I had a long conversation with a customer last week about dealing with an uneven, lumpy lawn. This topic comes up a lot during the spring and many consumers pursue lawn rollers. While the smooth surface gives instant gratification, your lawn is not a highway. That is, a heathly lawn cannot exist when soil is compacted. Rollers are heavy weighted machines or attachments that compact the soil surface and therefore, not a healthy choice. The better decision is to diagnose why your lawn is excessively lumpy?
Earthworms-both the lack and abundance of-are key to leveling your lawn. In many cases, lawns become untenable because pesticides have reduced the earthworms. The result is a series of hard, compacted lumps throughout your turf. A balanced earthworm population is vital for managing thatch and soil compaction. Worms aid in decomposing grass clippings and fertilizing the lawn surface. Their burrowing is a natural and vastly superior form of aeration. The tunnels deliver water and oxygen into the roots system of your turf. If your lawn is afflicted with excessive thatch, lumps and bare patches, consider adding some worms instead of pile of chemicals. The only drawback is the effects will take a very long time to see, but will be far more lasting.
An overabundance of earthworms-a more uncommon disorder-poses a different problem. Distinct mounds form on the soil surface. These mounds are generally soft and appear only in excessively moist, warm parts of your lawn. To reduce these mounds, core cultivation, heavy rollers or detaching mowers may be used.
Core cultivation-also known as core aerating-mimics mechanically what worms do naturally. These machines puncture the lawn and pull cores every few inches. The resulting divots deliver water and oxygen to the root system. This is a great, non-chemical treatment for any lawn and aides in leveling.
Heavy rollers, as noted above, do nothing more than compact the soil. Therefore, this process harms earthworms, the root system and the plant leaf. There is very little benefit, but the results are immediate. If you don't have patience for the other methods, always follow heavy rolling with core aeration.
On the polar opposite of the easy practice of heavy rolling, detaching mowers exists. When a lawn has become compacted by lack of irrigation, soil runoff, over fertilization, depleted earthworm populations or merely time, power rakes are great cure. Power rakes or mecahnical rakes feature teeth very similar to a lawn rake. You set the depth to only rake the surface of your lawn and these engine does the rest. All the thatch that is built up on the soil surface is quickly pulled to top of your grass. The process takes the same amount of time as mowing your lawn. The clean up will take hours. You are left with bags of thatch, a sore back and a much healthier lawn.
Personally, I use a core aerator in the early fall and again in the spring. I also dump a few jars of nightcrawlers on the slope of my front lawn each spring. The birds and my troubles spots always seem to appreciate it.
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