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Renovating Old Lawns
If you have been struggling with a poor lawn, you might just as do
something drastic, such as tilling it up and rebuilding it. Of course, if
you do decide to rebuild it, be careful not to build in the same problems
again.
Typical Lawn Problems
If there is standing water in areas of your
lawn for a long time after rain, you may need to lay drain tile or get a
good layer of gravel under the topsoil.
If your problem is due to a hard-baked soil and the grass is thin and
anemic, tilling up or plowing followed by good soil preparation and
re-seeding, is probably the best approach. If limited areas (such as paths
or low spots or areas under trees) get too packed, they can be loosened
and cultivated, or opened up by aerating to a depth of 6 or 8 inches.
You can do this with an ordinary spading fork, driven deep and worked back
and forth to enlarge the openings. Brush sharp sand or compost into the
holes to attain better movement of air and moisture through the soil.
Many poor lawns are due to poor soil conditions and can be improved by a
better feeding program. Use 4 pounds of plant food for each 100 square
feet of lawn. If the grass is too thin, try plant food along with new
seed.
If your old lawn is bumpy, level it down, raking top-dressing into the
hollows, or peel back the sod, filling in the hollow with good soil and
replacing the sod. A mossy lawn is usually due to poor drainage, not to
acidity in the soil, as is widely believed. A mossy lawn may need a change
in grading for improved drainage, or raking and liberal fertilization.
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