read the directions in advance and follow them completely for safety reasons.

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