I just did my lawn last week. You are SO CORRECT when you talked about the air hitting it afterwards. You can see a difference within a day. GREAT VID!
I grabbed your classic “get the rake out” tip from your other videos. It’s one of the best things I’ve done. Many say, “ignore it, it’ll be fine”, but they’re wrong. That section will stay thin all year.
Thanks for this, Ginja! You helped me diagnose the aged snow mold in my backyard a few years ago and I had to rip out and reseed a big chunk of it. These preventive measures are going to help me a ton in the years to come, especially with my north facing backyard if we continue to have winters like this in Utah. Love my SunJoe de-thatcher and Kobalt just released a de-thatcher attachment for their power heads. May give it a go as to not have to deal with the hassle of the cord on the SunJoe. See if it's powerful enough. Thanks again for all you do to help me slay may lawn!
This is just what I need right now. It looks like you guys in Lehi are actually able to see your grass all over now, but here in Cache Valley my lawn has been a freaking glacier since November. We just started being able to see some of it at the edges about a week ago.
First, thanks Ginja for this video. I had a lawn to envy in past years here in Upstate NY. We had a few snowstorms this winter the last just this month and man did my lawn take a hit. The worst snow mold I have ever witnessed. I knew what it was but was not expecting the severity. It covered my entire 10,000 sq ft. lawn. I watched your video this morning and immediately went outside to rake the areas that are not still snow covered. I definitively have to reseed. Just hoping my lawn recovers from this devastation. My neighbors have patches but it blanketed my lawn. Thank you for this video. It pushed me to get out and get this stuff up. Fertilizer will follow.
Hello Ginja, The snow is gradually melting so I am trying to rake this up. I am devastated by the amount of snow mold considering how heathy my lawn was. Even the roots are pulling up. I got have good quality seed so plan to reseed. Just did not plan on a spring seeding. If you’re ever in Malta few exits from Saratoga Springs, stop in and offer your expertise advise. But much like everything in life…perspective. It’s just grass!
Sorry to hear that Vera. Its super frustrating. You may want to try and give it a few sunny days to dry out. I will tell you that the sun joe I used was much more gentle on lifting the grass upward and it might be worth the investment for you.
@@pestandlawnginja I do have a sunjoe. However, it seem to pull up more of the grass. It is an great little machine. But I will wait til it dries out and pray it bounces back with some sunny weather. And reseed once soil temps reach 55 degrees.
Dude! I’m so glad you’re back making new videos. I haven’t seen much in a while….not sure if it was my accepted recent feeds or what. But I’m SO GLAD I’m seeing your new stuff. Thanks a bunch!!!
Great advice Ninja. Nice simple fix and no need to rip it all up. Looks like you caught it just in time. I would have told the guy to cut it a little shorter at the year end
I had no idea what was up with my lawn. Same thing you just addressed in the video. It's really bad mostly next to the house where not a lot of sun hits and the snow accumulated. Gettin out the "Sun Joe".😊
A short now before the winter always helps with snow mold, doesn't prevent it but it all depends on how much snow falls and how matted and soggy the lawn gets. I've had my battles with it where i would get snow piles from shoveling or from blowing snow. I've also have Voles tunnel and chew up my lawn in the same spots
I’m curious why your sun Joe isn’t pulling out a bunch of grass when dethatching? I have the same model and it pulls out a ton of grass every second I use it, I’m on the middle height I believe. I do it every spring, this year my winter kill seems to be worse than previous years.
After fertilizing and seedling, do we need to keep watering the lawn as we would in normal spring temps? Afraid of my new seeds not germinating and freezing.
Just came in from my working on my front yard for the first time this year. No matting in the yard, so didn't need to rake, but had a few high spots so I knocked them down with the mower, then went over the yard with the SunJo. Overseeded with some KBG, then hit it with the Scott's "seed friendly" weed'n'feed. (Fert + Mesotrione) It's supposed to rain tonight so I should be all set. Before I can do the back yard I've gotta call the city and get my fiber internet marked so I don't hit it with the dethatcher. Unfortunately when they "buried" it, they only put it about an inch deep.
I have the sunjoe and use it on my bermuda. Do you think it’s okay for the St. Augustine I have? The STA in my front yard is up and growing great but in the back it looks very much dead still 😮💨
My lawn has patches where Gras doesn't grow in massachusetts..! I've used lots of seeds,..what should I do to make it grow, I also have weeds in that area????
most seeding failures have to do with one of three things 1. seed to soil contact 2. seed / soil dried out within 2 weeks. the soil must stay damp 3. your soil could be too acidic. you'd have to do a ph test to find out.
Very timely video! I was just went out for a walk around our neighborhood after a long time as temperatures are finally getting above freezing consistently. And even though we still have snow on our lawns up here in the Frozen Tundra, I could clearly see many lawn in our neighborhood looking like what you are showing in this video and I recall thinking if Ginja might have a video on the topic AND if we could use the sun joe dethatcher to help remedy it (instead of the manual rake as it seemed to do more damage especially on the slopping sections of the lawn) - and its as if RUclips and Ginja read my mind and I saw this video when I loaded the RUclips home page in my browser. Quick question that I did not see covered in the video: I noticed it mentioned to use the Sun Joe with a setting of 5 but which of the two attachments would you recommend using? The tines, perhaps? Trying to get ahead this season with lawn care - even though I think it might be a couple more weeks till the snow here is gone and several more weeks beyond that before soil temperature rises to promote growth, I guess its never too early to start planning - especially when Ginja already has videos on the topic 😊👍
Ginja, I'm wondering at what temp or weather do you start to do this? I noticed all the snow gone in the start of this video. For us in South Dakota our lawns still have 1-20" of snow covering most of it. Do I wait for a specific outdoor temp after snow is melted? Start on patches that have melted off immediately while I wait for the rest to melt? I have about 50-60k sqft of lawn that we are struggling with getting to recover after a few hard summers. THis issue might have been the start of the problems a couple years ago without knowing it.
Ideally we want the top layer somewhat dry. I did this video between snow storms. Day temps were about 40. When it’s wet wet you’ll most likely tear through the grass. An acre of grass is no joke 😅
@@pestandlawnginja Cool, thanks for that man. I picked up a unit made by The Worx, and it only has 3 adjustments. I lent it to a neighbor to do as you did, racking up the snow-matted blades and he ended up scalping the yard-I should have gone over and helped/did more of it to ensure caution. Thanks for all the excellent vids over the years!!
Ginja, great to see you back!!!! Look forward to watching your videos again and getting educated! That being said, we had a paver patio and walkway installed in November here in PA and there was probably about 3,000 square feet of lawn damage including barren spots. The landscapers are coming back in May to repair/seed the lawn. Is there anything I should apply to get some nutrition into the soil to prep it since it was exposed all winter? Thank!
Hey Ginja, great vid! Is there such a case of having a lawn that's actually TOO thick? I typically use my Sun Joe a few times per year to clean up the lawn debris to get back my color. I have a mix of KBG, Creeping Fescue, and PRG. The blades seem crowded to the point of barely being able to see the soil in some spots. Because of the thickness, I'm very prone to lawn fungus. How would you correct this? Could I get away with using the scarifier this Spring to dethatch and hopefully thin it out?
awesome question. thicker the better in my opinion :) With that said, commonly when i find lawns super thick that are a detriment I find there thatch layers are commonly out of control. meaning they're growing upward and not downward. some of this is due to the species of bluegrass and other times its happen stance from the sod installation. being prone to fungus is an interesting find. I recommend a soil test. I've noticed my own lawn being prone and finally figured out if I do regular iron treatments i have next to no issues. my iron levels are super low and so are my potassium levels. both of which leave me super prone to fungal issues.
@@pestandlawnginja The soil test that I did last Summer did indicate low levels of both K and Fe. So I did a supplemental treatment of both. But since I an currently dealing with excess thatch, would you recommend using the scarifier this Spring to reduce the thatch layer and open things up? I know that you mentioned that it might be too invasive on a typical lawn, but in this more unique situation, would you recommend it? I do not have any crabgrass issues, and I do use a pre-emergent each Spring.
@@joemarchand8313 If you wanted to be aggressive with the thatch issue I would highly recommend aerification. aerating, pulling the plugs, then putting sand over the top. It is the fastest way to correct a thatch problem.
nice work truck... was out raking up the mat and leaves this afternoon, I saw some green under there then we got a heavy 1" of snow in a flurry.. Bought some Grub EX today... When should we be putting it down?
on the grub front it just depends. If you're worried about japanese beatles like we have in payson, springville and slc by the capitol i'd do it now. or you can chance it and wait until may. billbugs commonly lay there eggs in may. this year i'd probably wait till the last week of may.
This will be my lawn in two months as there’s still snow on the ground (Calgary). How do I know if it’s too soon to start raking as you’ve described? I’m worried about tearing up the grass.
I live up in Canada and I typically cut the grass short for my last cut to hope this doesn’t happen. Good idea or doesn’t matter? I typically get 3-5 feet of snow amount during the winter. Cheers mate
I wish I have the time and money to make it as good as yours. I do the minimum and 3 of my neighbors ask me for advice. I just use fertilizer, herbicide and water it. There's still patches and unleveled.
Jared, I did this last Saturday. I think this winter has resulted in the worst snow mold I've experienced in the SLC area and I had cut the grass at about 2" heading into winter. I hand raked and was probably too aggressive. Considered using my SunJoe but thought it would be even worse. Did you use the SunJoe small tine attachment and what setting... highest so it was least aggressive?
Totally agree. about 1 in every 5 houses has a patch or more. every 20 houses has it severe. As in the video i used the sun joe at level -5 and used the tine dethatcher attachment. Start at 0 and try a small patch. You can always work your way down.
@@pestandlawnginja Thanks Jared, going to remember that for the future. Would have saved a lot of work and think it would have turned out better too. Appreciate you're sharing how to address the issue! For next year do you feel the lawns that aren't affected did something others didn't to prevent it? For example, I could have cut at 1.5" instead of 2". Or in your opinion, once you get to 2" the HOC isn't a big factor in snow mold prevention?
@@eugenieandrews8874 with the amount of snow we've had you'd still have some. but you'd definitely have more 3" of height of cut or more. I try and get my lawn down to 1" by dec 5th, my rye had some but my blue had more at 2".
i cannot ever figure out that sow on the top of the bags and always reach for a box knife. post to cut one side then pull on the other and wha la......nope never works for me . Think now ill invest in a billy goat power rake or thatcher, should get the moss out in shaded areas also. vids are great as always!!!!!!
I did not apply pre emergent just fertilizer :) If I use pre emergent I put it down in march in our mountain climate. Its best to put down BEFORE the ground temps hit 50 degrees. it doesn't break down, if using prodiamine) until it heats up, the soil dries, or gets scuffed.
vole damage caused the snow mold. i can see the vole runs. it is extremely important to get the dead grass up and off the lawn in any wet spring/fall season rake/detach the lawn to let air in and let the ground dry out to kill the mold. then fert your lawn with calcium carbonate to correct ground water penetration of the soil and be absorbed at a better rate, or... aerate minimum 4" because your lawn obviously has a high content water absorption problem, making it a beautiful spa resort for voles to retire at. probably check your lawn for grubs as rich food supply in perfect vole digging conditions is what allowed all this to happen. **{not necessary, but professional solution after aerating fill in the holes with tumbled sand. jagged edge sand locks together and doesn't allow as good drainage where rounded sand is like marbles and water can easily flow thru the rounded grains, but not so fast as to not let plants and lawn get a nice good long drink of water before it seeps away, aerating to 4" allows more water to escape quicker, but also forces your grass to grow roots just a bit deeper. how far down you aerate determines your lawns survivability to adverse stressful weather patterns and diseases}** only after everything has dried out where water no longer squishes under foot & riding mower wheels, cut your lawn short to the 30% green showing (height will vary upon what your lawn grew after it's last fall cutting just bring it back to30% green showing how ever short that takes to get that result) and remove the rest of the dead cut off material. this means you're irrigating too much and need to cut back in the spring and fall by atleast 30% to keep your lawn a bit on the normal dryer side and only give it that previous amount during only the hot dry season. happy trails~ Silver Springs Grounds maint.
None if these exAmples have vole damages. What you you may be seeing were the mow tracks in one of the clips. I know since I’m on these lawns almost daily. I do appreciate your passion and detailed comment
Lawn Ginja ! ...with georgious & amazing views like that in the background, I'd just install astro turf and have beautiful grass year around or learn to live w/ it. 👍
Those spots are not dead. Snow mold affects leaf tissue, but leaves most of the crowns and roots untouched. In the case of KBG, it will fully recover in few weeks. Raking is a good start. Throwing some
@@racingwithryan214 you can lightly rake at this temps. I’d wait till it was at least 5 degrees c. Just be gentle and not rip out the roots. The grass is dormant for the most part.
For the first year, my back long is like a bog. The water is not absorbing & it's laying on top, just squishing up as you walk. No idea what to do ... I've always had a beautiful lawn😢 much if it looks like wet dog fur & the water is lying on top. I've scraped a shovel along the top & can get shovel dulls of water.
That’s unfortunate. Your only option is to wait for the water to drain. Or you can install a French drain to help. May need to level your lawn area to help push the water a certain direction
Have riding mower and many acres I'm going to detach. Problem is I don't have a bagger. Probably not the best but any issue with just using mulching blades on mower after dethatching lawn with no bagger???
So jealous, a lawn! Lookin at late May in kamas HA. The light rake has worked for me. Any fall prevention to go with a low last mow? I can drop off an xacto knife next time I'm downtown 😆 really a weed eater??
Or do hydroseeding which works better because the seed acclimates to its environment and is more disease and drought resistant. If you want to collaborate, then let me know. I am in AF and have a hydroseeding and lawn care business and have been doing this kind of thing for over 20 years similar to yourself. Sod is trash compared to hydroseeding when it comes to disease resistance and drought tolerance. It's exactly why everyone has snow mold and brown patch fungus.
A blanket statement of causation is difficult. Lots of factors. But…. Grass being too long is a commonality. It’s very prevalent where snow or water sits for extended periods of time as well
@Pest and Lawn Ginja thanks for the reply. What you're saying makes sense. I just noticed the new comment: "From you, but not really?" wanted to verify. I always love a response but usually don't see that kind of response. Nope, as it's on every comment, I think it's safe to say this is RUclips mold coming around.
If only SunJoe had enough sense to extend the run time of their cordless model, 20 minutes is a joke for a $360 machine. I've got a 100' HD cord, but 14,000 sq ft is a lot of grass for my 69 year old back...
If fungicide is not considered the cure simply because damage has already been done…. Then there could never be any cure right? Not like something is going to turn back time to before damage occurred. Really with that logic, any time any disease has done damage, it would be to late for any cures to occur, so do any actual cures for any diseases exist? How do they cure any disease before any damage happens? If it’s done before, wouldn’t that make it a preventative treatment or inoculation type of situation?
Lots of things to consider. The statement I was making was not a blanket statement for all types of fungus. I think the primary issue is the catostrophic damages that are done. when you get leaf blight or leaf spot using a fungicide doesn't repair the damaged portions of the leaf but it stops the spread of the fungus and the new growth comes in healthy.
@@pestandlawnginja if it’s used as a preventative measure and then it prevents a recurring fungus problem from happening the next season and near future, couldn’t that be considered as a cure for ones fungus problem? Like prevention of it kinda is my cure?
@@jaxturner7288 according to the labels its very short term and to be used regularly throughout the winter as well as alternating products. which again is why its a difficult position. its preventive properties are very short lived. If it was a one and done situation it would be a no brainer.
@@pestandlawnginja I could see needing the apps at higher frequency throughout a season like that in places that have constant months long fungus pressure, but my neighborhoods particular funguses use a very narrow window of opportunity to spread around their spores. If we jump them with weapons right before those long wet and humid periods, it seems it just doesn’t get established or get strong enough to spread. One app of disease x right after the 4th of July and one liquid app of propoconozoil something other as close to Christmas as the snow melt allows and that’s all it takes for us to keep the fungus at bay while most our neighbors lawns have slimy patches in spring and orange tires from all the rust sticking to their zero turn come fall. 👍 For a few years now me and one neighbor have both successfully fought off a slight snow mold problem and a very dominant strain of rust that wrecks some entire lawns in our neighborhood.
Sometimes I do that fun·gus /ˈfəNGɡəs/ noun plural noun: funguses any of a group of spore-producing organisms feeding on organic matter, including molds, yeast, mushrooms, and toadstools. "truffles are fungi but not mushrooms"
I just did my lawn last week. You are SO CORRECT when you talked about the air hitting it afterwards. You can see a difference within a day. GREAT VID!
Thanks! I appreciate the feedback. Slay those lawns!
I grabbed your classic “get the rake out” tip from your other videos. It’s one of the best things I’ve done.
Many say, “ignore it, it’ll be fine”, but they’re wrong. That section will stay thin all year.
100%!!! Nice job!
Thanks for this, Ginja! You helped me diagnose the aged snow mold in my backyard a few years ago and I had to rip out and reseed a big chunk of it. These preventive measures are going to help me a ton in the years to come, especially with my north facing backyard if we continue to have winters like this in Utah. Love my SunJoe de-thatcher and Kobalt just released a de-thatcher attachment for their power heads. May give it a go as to not have to deal with the hassle of the cord on the SunJoe. See if it's powerful enough. Thanks again for all you do to help me slay may lawn!
Son joe makes a cordless model 👍
awesome doug! Happy to help! Slay that lawn!
This is just what I need right now. It looks like you guys in Lehi are actually able to see your grass all over now, but here in Cache Valley my lawn has been a freaking glacier since November. We just started being able to see some of it at the edges about a week ago.
Amazing amount of snow this year!!!!
First, thanks Ginja for this video. I had a lawn to envy in past years here in Upstate NY. We had a few snowstorms this winter the last just this month and man did my lawn take a hit. The worst snow mold I have ever witnessed. I knew what it was but was not expecting the severity. It covered my entire 10,000 sq ft. lawn. I watched your video this morning and immediately went outside to rake the areas that are not still snow covered. I definitively have to reseed. Just hoping my lawn recovers from this devastation. My neighbors have patches but it blanketed my lawn. Thank you for this video. It pushed me to get out and get this stuff up. Fertilizer will follow.
Hello Ginja,
The snow is gradually melting so I am trying to rake this up. I am devastated by the amount of snow mold considering how heathy my lawn was. Even the roots are pulling up. I got have good quality seed so plan to reseed. Just did not plan on a spring seeding. If you’re ever in Malta few exits from Saratoga Springs, stop in and offer your expertise advise. But much like everything in life…perspective. It’s just grass!
Sorry to hear that Vera. Its super frustrating. You may want to try and give it a few sunny days to dry out. I will tell you that the sun joe I used was much more gentle on lifting the grass upward and it might be worth the investment for you.
@@pestandlawnginja I do have a sunjoe. However, it seem to pull up more of the grass. It is an great little machine. But I will wait til it dries out and pray it bounces back with some sunny weather. And reseed once soil temps reach 55 degrees.
@@thurstonr9929 what I did was start with the tine dethatcher at level +5 and work your way down. I ended up at -5
@@pestandlawnginja Ginja, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. You are a wealth of lawn care knowledge!
I used my lawn sweeper to pick up the dead stuff, worked great!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing
Dude! I’m so glad you’re back making new videos. I haven’t seen much in a while….not sure if it was my accepted recent feeds or what. But I’m SO GLAD I’m seeing your new stuff. Thanks a bunch!!!
Thanks! Good to be back on a regular schedule! Thanks for the support. Slay that lawn
Great advice Ninja. Nice simple fix and no need to rip it all up. Looks like you caught it just in time. I would have told the guy to cut it a little shorter at the year end
100% , simple fix, definitely helps to mow shorter end of the season.
Gotta love spring, you were just reviewing shovel's !! bring on the green!
and today 2" of snow on my lawn! hahaha. melting fast. Utah weather is hilarious.
Just bought my Sun Joe dethatcher and need to do this as soon as all this rain and snow stops!!
No joke! The rain and snows been nice and all but at least let’s warm up a bit hahahaha
That sunjoe is a godsend ! love it
It’s my friend hahaha
@@pestandlawnginja 👊🏻👊🏻
Darn you lawn ginja, I was watching golf until I got the notification that you had a new video out , now I gotta go outside and slay the lawn 😂😂😂😂👍
👊😂
We are still under snow in Vernal. Can’t wait to see any vegetation. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Love the Sun Jo!
Thanks for watching! We drive through vernal on occasion! I want to come do a precious rock / dino dig with my boys!
I had no idea what was up with my lawn. Same thing you just addressed in the video. It's really bad mostly next to the house where not a lot of sun hits and the snow accumulated. Gettin out the "Sun Joe".😊
Awesome! glad I could help!
What can I do before winter? Every summer lawn is full of brown dead patches and I’m sick of top dressing my lawn with dirt every year
glad i did this last saturday since it is dumping again right now here in Utah. still need to pick me up a sunjoe but the rack did the job for me
woke up to 4" of snow at my place this morning hahaha, this weather is pretty crazy.
@@pestandlawnginja hopefully this is the last big snow of the year. I'll take rain now.
A short now before the winter always helps with snow mold, doesn't prevent it but it all depends on how much snow falls and how matted and soggy the lawn gets.
I've had my battles with it where i would get snow piles from shoveling or from blowing snow.
I've also have Voles tunnel and chew up my lawn in the same spots
great advice Leo. Thanks for sharing!
I’m curious why your sun Joe isn’t pulling out a bunch of grass when dethatching? I have the same model and it pulls out a ton of grass every second I use it, I’m on the middle height I believe. I do it every spring, this year my winter kill seems to be worse than previous years.
Bringing out the greenworks and giving a light power rake has helped stand up the grass. Hopefully the damage will be minimized this year.
awesome! its always a nice feeling to get ahead of things.
I have the little sun Joe and I absolutely love it, great advice sir 👍😁
Right on!
After fertilizing and seedling, do we need to keep watering the lawn as we would in normal spring temps? Afraid of my new seeds not germinating and freezing.
you'll want to watch the soil temps. once they reach 50 degrees F is when you want to ensure the ground stays damp.
Just came in from my working on my front yard for the first time this year. No matting in the yard, so didn't need to rake, but had a few high spots so I knocked them down with the mower, then went over the yard with the SunJo. Overseeded with some KBG, then hit it with the Scott's "seed friendly" weed'n'feed. (Fert + Mesotrione) It's supposed to rain tonight so I should be all set.
Before I can do the back yard I've gotta call the city and get my fiber internet marked so I don't hit it with the dethatcher. Unfortunately when they "buried" it, they only put it about an inch deep.
Slay that lawn AJ!!!! Sounds like you're doing a great job! Keep going!
I use my Ego rotary bristle brush.. has the added advantage of getting out pebbles, mulch and anything else that my reel mower won’t like.
Rad! Great way to do it
They are saying our 6 feet of snow won’t melt until May so that’s fun.
this year has been crazy!
I'm in Utah as well. Is it worth doing this today or wait till the upcoming storms move on? Supposed to get a bit of rain and snow tomorrow
I'd wait until the top layer is dry. its been crazy lately!
@@pestandlawnginja sounds good! Thanks for the great content as always
Did you use the tines or the blades on your Sunjoe? I have some matted down grass like this and I wanted to freshen it up too.
Tines
I have the sunjoe and use it on my bermuda. Do you think it’s okay for the St. Augustine I have? The STA in my front yard is up and growing great but in the back it looks very much dead still 😮💨
Yah. You’ll have to play with the height on the sunjoe so you don’t hit the stolons. Nothing too different
My lawn has patches where Gras doesn't grow in massachusetts..! I've used lots of seeds,..what should I do to make it grow, I also have weeds in that area????
most seeding failures have to do with one of three things 1. seed to soil contact 2. seed / soil dried out within 2 weeks. the soil must stay damp 3. your soil could be too acidic. you'd have to do a ph test to find out.
How do I plant grass and use a pre emergent for weeds? Won’t the pre emergent stop grass from growing?
if you have cool season grass tenacity is the only pre emergent that will allow you to do that but it doesn't last long as a pre emergent.
Very timely video!
I was just went out for a walk around our neighborhood after a long time as temperatures are finally getting above freezing consistently. And even though we still have snow on our lawns up here in the Frozen Tundra, I could clearly see many lawn in our neighborhood looking like what you are showing in this video and I recall thinking if Ginja might have a video on the topic AND if we could use the sun joe dethatcher to help remedy it (instead of the manual rake as it seemed to do more damage especially on the slopping sections of the lawn) - and its as if RUclips and Ginja read my mind and I saw this video when I loaded the RUclips home page in my browser.
Quick question that I did not see covered in the video: I noticed it mentioned to use the Sun Joe with a setting of 5 but which of the two attachments would you recommend using? The tines, perhaps? Trying to get ahead this season with lawn care - even though I think it might be a couple more weeks till the snow here is gone and several more weeks beyond that before soil temperature rises to promote growth, I guess its never too early to start planning - especially when Ginja already has videos on the topic 😊👍
That's awesome!!!! Slay those lawns!
the tine dethatcher. great question. avoid the scarifier. we want the raking sensation of the dethatcher.
Hey ginga…!! Long time no click.. good now I can get my sun joe out..!! 😅 Bleed Green..!!
Good old Joe!
Hey Ginja great video would about a lawn vacuum to bring up matted grass before mowing low?
Never tried it. The issue is the matted grass is really really dense and matted. Might work. Won’t know until you try it. Sounds like a fun test
What height setting number did you use on the Sunjoe dethatcher? And assuming you used the Scarifying cylinder?
I used +5 on the dethatcher on this lawn.
Good recommendations Ginja!
Thanks!
Ginja, I'm wondering at what temp or weather do you start to do this? I noticed all the snow gone in the start of this video. For us in South Dakota our lawns still have 1-20" of snow covering most of it. Do I wait for a specific outdoor temp after snow is melted? Start on patches that have melted off immediately while I wait for the rest to melt? I have about 50-60k sqft of lawn that we are struggling with getting to recover after a few hard summers. THis issue might have been the start of the problems a couple years ago without knowing it.
Ideally we want the top layer somewhat dry. I did this video between snow storms. Day temps were about 40. When it’s wet wet you’ll most likely tear through the grass.
An acre of grass is no joke 😅
With the SunJoe, did you use the dethatch tines, or the blade-scarifier?
the tine dethatcher
@@pestandlawnginja Cool, thanks for that man.
I picked up a unit made by The Worx, and it only has 3 adjustments.
I lent it to a neighbor to do as you did, racking up the snow-matted blades and he ended up scalping the yard-I should have gone over and helped/did more of it to ensure caution.
Thanks for all the excellent vids over the years!!
Ginja, great to see you back!!!! Look forward to watching your videos again and getting educated! That being said, we had a paver patio and walkway installed in November here in PA and there was probably about 3,000 square feet of lawn damage including barren spots. The landscapers are coming back in May to repair/seed the lawn. Is there anything I should apply to get some nutrition into the soil to prep it since it was exposed all winter? Thank!
The only thing I could think of is if they spilled sand or anything that had high amounts of salt. You could do an app or two if sodium knockout 5-0-0
@@pestandlawnginja no salt issue, so I will keep it status quo. Thanks and have a great spring and summer!
Are you seeding right after fertilizing?
Yes.
So I am out in coalville, would you recommend wait till all the snow is gone or should I get on it now ?
If you can time it right I’d do it now. You want the top layers to be somewhat dry
Can this “matting” happen to warm season grasses like st Aug? Had a feeeze this year in TX
It can for sure. the repair can be tricky. lightly raking it upward helps. putting a light layer of dirt over the top of the stolons an help as well..
Did you put the blade or the spring on the SunJoe
spring tines! dethatcher = tines , scarifier = blade if you're in the USA. outside the usa its the opposite and very confusing hahaha.
Hey Ginja, great vid! Is there such a case of having a lawn that's actually TOO thick? I typically use my Sun Joe a few times per year to clean up the lawn debris to get back my color. I have a mix of KBG, Creeping Fescue, and PRG. The blades seem crowded to the point of barely being able to see the soil in some spots. Because of the thickness, I'm very prone to lawn fungus. How would you correct this? Could I get away with using the scarifier this Spring to dethatch and hopefully thin it out?
awesome question. thicker the better in my opinion :) With that said, commonly when i find lawns super thick that are a detriment I find there thatch layers are commonly out of control. meaning they're growing upward and not downward. some of this is due to the species of bluegrass and other times its happen stance from the sod installation. being prone to fungus is an interesting find. I recommend a soil test. I've noticed my own lawn being prone and finally figured out if I do regular iron treatments i have next to no issues. my iron levels are super low and so are my potassium levels. both of which leave me super prone to fungal issues.
@@pestandlawnginja The soil test that I did last Summer did indicate low levels of both K and Fe. So I did a supplemental treatment of both. But since I an currently dealing with excess thatch, would you recommend using the scarifier this Spring to reduce the thatch layer and open things up? I know that you mentioned that it might be too invasive on a typical lawn, but in this more unique situation, would you recommend it? I do not have any crabgrass issues, and I do use a pre-emergent each Spring.
@@joemarchand8313 If you wanted to be aggressive with the thatch issue I would highly recommend aerification. aerating, pulling the plugs, then putting sand over the top.
It is the fastest way to correct a thatch problem.
nice work truck... was out raking up the mat and leaves this afternoon, I saw some green under there then we got a heavy 1" of snow in a flurry.. Bought some Grub EX today... When should we be putting it down?
on the grub front it just depends. If you're worried about japanese beatles like we have in payson, springville and slc by the capitol i'd do it now. or you can chance it and wait until may. billbugs commonly lay there eggs in may. this year i'd probably wait till the last week of may.
@@pestandlawnginja Im pretty sure I found Japanese grubs in Sandy last summer
@@elkskiutah8204 if they are grubs with legs they most likely are. you'll want to treat every 90 to 120 days this season.
This will be my lawn in two months as there’s still snow on the ground (Calgary). How do I know if it’s too soon to start raking as you’ve described? I’m worried about tearing up the grass.
just be gentle. try and find a sunny day.
I live up in Canada and I typically cut the grass short for my last cut to hope this doesn’t happen. Good idea or doesn’t matter? I typically get 3-5 feet of snow amount during the winter. Cheers mate
short end of the season mow is a great help. won't eliminate all of it but it definintely helps.
I had same exact thing here in southern Louisiana but no snow most of st aug started doing that now must my lawn is dead!!
oh shoot! that stinks. on the plus side you can now get a good seed variety and know exactly what you're planting.
I’m up on the Bountiful bench. FORGET IT. Ready for spring!!
Did you lift your dethatcher? Mine is usually at the lowest setting
started at +5 and then worked my way down to -5. just to be sure I didn't scalp at any point.
Ginja, what setting did you use on the sun joe? Thanks.
on the tall bluegrass in the video I was at -5. I tested my lawn and kept it at 0. Start high and then work your way down.
@@pestandlawnginja Thank you.
I wish I have the time and money to make it as good as yours.
I do the minimum and 3 of my neighbors ask me for advice.
I just use fertilizer, herbicide and water it. There's still patches and unleveled.
Awesome!!! There’s plenty of ways to keep a lawn. Nothing wrong with that!
Jared, I did this last Saturday. I think this winter has resulted in the worst snow mold I've experienced in the SLC area and I had cut the grass at about 2" heading into winter. I hand raked and was probably too aggressive. Considered using my SunJoe but thought it would be even worse. Did you use the SunJoe small tine attachment and what setting... highest so it was least aggressive?
Totally agree. about 1 in every 5 houses has a patch or more. every 20 houses has it severe. As in the video i used the sun joe at level -5 and used the tine dethatcher attachment. Start at 0 and try a small patch. You can always work your way down.
@@pestandlawnginja Thanks Jared, going to remember that for the future. Would have saved a lot of work and think it would have turned out better too. Appreciate you're sharing how to address the issue! For next year do you feel the lawns that aren't affected did something others didn't to prevent it? For example, I could have cut at 1.5" instead of 2". Or in your opinion, once you get to 2" the HOC isn't a big factor in snow mold prevention?
@@eugenieandrews8874 with the amount of snow we've had you'd still have some. but you'd definitely have more 3" of height of cut or more. I try and get my lawn down to 1" by dec 5th, my rye had some but my blue had more at 2".
I have the greenworks de thatcher, pretty similar, but I always thought that it would be too aggressive in the spring. I have TTTF in the Midwest.
the greenworks commonly doesn't go lower than the sun joe so i think you're good! try a small area to test it.
i cannot ever figure out that sow on the top of the bags and always reach for a box knife. post to cut one side then pull on the other and wha la......nope never works for me . Think now ill invest in a billy goat power rake or thatcher, should get the moss out in shaded areas also. vids are great as always!!!!!!
👊🏻😅 death to the string ties hahaha.
The dethatchers work great on moss
Does this occurs only on fescue lawns?
in cold wet areas it can
Very good video 👍🏻
Thank you! Cheers!
I was wondering what that was . Thank you .still have some snow .but where the grass is showing that’s what I have. I’m in nh
You are so welcome! Glad I could help.
Really helpful video
Thanks for the visit!
did you apply premergent after doing so or was it applied couple of weeks ago? Asking for a friend ;)
I did not apply pre emergent just fertilizer :) If I use pre emergent I put it down in march in our mountain climate. Its best to put down BEFORE the ground temps hit 50 degrees. it doesn't break down, if using prodiamine) until it heats up, the soil dries, or gets scuffed.
@@pestandlawnginja thanks a lot! Long time follower first time commenter .. love your content
@@CypherByt3 Thanks for the support Hai!!! doing my best to be proactive on the comments. Have a great weekend.
Mow the lawn short in the late fall and rake up all leaves and remove. This will likely prevent this problem in the lawn.
helps a ton
vole damage caused the snow mold. i can see the vole runs. it is extremely important to get the dead grass up and off the lawn in any wet spring/fall season
rake/detach the lawn to let air in and let the ground dry out to kill the mold. then fert your lawn with calcium carbonate to correct ground water penetration of the soil and be absorbed at a better rate, or...
aerate minimum 4" because your lawn obviously has a high content water absorption problem, making it a beautiful spa resort for voles to retire at. probably check your lawn for grubs as rich food supply in perfect vole digging conditions is what allowed all this to happen.
**{not necessary, but professional solution after aerating fill in the holes with tumbled sand. jagged edge sand locks together and doesn't allow as good drainage where rounded sand is like marbles and water can easily flow thru the rounded grains, but not so fast as to not let plants and lawn get a nice good long drink of water before it seeps away, aerating to 4" allows more water to escape quicker, but also forces your grass to grow roots just a bit deeper. how far down you aerate determines your lawns survivability to adverse stressful weather patterns and diseases}**
only after everything has dried out where water no longer squishes under foot & riding mower wheels, cut your lawn short to the 30% green showing (height will vary upon what your lawn grew after it's last fall cutting just bring it back to30% green showing how ever short that takes to get that result) and remove the rest of the dead cut off material.
this means you're irrigating too much and need to cut back in the spring and fall by atleast 30% to keep your lawn a bit on the normal dryer side and only give it that previous amount during only the hot dry season.
happy trails~ Silver Springs Grounds maint.
not all of this was vole damage, you can see the water puddle/pooling damage as the low spot circles or high ice concentration spots.
None if these exAmples have vole damages. What you you may be seeing were the mow tracks in one of the clips. I know since I’m on these lawns almost daily.
I do appreciate your passion and detailed comment
I would use an actual power rake and rip more up. More work, but better results over time when using a quality seed while replanting.
I do agree on using the quality seeds. the power rake would demolish this lawn hahaha.
@@pestandlawnginja Probably true. I guess I am thinking of a situation with a lot more fungus haha
Lawn Ginja !
...with georgious & amazing views like that in the background, I'd just install astro turf and have beautiful grass year around or learn to live w/ it. 👍
Views for dayz!!!! Astro turf is getting better everyday!
@@pestandlawnginja but so expensive they tell me
@@elkskiutah8204 its pretty pricey
If you are up in Davis County we need to go out for a beer and find you a utility knife!
🤣🤣🤣🤣 love it
Great video and we’ll timed
Thanks for watching! Soo many lawns impacted.
Those spots are not dead. Snow mold affects leaf tissue, but leaves most of the crowns and roots untouched. In the case of KBG, it will fully recover in few weeks. Raking is a good start. Throwing some
Yup 👍
Came for the content, stayed for back to Ginja styled beard!!
that's what I'm talking about!!!
Would like to start following your preventive steps but we still have snow on the lawn :(
I know the feeling. Our region has had such short windows for repair before it’s snowed again
@@pestandlawnginja Wanted to atleast rake the lawn but were hovering about 0 - 5 deg C. Is that ok or just to early?
@@racingwithryan214 you can lightly rake at this temps. I’d wait till it was at least 5 degrees c. Just be gentle and not rip out the roots. The grass is dormant for the most part.
@@pestandlawnginja Thanks for the advice! the lawn feels a bit swampy at the moment.
My dads backyard looks like that. He lives in Logan
its pretty crazy this year!
Thumbs up.
Thanks brother! Hope all is well with you and yours.
For the first year, my back long is like a bog. The water is not absorbing & it's laying on top, just squishing up as you walk. No idea what to do ... I've always had a beautiful lawn😢 much if it looks like wet dog fur & the water is lying on top. I've scraped a shovel along the top & can get shovel dulls of water.
That’s unfortunate. Your only option is to wait for the water to drain. Or you can install a French drain to help. May need to level your lawn area to help push the water a certain direction
Have riding mower and many acres I'm going to detach. Problem is I don't have a bagger. Probably not the best but any issue with just using mulching blades on mower after dethatching lawn with no bagger???
if you have too much debris it will accumulate again. it can get frustrating.
So jealous, a lawn! Lookin at late May in kamas HA. The light rake has worked for me. Any fall prevention to go with a low last mow? I can drop off an xacto knife next time I'm downtown 😆 really a weed eater??
👊😂
For putting the lawn to bed, last mow in november 2" or lower, high potassium fertilizer and a fungicide. youre best bet but NOT fool proof.
Or do hydroseeding which works better because the seed acclimates to its environment and is more disease and drought resistant. If you want to collaborate, then let me know. I am in AF and have a hydroseeding and lawn care business and have been doing this kind of thing for over 20 years similar to yourself. Sod is trash compared to hydroseeding when it comes to disease resistance and drought tolerance. It's exactly why everyone has snow mold and brown patch fungus.
seed variety definitely makes a big difference. Hit me up on instagram and we will see if we can find something to colaborate on.
@@pestandlawnginja Alright sounds like a plan! I will for sure! We will probably have a lot of fungus issues this year, so I will keep you posted
First Aussie 😁
ahhhh yeah!
Would you say this is caused by the grass not getting a final cut in the fall and being too long, lots of thatch or just lots of moisture?
A blanket statement of causation is difficult. Lots of factors. But…. Grass being too long is a commonality. It’s very prevalent where snow or water sits for extended periods of time as well
@Pest and Lawn Ginja thanks for the reply. What you're saying makes sense. I just noticed the new comment: "From you, but not really?" wanted to verify. I always love a response but usually don't see that kind of response. Nope, as it's on every comment, I think it's safe to say this is RUclips mold coming around.
@@kevengw I saw that 🙈. Booted him quickly
😊 Ok
👊🏻
👏👏
100%
What’s your PO box? I need to send you a box cutter. All these years and you still haven’t figured out the strings? 😂😂
hate those strings! hahaha
i youtube about grass so much.. about to just say f it. LOL. but deep inside i dont wanna lol
You can do it! slay that lawn!
If only SunJoe had enough sense to extend the run time of their cordless model, 20 minutes is a joke for a $360 machine.
I've got a 100' HD cord, but 14,000 sq ft is a lot of grass for my 69 year old back...
Totally agree! I’m a big fan of the corded model despite the inconvenience
If fungicide is not considered the cure simply because damage has already been done…. Then there could never be any cure right?
Not like something is going to turn back time to before damage occurred.
Really with that logic, any time any disease has done damage, it would be to late for any cures to occur, so do any actual cures for any diseases exist?
How do they cure any disease before any damage happens?
If it’s done before, wouldn’t that make it a preventative treatment or inoculation type of situation?
Lots of things to consider. The statement I was making was not a blanket statement for all types of fungus.
I think the primary issue is the catostrophic damages that are done. when you get leaf blight or leaf spot using a fungicide doesn't repair the damaged portions of the leaf but it stops the spread of the fungus and the new growth comes in healthy.
@@pestandlawnginja if it’s used as a preventative measure and then it prevents a recurring fungus problem from happening the next season and near future, couldn’t that be considered as a cure for ones fungus problem?
Like prevention of it kinda is my cure?
@@jaxturner7288 according to the labels its very short term and to be used regularly throughout the winter as well as alternating products. which again is why its a difficult position. its preventive properties are very short lived. If it was a one and done situation it would be a no brainer.
@@pestandlawnginja I could see needing the apps at higher frequency throughout a season like that in places that have constant months long fungus pressure, but my neighborhoods particular funguses use a very narrow window of opportunity to spread around their spores.
If we jump them with weapons right before those long wet and humid periods, it seems it just doesn’t get established or get strong enough to spread.
One app of disease x right after the 4th of July and one liquid app of propoconozoil something other as close to Christmas as the snow melt allows and that’s all it takes for us to keep the fungus at bay while most our neighbors lawns have slimy patches in spring and orange tires from all the rust sticking to their zero turn come fall. 👍
For a few years now me and one neighbor have both successfully fought off a slight snow mold problem and a very dominant strain of rust that wrecks some entire lawns in our neighborhood.
@@jaxturner7288 great to hear. glad that's working out for you.
you said "funguses" : }
Sometimes I do that
fun·gus
/ˈfəNGɡəs/
noun
plural noun: funguses
any of a group of spore-producing organisms feeding on organic matter, including molds, yeast, mushrooms, and toadstools.
"truffles are fungi but not mushrooms"
First
🏆 my man!
I don’t like wires so I will skip the sun Joe.
good choice
👏👏
Thanks mrs kozlowski