Saturday, March 23, 2024
HomeEditor PicksHow To Keep My Lawn Green

How To Keep My Lawn Green

- Advertisment -

What Is The Best Time To Apply Fertilizer

3 Quick Tips on How To Keep Your Lawn Green

Whether you are using synthetic or organic fertilizer, it is advised that you use this product at the height of spring. If you wait until summer, then you run the risk of applying it when the grass is already damaged.

This means that it will absorb less of the fertilizer. Of course, you may want to continue fertilizing grass in the summer.

How To Keep Your Lawn Green In The Summer

There are several steps that can be taken to keep your lawn healthy and green even during the hottest, driest days of summer. Keeping your grass green throughout the summer months doesnt have to be overly complex. By following these tips with consistency, your lawn should remain beautiful all season long.

Fertilise For A Lush Green Lawn

Give your lawn a great head start by laying down the right fertiliser.

Choosing the right fertiliser for your lawn is essential, and should be made easier once you have tested the pH of your lawn. Take your test results to a garden center to get their advice on which fertiliser to use.

Regular fertiliser provides a fast release of nutrients. This gives nearly instant results. However, a high percentage of the nutrients applied can runoff, especially if it rains, potentially spoiling water sources nearby and depriving your lawn of the nutrients it could have had.

Alternatively, slow-release organic fertiliser provides great results over time. With slow-release fertiliser, your soil will get the majority of the nutrients provided.

There are pros and cons for both options, so do the work to find the right fertiliser for your lawn.

As a general rule on Perths sandy soils, it is better to fertilise more often but at lower rates. This being said, you want to make sure that most of the fertiliser applied will be used by your plants otherwise it will be wasted, which may lead to leaching and pollution of our water tables. If unsure, contact a professional.

Recommended Reading: Get Rid Of Wild Violets

Tips For Keeping Your Lawn Green In The Summer

Summer is the time when we want our lawns to look their best. But its also the time they undergo the most stress. Drought and hot temperatures threaten to fry our carefully cultivated, lush, green lawns. Increased traffic from pets and kids cause more wear and tear than wed like. Warm weather can cause insect and disease issues to arise. Combined, all of these factors can leave our once-green lawns looking brown and dry.

While hot and dry weather may be inevitable, a brown lawn doesnt have to be. Of course, some homeowners embrace the brown and allow their grass to go dormant in the summer. While this is a safe option for your lawns health, most prefer to keep their lawn green all summer long. The process of keeping grass green in the summer is not complicated. With some strategic watering and mowing practices and the right tools and products, you will be able to maintain your green grass from spring to fall.

If you are in need of grasses, we have an excellent selection of grasses and groundcovers for sale in Bowie, MD If youre interested in improving your lawns color read on for tips on how to keep your grass green in the summer and hot weather in general.

What Are Some Grass Growing Tips

8 Tips to Keep Lawn Green in Summer Heat
  • Use a mix or blend of different species of grasses. Using a seed mix will help your lawn better adapt to the conditions of your site .
  • Most grasses require around four hours of daily direct sunlight to thrive. If you have an area of lawn that wont get that, use a species that can handle dappled light .
  • Sowing seeds is easier with a spreader .
  • When it comes to reseeding, cool-season grasses will do better in the late summer or fall.
  • Be careful to not over-mow or over-water your lawn.
  • You May Like: Sanding Machine Rental Lowes

    Watch For Wear And Tear

    Your lawn can undergo added stress simply from everyday traffic. Children, animals, workers or vehicles can cause significant wear and tear on your grass and the ground underneath. Excess traffic can cause the structure of the plant to become damaged. If you notice damage from traffic on your lawn, be sure to avoid the damaged area until it has the opportunity to recover.

    To avoid damage from regular wear and tear, overseed your lawn at the beginning of fall. This will help thicken the lawn for the next season and help repair damage from the current year as well.

    How Do I Keep My Lawn Looking Green And Lush

    One of the most common questions Im asked is How do I keep my lawn looking green and healthy?

    When I give my lawncare talk to gardening clubs, I start by asking the audience whats the most important operation to get a fabulous looking lawn. After shouting out feeding, spiking, aerating, scarifying and a range of other answers, someone finally gives the right one mowing. Thats right, if you dont get your mowing right, everything else is a bit of a waste of time.

    You May Like: How To Thicken A Thin Lawn

    Replace Lawn Mower Blades

    Dull mower blades create jagged grass edges that quickly turn brown. The individual blades of grass will look torn, not neatly cut. They may even get a white tint to the tips of them. That means its time to sharpen your lawn mower blades.

    Mowing with sharpened blades goes a long way to improve the look of your lawn. Sharpen mower blades once or twice a year. Its a simple task you can do yourself. If your blade is too far gone, replace it.

    When youre working with a sharpened mower blade, be careful not to cut too much of your lawn at once. For the healthiest lawn, only remove one-third of the grass height at a time. Chopping off tall grass with one swipe of the lawn mower can lead to a burnt look. Its not good for your lawn or your mower.

    Interestingly, different grass types prefer to be varying heights. Just as not all flowers grow to the same height, neither does grass.

    When learning how to get your lawn greener, take note of the grass type:

    • Cool-season grasses like Kentucky blue grass like to be short.
    • A warm-season lawn of St. Augustine grass prefers to grow taller.

    Grass height matters when youre aiming to get the greenest lawn possible. A freshly mowed lawn should always look healthy and lush.

    Now that you know how to make grass greener, its time to get your supplies. Need help finding spreaders for grass seed and fertilizer? Find products fast with image search in The Home Depot Mobile App. Snap a picture of an item you like, and we’ll show you similar products.

    How Does It Work

    How to Keep Grass Green: Lawn Care Tips

    The all natural pigment in Lawn ColorGuard is naturally absorbed directly into the leaf blade. By attaching the bottle directly to a garden hose, the product is sprayed on as if you were hand watering – or waving a magic wand that gives your lawn an instant, just-like-magic lift. The colouring is immediate, so you can see where you have sprayed, and because the pigment sets within a couple of hours theres no risk of color transfer beyond this. The product contains a host of micronutrients such as nitrogen, magnesium, sulphur and iron – all of which love lawns and lawns love in return. A loved lawn is a green lawn and a green lawn is always the goal.

    Recommended Reading: American Made Riding Lawn Mower

    South Shore Massachusetts Climate Grass

    So, where does that leave us in South Shore Massachusetts? Well, if you remember from our blog about hardiness zones, South Shore MA is in hardiness zone 6b. This means that the warm season grasses are generally out, but we still have several of the cool season grasses to work with.

    Here are a few that wed recommend :

    • Kentucky Bluegrass
    • Perennial Ryegrass
    • Tall Fescues
    • Fine Fescues, like creeping red fescue, chewings fescue, and hard fescue

    Other kinds of grass that grow in Massachusetts

    Because we live in a coastal region, there are also several other grasses that grow in our area . In fact, many coastal grasses are absolutely essential for preventing dune erosion and supporting unique ecosystems.

    While you likely wont find these in your lawn, you can expect to see these types of grass in Massachusetts:

    • American beachgrass
    • Wavy hairgrass

    How To Keep Your Lawn Green And Healthy

    U of A Botanic Garden head of horticulture offers tips on how to win the perennial battle to keep your lawn looking its best.

    Having a lush, green lawn is a lot like doing battle, says a University of Alberta turf expert.

    “There’s a lot going on with your lawn,” said Ken Willis, head of horticulture at the U of A Botanic Garden. “It’s an ecosystem and when you put that turf seed on, you’ve started a war with all types of grass plants and weeds battling for territory. If you want the grass to grow, you want to balance the war so the weeds lose.”

    Willis, who offers a two-part turf care course April 16 and 23, has some seasonal advice for triumphing in turf wars.

    When to call a professional

    There are a couple of turf wars that require professional help, said U of A horticulturist Ken Willis.

    Spraying for weeds

    Let a pro handle the pesticides needed to battlenoxious weedslike Canada thistle or oxeye daisy, but generally, good lawn maintenance will fight off garden-variety weeds.

    “If you give the grass plant what it wants at the right time, that reduces the need to use chemicals.”

    Fairy rings

    Caused by a fungus deep in the soil, this affliction is almost impossible to remedy, short of getting a new lawn.

    Feeding the lawn a nitrogen fertilizer may help decay the organic matter the fungus feeds on, but to battle fairy rings with stronger methods, call a professional.

    “Fungicides can be highly toxic.”

    Don’t Miss: Weedeater Push Mowers

    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.

    Take Care Of The Summer Lawn Pests

    How to get your lawn looking green and healthy

    Do you often wonder how to make your grass greener and thicker during the summer? Insects such as chafer grubs and leather jackets are the most common cause of bald patches on your lawn during the summer. If you notice that birds are pecking at your lawn or that the soil is raised and looks ploughed, this is a telltale sign that your lawn is pest infested.The simplest and cost-effective way of taking care of pests is buying nematodes, which are tiny and whose natural habitat is the soil. Increasing the population of nematodes enables you to get rid of pests within your lawn without necessarily adding chemicals. Simply follow the instructions on the package and reseed your lawn where necessary.

    Read Also: Hydro Mousse Home Depot

    When To Fertilize Your Lawn

    In Massachusetts, its recommended that you either fertilize in May, or the fall before . Just be sure that the soil is warm enough for the fertilizer to penetrate and choose a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer if available.

    What about seasonal fertilizer in summer?

    Feeding your lawn in the early summer can help to better prepare it for the heat and drought conditions that may follow. Slow-release fertilizer is a good idea for most grass types.

    However, avoid applying fertilizer in the middle of the summer because it can end up burning a lawn. Additionally, dont fall in the trap of applying too much fertilizer because that may do more harm than good.

    Lawns Need Air To Breathe

    Lawns need oxygen as well as water, so its important to keep your lawn aerated. Aeration involves perforating the soil at intervals to alleviate compaction, allowing water, air and nutrients to penetrate deep below the surface. The easiest and cheapest method is to push a garden fork into the ground at 15cm intervals over the entire lawn, although for large areas it may be easier to hire a machine to do the hard work so you dont have to. An aerated lawn will also be better at absorbing water rather than letting it run off.

    Don’t Miss: Home Depot Coupons On Lawn Mowers

    Green Grass Tip #: Water Wisely

    Appropriate watering is essential for a beautiful and healthy lawn. The soil needs water as does the grass itself. Blades of grass have a multitude of miniscule holes called stomata. Grass blades absorb minerals and nutrients through the roots. All these elements are essential for plants to produce food.

    If grass does not get enough water, these things wont happen as they should and the health of your lawn will suffer. That beautiful green color is usually the first thing to go.

    The type of soil you have impacts the frequency of recommended watering as well as the duration of each watering session.

    Watering Grass in Sandy Soil

    Sandy soil is able to absorb water applications quickly, but it will lose it very soon, too as it drains very quickly. If your lawn has sandy soil you may have to water more frequently, and I encourage you to improve your soil over time by top-dressing every other year with compost.

    Watering Grass in Yards with Loam Soil

    The best kind of soil for lawns is a nice loam. Loamy soil works the best because it has an effective rate of absorption and has the capacity to hold water for a longer period of time.

    Watering Lawns with Clay Soil

    If you have a clay soil, youll find that its difficult to water, and certain grass types will do better than others in clay. This is because it takes so long to properly absorb water. Clay does hold water well, however, so you may not have to water your yard at all.

    Remove Leaves As They Fall:

    How To Mow Your Lawn Short and Keep It Green Tnex Plant Growth Regulator

    Leaves tend to fall over the course of several weeks, so do not wait until they have all fallen to remove from your yard. Raking or blowing leaves is far more manageable when an entire seasons worth is not sitting in your yard at once.

    Let your lawn continue to breathe and grow by keeping it free of leaves, which lets it enter winter with healthier momentum.

    Also Check: Lawn Mowing Simulator Ps4 Release Date

    You May Like: Rabbit Deterrent For Lawns

    Protect From Pests With Organic Solutions

    There are many ways to protect your garden from pests such as slugs and ants without resorting to chemicals or harmful pesticides, which may be detrimental to our pets or children if they ingest them accidentally.

    For example, try sprinkling crushed eggshells around plants to deter slugs and snails placing an upturned pot over bulbs will help prevent mice from digging up bulbs, and putting mint on the patch of ground where ants usually walk will stop them from entering your house through cracks in walls, etc.

    You May Like: How To Repel Rabbits From Lawn

    Greener Grass Tip #: Fertilize

    Do some research to find out the best fertilizer for use in your region and to meet your specific needs.

    If youre just starting to step up your lawn care game, I recommend starting with a soil test. This small investment will tell you exactly where your yard stands. Youll learn what your lawn needs and , what it doesnt.

    This can save you a lot of time and money by avoiding applications of products that are not necessary for a healthy lawn. You can do a soil test annually for the first few years, and then once every few years after you get a feel for your yard and what it needs to thrive.

    Your local cooperative extension office will be able to test your soil for you, and Ive used and like as well.

    When you do fertilize your lawn, follow the right schedule, and use products that align with your lawn goals and feelings about the environment.

    Should You Go Organic?

    I like to use organic fertilizer on my lawn because I have kids and pets, but you may prefer synthetic fertilizers which feed your lawn faster. Thats a personal choice for everyone.

    Whatever you choose, nitrogen-rich fertilizers will be the most helpful for bringing your lawn to a wonderful shade of green, as Nitrogen encourages leaf growth in plants.

    In addition to applying an organic fertilizer to my yard several times a year, I apply a thin layer of compost to top-dress my lawn every other year when I dethatch, aerate, and overseed.

    Also Check: How To Bid On Lawn Care Jobs

    How To Keep Your Grass Green

    Everyone wants to have that perfect green lawn all year round. This might seem difficult, but it is quite easy if you take the right steps at the right time.

    Start Out Right

    Keeping your grass green starts before you even sow your grass seed. You should use an appropriate fertilizer while doing the final preparation for seeding. This fertilizer should be high in long-term nutrients such as phosphate, but not have too much nitrogen, which will be part of your later lawn fertilizer anyway. Your grass seed will be off to a great start if you have given it the nutrients it needs before you sow the seed.

    Plan Ahead with a Lawn Fertilizer Program

    Design a yearly fertilizer program for your lawn right away and stick to it. That way you will always have a beautiful green lawn to admire. It doesnt have to be complicated, just a few notes on paper to remind you what to buy, when to fertilize and which type of lawn fertilizer to use at each time of the year.

    There are two key components in a fertilizer program. In autumn and winter you will be thinking about strengthening the grass and providing long-term nutrients. Fertilizers for that time of year will contain plenty of potassium, which strengthens the grass and makes it more resistant to cold. Apply this kind of lawn fertilizer from September to the end of the year.

    You can continue with the same fertilizer every six weeks for the rest of the season, finishing in early August. You will have emerald green lawn all summer long.

    RELATED ARTICLES
    - Advertisment -

    Popular Articles

    - Advertisment -