Tahoma 31, a resilient strain of Bermuda that is drought-tolerant, requires little in the way of herbicides and stands up well in the summer and fall

Being smart with overseeding

The same practice superintendents use to keep their courses up to snuff throughout the seasons can be valuable in lawn care, too. The idea is to have two different grass species co-existing, so that when one goes dormant, the other awakens, and vice versa. Whether you opt to overseed likely depends on a range of factors, including your budget, your appetite for yard work and how important it is to you to keep your lawn looking green year-round. This fall at the Capitol, Naas and his crew plan to overseed the west lawn with a shade-tolerant hybrid bluegrass, which they hope will do well as the Bermuda enters hibernation. “There have stories of both success and failure with this in the golf and sports world,” Naas says. “We hope to be a success story.”

Knowing about mowing

As with so much else in turf care, mowing practices hinge partly on the kind of grass you have and the use it gets. The Capitol lawn draws millions of visitors a year, far more traffic than the busiest golf course. It also hosts a slate of concerts and other events, especially in the summer and fall. In short, the grass never gets much rest. On the renovated west lawn, Naas and his crew mow to 1 1/4 inch. They don’t go any lower in part to avoid hitting one of the many anchors in the ground used for concert tents. But 1 1/4 inches also falls within the sweet spot for Tahoma 31, which does best between 1/2 inch and 1 1/2 inches. Whatever grass you have, educate yourself about its traits and aim to mow in its sweet spot, too.

Whether (and when) to sand and aerate

Just as no golfer wants to play on punched and sanded greens, no picnicker wants to plop down on an aerated lawn. But the practice is vital for the long-term health of turf, especially turf that gets compacted by heavy use. At the Capitol, Naas must pick his spots. If he aerates at the wrong time, the grass might not recover from all the foot traffic. “If we can do it, we do it,” he says. “If not, we wait.” Eventually, though, he can put it off no longer, and September and early October are his usual “go time for pulling plugs.”

Punching and sanding takes time, money and effort — not the sort of project all homeowners embrace. Whatever your stance, Naas recommends taking this page from his playbook at the Capitol: “use organic matter, gypsum and wetting agents.” Organic matter, he says, will feed your turf and improve soil structure. Gypsum will help loosen soil and improve water movement. And wetting agents will make “water wetter,” making it easier for the grass to get a healthy drink.