Spring Lawn Raking

Some of my customers will ask me: Should I Rake My Lawn ?

Many people feel that by vigorously raking the lawn to get all of the dead material out of the lawn will make the lawn better.

First, the turf area should have been cleaned up of debris in the fall so that the leaves and other debris are not sitting on the turf. Over the winter months there will be some leaves and branches that may collect. The cleanup should be done in the late winter. Preferably you should use a blower rather than a rake because the grass plants root system is shallow at this point and a rake will pull out or damage some of the grass plants. If you do use a rake, rake lightly over the grass area.

You might ask; But Shouldn't I Remove All Of The Dead Grass?

I have seen so many lawns damaged buy trying to remove the dead grass. First, the grass may not be dead. There are some grass varieties that will go through it's life cycle at at this time and will be putting out new shoots when the weather is right. If you remove this grass you may also be removing the roots and doing permanent damage to the lawn.

Keep in mind that a healthy soil will give your lawn the best chance to be healthy. Having organic matter in the soil will make the soil healthy and the brown leaf blades in the turf will eventually breakdown in the soil that adds organic matter.
AAG Lawnman