On Sat, 16 Apr 2005 16:09:48 -0400, Joe
wrote:

I have aggressively raked up all the thatch and things are looking better,
but I see signs of ant hills, moss, weeds and bare patches.
The grass looks off color green instead of bright green

Question: when you say you raked up all the thatch do you mean with a
standard leaf rake or a thatching rake? The reason I ask is because I
use a mulching mower all season too and I always had a problem with
large brown patches in the spring.

Last fall I invested in a thatching rake, which looks like more like a
medieval weapon than a garden tool, and after doing the final mowing I
raked the entire lawn. I don't have a large back yard (about 800sf)
and it was back-breaking work but I pulled up two contractor's bags
full of debris missed by the mower. Then I overseeded and spread a
winter fertlizer.

This spring, the lawn looks fantastic. My neighbor, who just
overseeded and fertilized, has half a dead lawn.

I'm definitely no horticultural genius. In fact, I hate lawn
maintenance and am one disappointment away from ripping it all out and
laying pavers. But when I looked at my neighbor's lawn I couldn't see
any soil between the grass, just ground-up leaves, moss and dead grass
shoots. I figure that doesn't give seed anything to root into.

A couple of weeks ago she raked the lawn with a standard leaf rake in
preparation for re/overseeding. She got a small pile of debris. Then
I convinced her to use the thatching rake and she pulled up the same
two contractors' bags of crappola. After seeding, her lawn's
springing back.

One other trick for bare spots: loosen up the soil with a garden claw
or thatching rake, spread the seed, cover it with a thin layer of
bagged topsoil then use a starter fertilizer. Keep it damp for at
least ten days. A faucet timer is great for this. Set it to water
just before dawn so you don't get mold. Elevate the hose on wire
wickets so it doesn't kill the grass underneath.

Steve Manes
Brooklyn, NY
http://www.magpie.com/house