Be wary of lawn care companies that claim to fertilize with every application. When fertilizer is added to a broadleaf herbicide in the liquid form, you only receive a very small percentage of fertilizer.  Make sure you know the analysis and rate of application. For example, a 10-0-5 contains 10% Nitrogen. A 25-0-10 contains 25% Nitrogen.

Peters Lawn Service always uses a high quality granular fertilizer. A common analysis is 29-0-14-6, applied at a rate of 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet. This gives you 29% Nitrogen which is always needed, 0% Phosphorus (banned by state of MN), 14% Potassium and 6% Sulfur. This custom analysis will green up and create a healthy, vigorous lawn.

Dethatching with tines or a rake may pull up some dead grass but will not get rid of thatch. The typical thatch layer in turf may be over an inch below the surface. When you rake or run a dethatcher over your lawn you are only scratching the surface and are not penetrating the thatch layer. We do not recommend aggressive raking or dethatching in the Spring because you may do more harm than good by ripping into the rhizomes, damaging new shoot growth. Core aeration will break down the thatch layer by penetrating it, loosening the soil and bringing soil cores to the surface. This process will help provide a better environment for microorganisms to naturally break down thatch.