Warmer weather brings new opportunities to use grass care techniques to have a pristine lawn. Everyone loves to look at a perfect lawn, but few people know about the lawn care that goes into maintaining that lawn. Even fewer people are willing to follow through with all the required lawn care steps. That’s why a thick and lush green lawn is such a lovely oddity. We know you’re different. You’re willing to take the time and energy to give your turfgrass the grass care it needs. So, we’ve compiled a list of our top ten grass care tips to save you from having a weed-infested, brown, patchy lawn ever again.
A waterlogged lawn or soil that stays moist for hours or days opens up a number of detrimental issues for your grass care. Moss and fungal diseases are among the list of problems, as well as drowning your turfgrass. There are two main reasons a lawn may stay waterlogged.
As we noted, aerating is the solution to many lawn care problems. More than that, aeration is a critical lawn care practice that helps maintain the healthiest of lawns. Aerating should be done once or twice annually, included in your grass care routine at the beginning and end of the growing season.
Aerating is a lawn care practice designed to introduce air and nutrients deep into the soil and root system of your grass. There are several manual tools you can use to punch holes in the ground, or you can use a liquid lawn care hack.
Liquid Aerating Soil Loosener is an easier, safe, and effective way to aerate your lawn. Just spray your yard and allow the powerful formula to open up your soil for maximum nutrient absorption. Follow aeration with fertilizing your lawn for the best results, and if you need to reseed, a great time to do it is about four weeks after you’ve aerated.
A great way to make sure your grass gets the most out of this common lawn care practice is to apply the fertilizer before it rains. This way, your lawn is sure to absorb the most nutrients deep into the roots and soil. After you aerate, fertilizing is another way to make sure your lawn gets the most from your grass care as the soil is loose and ready to absorb. Pick a rainy week to do these lawn care steps as you want wet soil to aerate, and also after applying fertilizer.
There are many options when it comes to grass care fertilizers. Granular and liquid, and many different macronutrient breakdowns. We prefer liquid lawn care for fertilizing above granular for its ability to be more quickly absorbed. The major macronutrients for lawn care are:
Obviously, a healthy lawn requires regular mowing as part of the lawn care routine. You take all these grass care steps to encourage healthy growth, but you keep it cut to the optimal length for the best physical appearance. Most people mow their lawn, but few know there is a proper way to mow. Most people mow their lawn as short as possible to get away with mowing less frequently. But mowing too short can scalp your lawn, making it more susceptible to weeds and disease.
Remove no more than ⅓ of the grass length at a time, aiming to keep it three to four inches long in the summer months. This grass care tip helps your lawn look healthier because longer grass blades shade the roots and protect it from getting burnt. Longer grass blades also help maintain a lush green color and allow you to water less frequently.
Like with many other lawn care processes, there is an optimal time to mow. Mow your lawn in the early evening, avoiding the added stress of the mid-day sun, and give it ample time to recover before the next day’s afternoon sun. Avoid mowing when the grass is wet, as this can damage your mower, or cause damage to your soil.
Switch up the mowing pattern so that you don’t create divots in your lawn or teach your grass blades to grow in one direction. Be sure to maintain your most valuable grass care tool - your lawnmower. In the middle of the growing season, your mower will probably need an oil change, and the blades sharpened. Dull mower blades tear the blades of your grass and cause the tips to brown and lose moisture quickly.
A seemingly counterintuitive lawn care tip is to let the grass clippings lie, as opposed to bagging them as you mow. If you’re mowing frequently enough, grass clippings will be short and break down quickly. Short grass clippings will not contribute to a thick layer of thatch and will help to feed your grass.
Bare patches in a lawn are arguably the biggest scourge on an otherwise beautiful lawn. You can look the other way for a few dandelions, but those bare spots just draw the eye right to them. Luckily, you can correct bare spots anytime, but the best time is in spring, and right after fertilizing. Start by scoring the ground to remove dead grass and loosen the soil. Lay new grass seed and keep moist for about two weeks. In the hot summer months, you might need to water your new grass seed multiple times. Avoid mowing your new grass until it is about three inches tall, and when you do mow, take only the top ⅓ off.
Always water your lawn deeply, about one to two inches of water per week, and less frequently as opposed to light waterings every day. Of course, the exception is when you are taking other grass care measures like overseeding or correcting bare spots. Water early in the morning, so your lawn has the entire day to dry out. Take rainfall into consideration. More rain means less irrigation, and less rain means more grass care and watering.
Not to be confused with fertilizer, compost is an important step to go the extra mile for your grass care. Spreading compost over a lawn will help it grow greener and stronger, and fight off annoying weeds. Using decomposing organic matter, or compost, increases the helpful microorganisms that make your grass care so much easier.
You can make your own compost or purchase it from local home improvement stores, but the easiest way to add organic material to your soil is again with liquid grass care. Soil Hume: Seaweed, Humic/Fulvic Acid Soil Treatment adds organic material directly to your soil to get all the benefits of a homemade compost mixture. However, you won’t have to worry about spreading compost on too thick and smothering your already established turfgrass.
If your lawn is generally pretty thin, you can follow this lawn care tip: overseed. Overseeding is the lawn care process of laying new seed on top of an existing lawn. For the best grass care results, overseed in the late summer or early fall. Then follow these lawn care steps:
Grass care is the most essential tool you have to keep your lawn looking its best. Everyone knows they need to mow their lawn to keep it looking decent, but that’s the bare minimum. Following the more advanced lawn care tips and schedules is added work, but when you have the lawn that’s the talk of the town, it will be well worth it. From fertilization to aerating, Simple Lawn Solutions is your partner in beautiful lawns and healthy grass.
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