High Traffic Lawn? Time to Aerate
Once the initial burst of spring growth has settled down, then summer active lawns can be scarified to reduce thatch. Irrigate immediately afterwards and fertilise a week later.
This month is ideal to plant couch and kikuyu sod, stolons or seed, or to repair thin patches in a lawn.
High-traffic lawns are subject to soil compaction which restricts required gas exchange in the root zone, reduces water infiltration and percolation, and decreases water holding capacity of the soil.
Hollow tine core aeration is recommended to alleviate the compaction problem and should be performed while there are several weeks of good growing conditions remaining before summer. Leave the pulled plugs on the turf surface until they are dry and can easily be broken up by raking or dragging a piece of chain link fence over them. The soil from the plugs will help thatch decomposition by providing an environment for plant tissue-degrading microorganisms.
Dandelions are in full bloom. Dandelions are best controlled in the autumn with herbicides with spring treatments being second. If treating for dandelions this spring, control is best achieved after the dandelions have bloomed. Herbicide applications early in spring before bloom are not as effective.
Maintaining a dense turf through proper fertilisation, and mowing at the proper height of cut can reduce dandelion populations over time. Thin, low-density turf mowed at a low height encourages large dandelion populations.