JackRabbit wrote:
My question should have been more specific. Should I top dress the lawn
with anything, or break up the plugs, etc

Not sure if this is important, but i aerated because I have awful
drainage.
New house with a typical builders lot.

You don't *have to* do anything. Fall is the best time to do most of the
work, but if what you've got is in really crappy shape, and you don't mind
extra work that wouldn't have as much payback as in the fall, there are lots
of things that you could do. Top-dressing with some compost, and
over-seeding, for example.

You could rake-up the plugs, but there's no advantage to doing it unless it
bothers you that it looks like there's dog crap all over your yard. Soon
enough, the plugs will break down all by themselves. And if the top couple
of inches was the only halfway decent soil you had to begin with, why get
rid of the plugs of it?

In most climates, you get the most bang for your buck for the work you do on
you lawn in the window between the summer heat and the fall rains. So if you
have other things that need attention now -- amending planting beds, for
example -- you may want to put your energy into that, and plan for a busy
fall.

And if the neighbors say anything about all the plugs laying there, just
tell them your dog got into the pantry, and found two 40-lb bags of dog food
before you were able to stop him from eating. (You won't have to worry about
them walking on your lawn after that!)

--
Warren H.

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