Have you ever really looked at a lawn after it has been aerated? That is, after a machine rolls over it, pulling up 3 inch plugs of turf and soil and leaving the once beautiful lawn looking like a large dog convention has just passed through. Well, that’s what I was thinking the other day after our pristine, spring grass became littered with cylindrical brown and green chunks. Supposedly these “plugs” should be allowed to remain on your grass till they decompose, thereby returning their nutrients back to the soil. But, I realized, “No! This will not work for me. Not happening in MY OCD yard!” Alas, against my better OCD instincts, I allowed them to remain.
A week later, while cutting the grass and seeing whole and flattened chunks everywhere, I decided that the time had come to remove these blots! So, I grabbed my trusty leaf rake and started to drag the brown clumps into small piles along with the grass clippings. Then I donned some sturdy gloves and began to gather up the piles. (Not so easy, I found out.) The chunks still looked like dog poo, but, at least they didn’t smell! They are now quietly composting and will be redistributed next year on plants, shrubs, and, yes, even the lawn.
The takeaway….. rake them up immediately after plugging
OR
Don’t plug at all!
Bev's OCD blog 