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Lawn Care Tips- 6 Easy Steps to
a Great Lawn
What type of lawn care
works best for you depends on the time
and money you decide to put into your
lawn. If your lawn is your hobby, you can
spend thousands of dollars and hundreds
of hours of time on it.
On the other side of the fence, if what
you want is a low-maintenance green
expanse that you can enjoy with family
and friends, you've come to the right
page!
The best lawn care tip you can get is
to start with a solid plan.
1. Do you need to plant grass? Do some
research on the best seed for your area,
where to buy it cheap, and when it's
available. Depending on where you live,
you'll plant either cool season or warm
season grass.
Cool season grass, planted in northern
areas, is usually best planted in early
fall, but if you missed planting then,
plant it in the spring when soil
temperatures reach 50 F.
Warm season grass needs soil temps of 70F
to thrive and is the choice for southern
plantings. Don't make the mistake of
thinking you can plant warm season grass
in the upper Midwest. Warm season grasses
are bred to thrive in southern climates
and are not winter hardy in the north.
2. Of course, you'll keep new grass
plantings moist, but once grass reaches a
height of three inches, water it deeply
once a week.
A healthy lawn needs about an inch of
water a week. When watering, remember to
consider recent rainfalls. Shallow
watering techniques keep grass from
sinking the deep roots that your lawn
needs to compete with deep-rooted weeds.
3. Do you already have a lawn? Aerate it
in the spring while it's still moist and
before the spring rains are done.
Aerating your lawn in the springtime
gives microbes and other small life forms
a breath of fresh air after winter.
Aeration also makes new paths for
drainage and keeps your lawn from
becoming saturated.
4. A lot is written about lawn fertilizer
and the big question is why? Grass is the
most efficient user of nitrogen on earth!
Feed your soil with nutrient rich compost
and let your lawn get its nutrients the
natural way. The more chemicals you use,
the more you disturb the natural
biological processes that convert organic
matter into nutrients and the microbes
and other small organisms that take
natural care of your lawn.
5. Mow your grass high. A 2 ½ to 3-inch
high cut makes your lawn look fuller,
feel softer, and helps keep it healthy.
Taller grass shades pesky weed seeds and
keeps them from getting established. In
addition, a taller lawn is better able to
absorb sunshine and better able to retain
moisture, the two main contributors to a
healthy lawn.
6. Enjoy your lawn. After all, isn't that
your main reason for having a yard?
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