How To Make Grass Thicker
In addition to choosing the right grass in the first place and regularly aerating your lawn, you can do a few additional things to make your grass thicker
- Address diseases. Avoid mowing when the lawn is wet and check for signs of disease or fungal infection. This may appear as powdery residue or colored patches or spots. Also, check for indications of pest damage .
- Ensure that your soil is healthy. Check for your local extension field office and obtain a soil-testing kit. It will alert you to nutrient deficiencies that may be responsible for your thinning lawn.
- Water regularly and apply a nitrogen fertilizer. Dont worry, well discuss more about this below.
Aerate And Overseed Your Lawn When Needed
Water and nutrients need to reach lawn roots in order to lead to thicker and greener grass. Over time, lawns can become compact, whether its from traffic or harsh weather, limiting this easy access of water and nutrients.
The solution is annual aeration. This practice breaks up the soil and enables the lawn to breath. Also, those small holes aeration creates can provide the perfect access for overseeding in thin, bare areas. Aeration and overseeding are key elements that shouldnt be forgotten on the journey to greener, thicker grass.
Hire A Professional Landscaper
Alright, so you tried changing the way you water, fertilize, care for, and mow your lawn. Its been a few weeks and your grass still looks awful! What now?
Well, it may be time to call in the professionals. By now youre probably exhausted from spending all your free time on techniques that havent yielded the results youve wanted.
A professional landscaper will be able to assess the state of your yard and may be able to get to the root of the problem. It may take a few professional treatments to revive your grass, but itll be worth it in the end. You can discover more about professional landscapers in Wichita, KS here.
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Keep Your Grass Longer
Mow your grass on a higher setting. Longer grass will allow for the establishment of longer roots, which can reach more moisture in the soil even when the weather is hot and dry. Keeping grass longer will prevent it from drying out too quickly and ensure that roots are better protected by the longer blades.
Mowing the grass too short can cause damage. It can leave the lawn scorched to the point where the grass may not be able to recover. Luckily, this problem is totally avoidable. As a general practice, avoid mowing your grass shorter than three to three-and-a-half inches or cutting more than one-third of its height at once. Mowing more frequently will make it easier to mow to the right length while still adhering to these guidelines.
Keep in mind that if you choose to mow your grass short, you will have to water it more often and more lightly. Light and frequent watering will cause shorter roots. In turn, this increases stress during droughts.
Dont Cut Grass Too Short
If your grass is dry and brown, you may be tempted to remove as much as possible. After all, the less there is, the better, right? However, grassroots grow relative to the blade height.
This means if you mow your grass very short, the roots wont grow very long under the soil. Short roots make grass more susceptible to dying from heat or drought. When learning how to make your lawn greener, make sure you mow your lawn no shorter than 2-3 inches.
It may not look the best at first. But when the roots grow longer, your grass will have an easier time reaching water and nutrients needed to revive itself. Just a little patience can pay off big time.
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How To Select Grass
Beyond selecting a grass that will grow well giving your climatic conditions, there are some other things to consider like pH, fertility, soil moisture, and environmental stresses.
Some grasses will be more shade tolerant than others , while others are better at forming sod . Additionally, some grasses are better suited for very specific activitieslike bentgrass being used for a putting green or a croquet court.
When to plant grass can be found in our gardening guide!
Lawn Care Tips For Greener Grass
Spring and Fall are the best times to plant a new lawn or rehab your tired old lawn. Follow these 5 lawn care tips for greener grass if you want a healthy, green lawn that will be the envy of the neighborhood.
If youre ready to replace your old gas-powered lawn mower with a new, quiet electric mower, be sure to read our guide to the Top Cordless Electric Lawn Mowers.
Millions of homeowners seem to be on a never-ending quest to have more perfect, greener grass. Thats because a well-manicured, emerald green lawn in the front yard is a source of personal pride. Plus, your neighbors will appreciate the curb appeal you are adding to the neighborhood.
But thats just the beginning. A healthy lawn can improve the property value of a home, and it can make a house more attractive to prospective buyers when its time to sell. Perfect, greener grass might even make your neighbors green with envy.
A gorgeous green lawn might seem unattainable, because healthy turfgrass doesnt happen by itselfand it doesnt happen overnight. Yet, when you know what growing conditions grass prefers and you learn how to properly maintain a lawn, its not that difficult grow happy, greener grass.
Just follow these five steps to a greener lawn and your front yard will set the standard for the entire neighborhood. And check out the .
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Early Stages Of Grub Chinch Bug Or Sod Webworm Damage
In the early stages of insect damage, your grass can first appear wilted, then yellow, and ultimately brown. There are different types of lawn pests that can damage your lawn. Chinch bugs suck, sod webworms chew, and grubs feed on the roots. But all 3 can damage your grass and cause a change in color.
PRO TIP: There are preventative treatments for insects that can help you avoid damage in the first place. Of course, there are also ways to address an active insect problem. The trouble with insect damage is that it can often mimic disease damage . Thats why its beneficial to have a professional diagnose your problem.
Follow A Fertilizer Schedule
The Scotts company, a major fertilizer manufacturer, recommends applying lawn fertilizers in four stages. The exact dates will, of course, vary from region to region. Another factor is the kind of grass you grow. So always read the package labels carefully before applying, and pick the brains of the staff at local garden centers or a local extension service.
As an example of a typical fertilizer schedule, if you live in the northeastern United States and if your lawn is a mix of cool-season grasses, you might begin by feeding the grass in May with a product that contains a pre-emergent to prevent crabgrass from growing. Follow that up in June with another lawn fertilizer that performs two jobs at once. In this case, the other job is controlling broad-leaved weeds. For the latter, you need a product that contains a post-emergent herbicide designed to kill weeds that have begun growing in your lawn.
In mid-summer, bugs and drought are two of the greatest enemies of your grass.
Last but not least, when you winterize your yard in autumn, don’t forget your grass. It’s not difficult to remember which fertilizers to shop for at this time, because they will often contain “winterizer” in their names. These products are designed to help your grass build a deeper root system to weather the winter.
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Final Thoughts On How To Make Your Lawn Green
If this seems like a lotdont stress it. Were here to help. Feel free to give us a call at any time to talk about how to make your neighbors green with envy because of a lawn thats just as green! Also, if you have any other tried and tested tips for supporting healthy grass, let us know in the comments!
Healthy Lawn Step : Watering The Grass
Watering the lawn like an expert is what really ties all of these other tips together. Without the proper lawn watering schedule, its impossible to mow, aerate, seed, fertilize or mulch properly.
Your lawn needs about one inch of water each week. So with recent precipitation in mind, use empty cans placed spatially throughout the lawn. Measure how full the can is to determine how much water is distributed in one, one hour sprinkling session. Calculate that total to equal one inch over the week. Water the lawn early in the morning, from 4 AM and 9AM for optimal absorption.
With your expertise in mind, explore these mowing and lawn care tips for comparison against your current yard work practices for a beautiful lawn you will appreciate!
> > With questions regarding lawn tractor attachments or further expert advice, talk to a Simplicity Dealer in your area today!
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Tips For A Greener Lawn
Michelle Di Micco
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Preparing your lawn for the summer sun and putting in a little extra work to keep it looking lush promises to reward you with grass that will make the neighbours green with envy
Spring leading into Summer can easily be the death of your lawn, however, it is meant to be the absolute best time of year to enjoy it. Too often I see people watering their lawn in the midday sun and I have a total facepalm moment. Said gardener loves their lawn enough to be out in the heat of the day tending to their grass but unknowingly they are doing the wrong thing. So, to lend a helping hand, here are 10 of the best tips to ensure your lawn remains green and lush throughout the warmer months.
Make Sure Youre Treating Problems Like Disease And Insects
As we mentioned, the health of your lawn can also be impacted by problems like disease and insects. For instance, there are a number of funguses that can really wreak havoc on your lawn. Fungal infections can impact your lawns color, causing it to turn yellow as it struggles. In addition, in the early stages of insect damage, your grass can appear wilted, then yellow, and ultimately brown. There are both surface-feeding insects as well as subsurface-feeding lawn grubs which can cause trouble. Its important that a lawn care professional gets to the bottom of whats going on in your lawn so that the problem can be remedied.
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Watering The Right Way
Recipe For The Perfect Lawn: Pennington’s Ironite Formula
- 20 percent iron. Adequate iron helps ensure a healthy, deep green lawn that doesn’t grow excessively.
- 50 percent of the nitrogen content is slow release. Sufficient nitrogen results in healthy, vigorous turfgrass growth.2 Slow release nitrogen is ideal, as it leads to even grass growth, won’t burn the lawn and surrounding plants, and is longer lasting, which means less frequent fertilizing.3
- AST . A linear polymer, AST improves the physical characteristics of the soil, which ensures maximum plant performance. It also helps to improve water penetration and minimize soil loss.
- Beneficial microbes. A healthy soil contains a dynamic, microscopic ecosystem teeming with life. Beneficial microbes increase the organic activity in the soil, which helps turf and plants use the ingredients in the product more effectively and efficiently. This assists grass in taking up and using naturally occurring nutrients in the soil, resulting in a greener lawn.
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Water Your Lawn Deeply And Less Often
Turning your sprinkler on for just a few minutes a few times a week really wont do much to help your lawn. For a healthier lawn, learn to water your grass deeply and less often. If you water infrequently and deeply, the roots of your grass will start to grow deeper down into the soil. This helps your grass stay green during periods of drought or extremely hot weather. Experts recommend that you water your grass with 1 inch of water, once a week. This amount of course can vary depending on your local weather conditions, soil type, grass species, etc.
How do you know if youre watering your plants with 1 inch of water? You can use this simple test. Place a series of shallow containers throughout your lawn and turn your sprinklers on. Keep watering until you measure 1 inch of water in the majority of the containers.
This simple test will also help you determine if your sprinklers are watering your grass evenly. If the depth of the water in the containers varies widely, this may explain patches of drier grass in your yard. In this case youll need to adjust your sprinkler heads. Its also important that you dont over-water your grass.
Youll know when its time to water again when the first 3-4 inches of soil are dry to the touch. Use an electronic soil tester to test the soil moisture, or use a trowel or a screwdriver to open the soil and feel it with your finger. To help your grass retain even more water, you can use water absorbing polymers .
Is The Grass Always Greener On The Other Side
When you look at your neighbor’s yard, perhaps you say to yourself, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” Well, don’t despair. If you check for excessive thatch, give your lawn enough water, and learn how to mow and use lawn fertilizers properly, the grass will be greener on both sides of the fence .
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Drought Stress Or Lack Of Water
Your grass needs water to thrive. When your lawn isnt receiving enough water, it can start to wilt and ultimately turn pale green or yellow.
PRO TIP: Its critical that you get on a proper watering schedule. Its common for people to underestimate just how much water their lawn is receiving from Mother Nature. A brief thunderstorm may seem like it delivers a lot of rain, but it doesnt soak down very far to your turfs roots, where its truly needed. On top of that, people get busy and forget to water their lawn. But your lawn needs approximately 1 to 2 inches of water per week to thrive and remain a healthy green.
Try A New Variety Of Grass
One way to achieve a healthy lawn is to know what type of turf you have. Most lawns are a mix of Perennial Rye, Kentucky Bluegrass and Fescue. Some turf becomes stressed when exposed to hot temperatures. If its healthy grass, it may be able to recover. But if its already experiencing stress from drought, mowing damage or insects and disease, it might not bounce back.
If you have an older lawn, it might be time to consider a more thorough renovation. Some older varieties of turf may not be able to handle the heat as well, while newer varieties are better equipped to cope with hot temperatures. It may be worthwhile to reseed your lawn with a new variety such as a Tall Fescue mix, which does well under the hot sun.
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How Can I Grow Grass Twice As Fast As Seed
It packs both grass seed and lawn food into one handy formula designed to grow grass twice as fast as seed on its own. You can use it to put down a new lawn or to overseed a thin lawn. Just rake the soil, apply the product with your spreader, and water daily until the grass reaches mowing height.
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Ugh Why Is My Lawn Not Dark Green 7 Reasons & 7 Tips
If a dark green lawn is your goal, as it is for most homeowners, then you may be feeling frustrated if its turning light green or even yellow. You may even feel as though youve tried various remedies and its still not looking its best.
If you find yourself wondering Why is my lawn not green? then we want to help.
Weve rounded up a variety of potential causes for you to consider at your Allentown, Bethlehem, or Easton, PA home.
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