Other Tools For Your Bermuda Grass Lawn
Cutting and watering your bermuda grass lawn are the most common and important activities but there are additional chores that lawn tools can help with. We've outlined a few of them here.
Edgers for Bermuda Grass Lawns
Keeping a clean edge around your bermuda grass not only helps your yard look better but it can protect your driveway and sidewalk from damaging growth, provide a channel for light water runoff, and keep weeds or other growth from invading.
Electric and gas-powered edgers are common and both can be found with string or blade cutters. Blade edgers can cut through tough grass and hard soil better and generally leave a deeper edging trench. In many instances, edging with a blade means you can edge less frequently. However, the dense metal of the blade edger can damage brick, concrete, and sprinklers systems so use caution.
String edgers can be lighter than blade edgers and do a nice job trimming the grass. They are also less likely to damage masonry, metal and plastic. However, string edgers do not typically cut deep into the soil and are less effective at restraining underground root growth.
Aerators for Bermuda Grass Lawns
Lawn aerators are basically tools to punch holes in your soil. This is a good thing as it breaks up compacted soil and allows the roots to grow more freely. It also assures that water and nutrients can find their way to the bermuda grass roots. And if you happen to nail a grub or two in the aeration process then you get a bonus!
There are two basic types of aerators: spikes and corers. Spike aeration simply pushes a sharp metal instrument similar to nail or railroad spike into the ground. Core aerators push a tube into the soil and remove small plugs of dirt and grass.
Core aeration is more aggressive and has a longer effect on your lawn. By removing small chunks about the size of an adult thumb, the grass and soil actually have room to expand. However, unless you remove the plugs, your lawn will look slightly bumpy until rain and use blend them back into the yard naturally. Core aeration works best when the soil is soft, such as after a good watering.
Spike aerators can be worn on your feet while you push a mower or pulled behind a riding lawn tractor. Spikes typically penetrate hard soil better than a core aerator and provide a quick way to keep your lawn open to water and fertilizer. Spike aeration, however, pushes the soil outward horizontally the same way that sticking your finger in bread dough does. Because spike aeration does not actually remove plugs of soil and grass, the impact on soil compaction is much less.
Leaf Blowers for Bermuda Grass Lawns
Like edgers, blowers are commonly available in electric and gas-powered models. However, your decision about blowers is more about power and comfort.
The power of your leaf blower affects how quickly and effectively your bermuda grass lawn can be cleared of light debris. Particularly if the debris is wet, you'll appreciate the stronger wind of a powerful leaf blower. Consumer organizations like Consumer Reports evaluate lawn equipment regularly and we recommend you check these websites for the best ideas.
If your fallen leaves are light to moderate and crispy dry, we recommend that you consider mulching fall leaves at least once to provide additional natural nutrients to the soil. Pine needles, however, don't mulch very well.
The other important factor in selecting your leaf blower is comfort. There are blower versions that can be pushed like a small mower, but most of the models sold are portable - slung over one shoulder or carried on the back. Sometimes it is possible to find a review that discusses comfort. However, comfort is ultimately a personal decision and the best way to make this decision is to try the equipment at the store.
Once you have your portable leaf blower at home, think about your strategy for clearing the lawn debris.
- In what direction will I blow the leaves?
- Do I want to pile the leaves or clear them evenly in a row?
- Will the leaves and debris stay in a landscaped or natural area or will I have to bag them or move them to another location?
- Can I compost the leaves to make the most of natural nutrients?
- Do I want my lawn to look flawless when I'm done or I am content if I simply move most of the debris off my bermuda grass grass?
Answers to these questions will affect the technique for clearing your lawn. Just be realistic. The next big wind or rain storm may be only a day away.
Dethatching Your Bermuda Grass Lawn
Dethatching involves the removal of the layer of dead plant debris that sits on top of your soil. Proper lawn maintenance and sometimes just a good, hard rain can keep thatch from building up. But if it does get too thick to decompose, thatch will slow or even block water and nutrients from your soil and will become home to harmful bugs and lawn diseases.
Dethatching is the harshest maintenance activity for your lawn and it literally rips at the surface of the soil to pick up the layer of dead plants and debris that won't decompose. Inevitably this means that some of the grass and root system gets damaged as well. Most warm-season grasses, like bermuda grass, can recover and fill in quickly during a growing season and can handle this torture but it is best to do the dethatching early in the growing season after your bermudagrass has fully greened. This usually means May or June for most climates in the Northern hemisphere.
You can usually tell by pinching a sample of your lawn surface if you have a thatch problem. If the layer of debris is 1/4 of inch thick or more, that part of your lawn needs dethatching. However, often the entire lawn does not need to be dethatched so check several areas before making a decision about how to proceed.
If you have a very small lawn or only have spots that need dethatching, consider a hand-held thatch rake. With vertical tines, a thatch rakes works similar to a garden rake or hoe and you can pile your thatch so that it can be collected in a bag or wheelbarrow for removal.
You can also purchase or rent power dethatchers (vertical rakes) or special blades for your lawn mower that reduce the repetitive shoulder and arm strain of manual raking. While power dethatching is certainly easier on the body, you have less control over how aggressively the bermuda grass is affected. Unless you have a bumpy lawn surface, however, this shouldn't be a big problem.
Prior to dethatching, mow your lawn and bag the clippings. Try several passes and heights if you are using a mower blade dethatcher or vertical rake until you are comfortable with the settings. Remove the thatch from the surface of your bermuda grass lawn within a day as it can begin to kill your grass, especially in summer heat.
Apply a light layer of time-release fertilizer after dethatching and water well. You've basically done surgery on your lawn and you want to help it recover as quickly as possible.
