>>While it's easy to stay set in our ways, it's important to explore new practices.

And Robyn, we've got generations of lawn care practices that have not been sustainable.

So I understand you have some new ones to share with us today.

>>Yes, we got some great tips from our visit last time with Phillip at Black Roses Lawncare.

And one of the things I've done occasionally is some seeding to try to thicken up the lawn where it gets thin.

And he had some really great ideas.

I've just got some very rich black soil.

>>That is gorgeous.

>>And because the grass seed needs to make sure you touch soil, and I don't really have a way to get the stuff out of the way, what I'm gonna do is what he suggested, and I'm gonna just put some of this in so that now I've got a soil base where it was thin.

>>Right, nice thin layer here.

You're not putting a thick layer, just a thin layer.

>>And then I'm just gonna... 'cause I've got just some patchy spots.

Now, if I wanted to do this more globally, I would probably get out, like, my little seeder feeder, and I would be spreading it more.

And then I'm gonna come back and make sure that I am watering this.

That's one of the critical features for thickening up, improving your lawn, is making sure when you're seeding, you're getting at least a quarter of an inch every few days.

Especially if it's like now; we're not getting routine rains.

>>You know, so many people don't realize how important it is once that seed germinates that it's gotta keep that root moist for it to go down, for the shoot to come up, and for it to all work.

It's such a delicate situation there.

>>It really is.

And so what I'm then gonna hope for is that by doing this really thick overseeding, maybe a couple times in spring, a couple of times in fall, that I'm gonna really thicken up this lawn patch, and then I won't have to weed, feed, and seed.

I can just seed, seed, and seed.

>>Truly, yes.

>>And then the other thing that can be really important to a lawn is lime.

And so this is the pelletized lime, and you would set your broadcast seeder, and it would just broadcast that into the lawn.

The grass really likes that more alkaline pH.

>>Truly, which means you need to take a soil test because you have to know how much to put on; you can't guess at this.

>>That's correct.

And that's where, like, your cooperative extension office comes in.

They are really great.

They have the soil tests, they're done very inexpensively, and they will give you great advice.

And they're super great in terms of, they will help you learn how to do the soil test.

'Cause you don't just dig a hole in one little spot.

You're actually supposed to dig 10 holes, combine the soil from all 10 of those spots across your lawn, and then have that tested.

And then that will give you an idea of how much lime you need to add to your turf.

>>Truly, 'cause even local libraries have that test kit often.

You gotta check in case your office is far away.

Check the library first.

>>That's right.

>>But then the next follow-up is cutting the grass.

And this is where a lot of people seem to be a little confused because they all want that neat, tight, trim look.

And that's actually the worst thing for this plant, the grass, so... >>That's right, you really want... I mean, this is its photosynthetic power, so you really need some blades up here.

So I know for me, I set my mower at its highest level all the time, which is probably around four or four and a half inches.

And so we're just making that transition.

We just don't wanna mow as often.

We don't wanna have to do the feeding and weeding treatments on our turf grass.

And so by just letting the grass grow, we get that bigger, thicker, fuller look.

And it's just a little bit of a different change in your aesthetic.

And then all of a sudden, you have a lot less work to do.

>>Well, it's the old, the higher the grass grows, the deeper the roots grow, and the deeper the roots grow, the more drought-resilient it becomes.

Plus, that grass shades the soil surface, which reduces seed germination; weed seeds don't germinate as well.

But it also helps retain moisture in that soil surface as well.

Again, helping the grass to grow.

I mean, so many little changes, but they have such a big impact if we can just raise that blade to four inches.

And I know it's hard, even in the spring.

Like you, we cut our grass at four inches all year long, you know, during the season, of course.

And the benefits are just monumental.

But the other thing I do is I also aerate my lawn.

We try to do it about once a year.

Sometimes we don't make it, but we use a core aerator to make sure we get some good oxygen down there.

'Cause that turf gets so thick, we need to get a little bit of space there for it to grow.

And it'd be a perfect time to put down what you're saying.

>>Yes, maybe that's a tip I need to take home to my house is doing a little aeration.

I don't think it's ever been aerated.

And so in some of the places where we'd like to play games outdoors, where you want that nice, soft grass to walk on and enjoy, it's really important to do that as well.

And the other thing I have read and heard is don't bag your lawn clippings.

Let the clippings lie.

Especially if you have a mulching blade, that's really important to adding some of that fertility that comes off of the blades.

When you cut that, let it go back onto the soil to decompose and add the nutrients right back to the soil.

>>Yes, and I understand there's times that we go on vacation and it gets a little high, and, yes, you can rake off the excess then.

But then I put that in my compost pile because I haven't put any chemicals on my lawn, any products of any sort, you know, except organic ones.

I've got the ability to then enrich my compost and being able to keep that nitrogen on my site rather than carry it off to a dump so that we can enrich all of our plants, even through our lawn.

Who knew?

>>That's right.

>>Yes, new things and new ideas.

Thank you, Robyn, for showing us some new ways to thicken our lawn, as well as to be proactive and more sustainable with our landscapes.