Creating A Gorgeous Garden

The Care And Feeding Of A Healthy Green Lawn

24 February 2017 by Tiffany Gonzales

A healthy green lawn is a beautiful addition to any residence. It can make your home and garden appear lush and green even when no other plants are growing there. You can have a healthy green lawn all year long if you take care of it. Here are some ways that you can care for your lawn and encourage it to grow:   

• Water Your Lawn:  Keep your lawn moist but not overly wet. A lawn in a moderate climate can be thoroughly watered 2 - 3 times a week. To test that your lawn is moist, try to push a screwdriver into your lawn and see that it easily goes into the soil. If it is difficult to push in the screwdriver, your lawn needs to be watered more frequently. Test different sections of your lawn to make sure that your entire lawn is being watered consistently. 

• Feed Your Lawn:  Your lawn needs fertilizer to thrive. Choose an organic nitrogen fertilizer that you can buy at any lawn and garden store. Water your lawn thoroughly a day or two before you fertilize your lawn. When your lawn is dry, use a rotary spreader, a drop spreader, or a manual spreader to fertilize your lawn. Fertilize the outside perimeter and then work in a criss-cross pattern to fertilize the rest of your lawn. Overlap your fertilizer application to make sure that your entire lawn is covered. When you are finished, lightly water your lawn to wash the newly applied fertilizer down to the soil and roots of your grass plants. 

• Aerate Your Lawn:  The roots of your lawn need to be aerated to receive water and fertilizer effectively and assist in basic air exchange with the atmosphere. Depending on the soil in your yard, you can aerate your lawn once or twice a year. Clay soils are compacted and require more frequent aeration than looser sandy soils. You can rent a lawn aerator from a home and garden store. Fertilize and water your lawn thoroughly after aeration. 

• Overseed and Spot Seed Your Lawn:  Overseed your lawn once or twice a year with seeds of the same species of grass that you are growing. You can apply grass seed more often if you see thin or dying sections. Overseeding your lawn will cause new grass to take root between your already established grass plants and give you a lush lawn. If you have any dying sections on your lawn, you can spot seed those sections. To do this, remove the dead grass plants, aerate the soil with a rake, apply fertilizer, apply new grass seed, rake the area to allow the grass seed to penetrate the soil, and apply peat moss. Immediately water your newly planted grass seeds and keep them moist so that they can quickly take root. You can also add clover seed to your growing lawn to thicken the lawn and provide natural drought tolerance. 

• Weed Your Lawn:  Invasive weeds can sap your lawn of nutrients and overwhelm a healthy green lawn. Weed your lawn whenever you see a weed growing. Weeds should be pulled out by the roots to prevent them from growing back.

• Rid Your Lawn of Pests:  If you see dying sections of grass, dig around in the soil to see if you spot any obvious pests such as grubs, aphids, cutworms, or chinch bugs. If you see an infestation of pests, apply a lawn insecticide. Follow the directions on the package precisely and water as directed. 

With care and proper feeding, you can have a beautiful lawn around your residence. A green lawn is the most important part of a beautiful yard and can add to your enjoyment when you are outdoors. Make lawn care a priority and your yard will give you much pleasure all year long.  

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