Tips For A Healthy Lawn

Lawns can be trickier than they appear. There are a lot of factors that go into keeping a lawn lush and green, and while a good fertilizer and lawn care regiment can go a long way, sometimes the smallest change can have dramatic effects on the overall health of the yard. Here are a few tips to help your lawn be all that it can be… in this case, healthy and beautiful.

 

1. A WHOLE LOT OF HOLES IN YOUR LOT

General use, even standard mowing, can compact the soil. Over time, this compressed and compacted soil will make it harder for grass to thrive and take nutrients. Lawn that gets too compacted can also have the added negative effect of not absorbing water as well, possibly resulting in puddling after rains.

The best solution for this is lawn aeration; the process by which you fill your lawn with 3” holes. This may seem like you’re damaging your lawn more than helping it, but the process of aeration loosens dirt and creates better air circulation in the soil. Aerated lawns have better absorption of water and nutrients by grass on average to non-aerated yards. Aeration is also beneficial to the organisms (such as earth worms) and micro-organism that can contribute to your lawn’s health.

It’s recommended that you aerate your lawn once a year. While you can rent a large aerating machine, small and medium lawns can be aerated with a simple handheld aeration tool.

2. WATER THE RIGHT WAY

Many people don’t realize they’re watering their lawns incorrectly. People will often water once a day for 5-10 minutes; this is not optimal. Not only does it train the grass to expect regular waterings, but it fails to encourage deep root systems.

It’s recommended that you water your lawn with 1” of water, once a week (though specific conditions of region, soil and other factors may alter this measurement). This will encourage the grass to develop deeper root systems, increasing its durability and overall heartiness, and develop heartier overall.

To make sure one week is often enough for your soil / region, you may wish to invest in a soil tester. If the top 3”-4” of dirt is dry, you will want to water.

3. DON'T COLLECT THE CLIPPINGS

It may seem contradictory, but leaving the clippings where they land could yield a huge benefit for your lawn. While it’s maybe not the most aesthetically pleasing option available to you, the clippings will decompose quickly, returning their nutrients to the soil. The clippings will also grant the added benefit of helping the lawn hang onto moisture. One item to be aware of is that the clippings are lightly spread and aren’t piled too high in any area. If you observe this, simply spread them thinly with a standard yard rake.

If you do not wish to, or are not allowed to leave the clippings on your lawn, we still recommend you consider mulching them and re-adding the mulch to the lawn later. Mulch can also provide a great source of nutrients for gardens and flower beds (provided the mulched grass wasn’t treated with any chemicals that could be harmful to plants or food).

4. STAY SHARP

A dull blade can pull and tear grass, which can immediately damage the lawn and leave it prone to disease and the harshness of nature. A clean cut is what you really want. Make sure your mower blades are kept sharp with a yearly sharpening.

5. DON'T SHORT SELL YOUR LAWN

While it may be tempting to set your mower to the lowest setting possible as to minimize the number of mowings in a season, this is not ideal. Aside from the possibility of creating bald spots by hitting uneven patches in the level of the lawn, there is also the fact that different species of grass thrive at different heights, and cutting them too low could stress or even kill the plant. We recommend setting your mower to the following heights when addressing these varieties of grass

GRASS VARIETIES

RYE, FESCUE or KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS: MOW AT 1.5" - 2.5"

TALL FESCUE: MOW AT 1.5" - 3"

BERMUDA GRASS: MOW AT 0.5" - 1"

ST. AUGUSTINE: 1" - 3"

BENTGRASS: MOW AT 0.25" - 0.75"

CENTIPEDE GRASS: MOW AT 1" - 2"

ZOYSIA: MOW AT 0.5" - 1"

BUFFALO GRASS: MOW AT 2" - 3" (OR LEAVE UNMOWED)

6. "MULCH" TO SAY ABOUT NOTHING

Maintaining a mulch pile of food scraps, yard debris and other organic materials can really benefit your lawn. By adding mulch to your yard, you can achieve any number of benefits, from improving water drainage, to rebalancing the Ph, to benefitting the beneficial organisms that help support a lawn and more.

7. SETTING SOME GOOD ROOTS

While fertilizers are rarely a bad idea, using one that focuses on building strong roots can further your efforts to establish a lawn that will stand the test of time.

8. A PHD IN pH... OR AT LEAST A GRADE SCHOOL REFRESHER

pH is the measure of how Acidic or Alkaline something is. The pH of your lawn can greatly effect the health of the cover. Even though there is a bit of variety between different types of grass, a good rule of thumb is that you want to shoot for a soil pH of between 6.2 and 7 for the greenest lawn. While it’s very difficult to dramatically change the pH of a lawn once it’s established, small changes can be implemented, and it does benefit you to know a soils pH for if you choose to buy fertilizers, as many work better in different pH soils.