How to Fix 5 Common Lawn Problems

Even if your lawn already makes the neighbors green with envy, you are likely to face a few of the common lawn problems. Knowing how to handle them can mean the difference between working on your lawn and simply enjoying it. So here are the  five most common and how to solve them:

Crabgrass

A vigorous, adaptable, and fast-growing weed, crabgrass thrives best in the laws that are under-fertilized and mowed too low. Besides being unpleasant to the eye, crabgrass also promotes soil erosion. Controlling crabgrass is not very hard, but timing is really crucial. Applying pre-emergence herbicides in late spring or summer is too late for them to do any good, instead, you’ll want to do it at the beginning of the spring season.

A natural alternative to chemical herbicide is applying corn gluten meal in early spring which can help contain the problem. This can be followed by a spring fertilizer. When the mowing season begins it is important not to mow too low and cut the grass too short, as this can open the door again for crabgrass.

Lack of Sunlight

Most lawn grasses do not like shade, even if they are the shade-tolerant variety. Pruning shade trees every three to four years is a good idea, but pruning too much or too often can damage the tree. You can replace the lawn beneath trees with bishop’s hat, sweet woodruff, or other shade-tolerant ground cover as the tree grows and creates more shade.

Compacted Soil

The soil beneath most lawns eventually becomes hard and compacted. Compacted soils have too many solid particles clustered together in a small volume or space which restricts the proper circulation of air, water, and nutrients in the soil.

Excess lawn thatch or heavy organic debris buried under the grass surface can also starve the roots from air, water, and other essential nutrients. Once soil is compacted, water and fertilizer can’t reach the lawn’s roots, weakening them and allowing weeds to grow.

The solution is aeration, a process that involves the perforation of the soil with small holes in order to allow air, water, and other nutrients to penetrate the grass roots

Grubs

These small beetle larvae live in the soil and feed on lawn roots. A few grubs are not a sign to worry about, but too many of them can cause irregularly shaped sections to wilt and die.

You can get Heterorhabditis Nematodes which are sold in a paste-like form, combine it with water and then apply it to the soil in spring or fall. After a couple of days, you can reseed or replant any of the damaged areas.

Bare Patches

Weeds love to grow in bare patches, so if you do not act quickly, they will start their growth.  You should start by digging up the damaged section, and around 6 inches of the surrounding healthy lawn, about 2 inches deep. Then level the soil and add a small amount of soil amendment such as plant-based compost and starter fertilizer. The cool and wet weather in spring will help the grass to grow.

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