The Zoysia Farm Nurseries Blog | Zoysia Grass, Improving America's Lawns Since 1953
Getting Lawn Ready for Spring
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posted on February 14th, 2014 by admin
With spring at our heels, it is time to start preparing our lawns for the summer months ahead. Spring maintenance will help you to have a beautiful, healthy, green lawn this year.
To get started it is best to de-thatch your lawn, once it has greened up. It is helpful to remove dead leaves and thatch material resulting from the previous season’s growth to improve the passage of air, water, and nutrients through the turf.
The easiest method to de-thatch your lawn is by using a Liquid Thatch Remover. This is a product we offer that is a natural liquid microbial treatment. Four treatments during the growing season will keep your lawn thatch free. Simply attached the 32 oz hose end sprayer to your hose and spray. It’s that easy!
After de-thatching your lawn applying a pre-emergent will help rid your lawn of weed and crabgrass seeds before they have a chance to germinate. Our Gluten–8 Organic Herbicide is the ideal product for this. Gluten 8 is simple and easy to use it’s very effective in reducing new weeds from ever starting. Do it early. Do it more than once.
This is also a great time to test the soil pH in your lawn. For the best results from your zoysia lawn we recommend the soil pH be between 6 and 7. If the soil pH is below a 6 then you should apply some lime, if the pH is above a 7 you should apply sulfur. Please follow the label instructions for the proper application. At our website you will find a soil pH Meter and a Rapitest soil kit as well as our Café Lime if your lawn needs lime. Sulfur products are best purchased from your local Garden Center.
Aerating your lawn, which is great for your grass, is also best done in spring to help loosen the soil and improve air flow and root growth. You can rent portable power aerating machines or most lawn care companies offer this service.
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EMPIRE Turf | Zoysia Grass | One Lawn, Many Benefits
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: My lawn company tells me my EMPIRE lawn needs to be de-thatched? What is this?
EMPIRE Turf has a dense, tight canopy which is a good thing because it helps to choke-out weeds and promote overall turf health. However, because of this dense canopy, new grass grows over the old which becomes thatch (the dead brown grass that is under the healthy green top.) De-thatching is a good idea. One way to avoid having to use an actual de-thatching machine is to “scalp” your EMPIRE Turf lawn once per year. This should be done to mature EMPIRE lawns only. Usually the best time to do this is the first mowing of the year when chances for the last freeze are over and EMPIRE is ready to come out of dormancy. Drop you mower a notch and cut that thatch layer off and either bag or rake away the clippings. This will make your EMPIRE green up faster and will take care of most of the thatch for the rest of the growing season