Fleemo wrote:
Despite all the hard work I spend on my lawn, this spring it looks
like CRAP! We've had an unusally wet winter, and all my neighbors'
lawns look lush and green. But mine looks all yellow and just plain
crappy. (See a photo of this disaster at
http://www.inhouzemusic.com/q/lawn.html)

Where am I going wrong? My back yard, which I redid two seasons ago,
is lush and green and beautiful. My front yard, which I hope to redo
someday soon, is just plain ugly. Despite fertilizing and regular
mowing, it's pretty sad. Even areas where I put in new sod look
yellowish and pathetic. Could it be lack of aeration? Bad soil? How
can I make it lush and green, short of tearing it out and starting
over? HELP!


It's hard to tell in the picture, but it looks like the grass is too
short. My neighbor cuts his lawn too short, and bags the clippings, and
can't figure out why his lawn looks so crappy.

As others have mentioned, the trees could be a problem, although their
shade effect doesn't become an issue until they leaf-out. When the heat
of summer comes, my shady areas usually stay lush while the sunny areas
go dormant. But those roots would concern me. Not just how they may be
damaged while mowing, but are they sucking all the water for the tree,
leaving little for the lawn.

Speaking of watering, shallow watering is generally bad, even if Mother
Nature is doing it. Long, deep watering is best for a lawn, especially
with those trees there. If the roots of the lawn are too shallow, mowing
the lawn too short will be even worse.

And you mentioned fertilizer. Was it the correct fertilizer, and did you
follow directions? In general, the amount specified in the directions is
the maximum so they can sell more fertilizer. Half the maximum is
usually all you need. (More is not always better!) And if you're leaving
the clippings on the lawn, you may not even need that much.

If you haven't run a core aerator on the lawn for a couple of seasons,
you should put that on your to-do list for fall. Fall is better than
spring for this, but you don't want to do it during summer. You'll want
to be very careful when you get near those tree roots. (BTW... Stay away
from those spikes they sell as aerators. They just compress the soil
around the area that they penetrate, and they don't penetrate far
enough, either. A core aerator pulls out a plug of soil allowing easy
access into the soil that can be filled with organic material, or simply
left to allow deeper water penetration.

For this summer, I'd say do a lot of watering, and don't mow too short.
The life-cycle of a lawn begins in fall, and a good plan for fall that
includes core aeration (something I would do annually) is where to
start. Don't try to "fix" things during the summer. Just do your best to
not slide backwards before fall comes.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.