Power Raking vs. Aerating -- How to Water Less

Power Raking vs. Aerating to get rid of thatch and bumps in the lawn: Power raking does nothing to rid the lawn of thatch. You can power rake to knock off the bumps (which are cause by nightcrawlers), or to thin out the lawn if you want to renovate it and over-seed; but the best way to eliminate thatch is to aerate. A coring aerator will pull up plugs of lawn, thatch and soil, which should be left on top of the lawn to add organic matter to the soil provile as is decomposes. The aeration will let oxygen get into the soil to decompose the thatch. Aeration will also create more space for the nightcrawlers to deliver their castings so they won't end up on top of the soil furface (which is what causes the bumps). Watering Less: What's all this I've been hearing about watering less? Most plant problems we have in Utah come from TOO MUCH water. Interesting in light of the fact that most of us live on the edge of a desert. Except in places where people have very sandy soil, most of us should be able to deliver all of the water our lawns need once a week (twice a week for flower gardens). Right now, no one needs to add any water over and above what we are getting from mother nature. If we get no more rain for the next month, you would probably need to start adding from 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of water per week (all at once). By mid-July, you will probably need 1 1/2 inches (or slightly more, depending on heat and wind conditions). Raise your mower height to give your grass more leaf surface to feed its roots. The combination of these two things (less frequent watering and more leaf surface) will enable your lawn to develop a much deeper root system, and this will help it stay green and healthy all summer long, even during the most severe conditions. Check out Larrysagers.comhref> for more information on these topics.