Lawn Care Maintenance

Is there any thing more beautiful than a healthy, sprawling green lawn??

Ahhhh...I think not! A little lawn care maintenance is all you need to turn an eye-sore into a beautiful green carpet.

Actually, the lawn is quite forgiving, and responds well to even a little bit of support from its caretaker. If you are starting with a damaged lawn, you can make changes in your lawn care maintenance routine that will improve the health and vitality of your lawn in a relatively short period of time.

Are you planting a lawn from scratch, or are you attempting to repair an established lawn? Starting a new lawn from scratch can be quite labor intensive, however if done right, the results can be fantastic.

Repairing an established lawn can be done even if the lawn exhibits lots of problems such as bare spots or weeds. One of the more important things that you can do to keep your lawn healthy is regular lawn fertilization. Periodic lawn fertilization throughout the growing season is important, however it is particularly crucial to fertilize the lawn prior to the dormant winter season if you live in the northern climates.

Another element of proper lawn care maintenance is the importance of aerating your lawn. It’s easy to tell when a lawn hasn’t been aerated in a while by observing the thick, dense soil characteristic of a lawn screaming for aeration. Lawn aeration works in conjunction with lawn fertilization, and assists vital nutrients in reaching the roots of the lawn and encouraging new growth. This process requires a specific tool - a lawn aerator (opens new window).

Water. Definitely a must for a healthy, thick lawn. Most people, think that in order to maintain a healthy turf, routine watering is required. This isn’t necessarily true. Your lawn is an amazing plant, and is designed to go “dormant” during dry periods. During these times, the lawn will turn a light straw color and will "green up" again once the rain returns. This is a natural habit of the lawn, and I encourage people to work with this feature instead of against it. It is the eco-friendly thing to do, it is much less maintenance for you, and it is overall better for your lawn.

Watering your lawn frequently, decreases the lawns natural ability to go dormant, and creates a dependance on routine waterings that you don’t want. Doing this could actually put your lawn in danger of dying when the routine waterings are taken away. Do yourself, the environment, and your lawn a favor by refraining from watering on a regular basis. Watering may be a good idea during unusually lengthy dry periods, although I can honestly say that I have never watered my lawn, and it has not suffered because of it.

And don't forget about the importance that proper cutting of your lawn can play in making sure you have an award winning turf. You want to make sure you don't cut your lawn any shorter than about 2 1/2 to 3 inches long during the growing season. Any shorter than that and you could end up with bare patches, or compromise the lawn by exposing it to weed growth.

Weeds are prevented from growing in a healthy lawn largely due to the lawn's density, so cutting off the growth can have the opposite effect that was intended. You will also want to make sure that you have routine maintenance completed on your lawn mower, particularly blade sharpening, to ensure a nice, clean cut of the grass blades. Dull mower blades tends to tear the grass instead of cut it, which leaves the blades open to disease.

Taking these extra steps in lawn care maintenance, will give you a lawn your neighbors will envy!