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.
Go Natural With The Fertilizer
Alright, so youve tried watering it, but it seems like your grass is past the point of no return. But, dont give up just yet! Fertilizer is another helpful step when making grass greener.
When you go to your local store, youll probably have tons of fertilizer options to choose from. Fertilizer is one of those things that many people believe is all the same, so they just go for the cheaper option and call it a day.
However, you should check for a natural fertilizer. They tend to work better than synthetic fertilizers, and theyre better for the environment!
The Grass Is Always Greener: How To Make Your Lawn Greener
HomeBlogThe Grass Is Always Greener: How to Make Your Lawn Greener
Lawn care is important for any good homeowner. Keeping a green lawn, however, can be a real challenge.
What are some tips for how to make your lawn greener?
If you want to know how to get the perfect lawn, youre in luck. Here are some tips to keep a green lawn.
Recommended Reading: How To Rid Lawn Of Clover
Lawn Care Tip #: Raise Your Mower Blades
Many homeowners cut their lawns too short. In fact, experts say cutting the lawn too short is the number one mistake made in taking care of grass.
Yes, cutting the lawn shorter might mean you wont have to mow it quite so many times during the growing season. But scalping a lawn can result in stressing the grass plants that make up the lawn. Each blade of grass is a leaf on a plant. Cutting the grass too short decreases the leaf area the plant has to gather sunshine. Cutting the grass too short also exposes the soil underneath to more sun. That makes it harder for the soil to retain moisture. The result can be drier roots and stressed plants.
Set your lawnmower height to 2.5 to 3 inches. Mow your lawn once a week during the growing season. And sharpen the mower blades so they dont tear the blades of grass. Sharp mower blades make a quick cut that results in a healthier, better-looking lawn.
Follow these 5 lawn care tips and you will have greener grass! To read our reviews on the best of the quiet new cordless electric mowers, read Top Cordless Electric Lawn Mowers.
And if you love flowers, please read Best Roses for Backyard Gardens.
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 .
Don’t Miss: How To Revive Brown Lawn
How To Keep Your Grass Green This Year
Now that summer has arrived every Hamilton homeowner wants a carpet of healthy green for their lawn. Getting lush green grass is a labor of love that takes some time to achieve, but its worth the effort. There are some fundamentals you should follow if you want to be the envy of your neighbourhood and attain the best results. Understanding how to proceed is essential in producing a thick, healthy green lawn.
Here are some guidelines to keep your grass green this year.
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!
Read Also: Lowes Belt Sander Rental
How Do I Get The Mowing Right
Mowing is one of the most frequent tasks and the most important to achieve a green lawn, and therefore it is vital to get it right. The quality of the cut will depend, not only on your turf type, but also your choice of mower.
A cylinder mower is fitted with several blades arranged in a spiral located on a front cylinder. The cutting action is similar to that of a pair of scissors, and the more blades fitted, the finer the cut. These mowers are used where an immaculate sward is required. Choose a cylinder mower with a roller if you want to achieve a striped green lawn.
A rotary mower on the other hand is more suitable for general mowing of most turf areas. These are fitted with a horizontal blade that spins at high speed and cuts with a similar action to a scythe. Both cylinder and rotary mowers are available as either petrol driven or electric models. Your choice will come down to budget and suitability. A hover mower is a rotary mower that floats on a cushion of air and is useful for cutting slopes or even steep banks.
Unless you have a mulching mower, its best to collect lawn clippings, either during cutting using a box fitted to the mower, or after, by raking them off the surface of the lawn. Over time, if these clippings were left on the lawn they would cause a build up of thatch leading to drainage problems.
With electric mowers make sure a RCD is fitted. If you should accidentally cut through the cable, then the RCD will turn off the power.
Improve Your Mowing Technique
Many dont realize that there are optimal mowing heights. A trick to help keep your grass green in the summer is to let your blades of grass grow a little taller to prevent water from drying too quickly. To do this, set your mower to three inches or the highest setting and mow every two to three weeks. Your lawn will still look neat and well kept, the grass will be just a little taller than youre used to.
Recommended Reading: Humic Acid On Lawn
Greener Grass Tip #: Iron Applications
Applying an iron supplement to your lawn is one of the most effective things you can do to get a greener lawn.
If youve been watering your grass and youve fertilized, but the grass is still a mix of light green, brown and yellow, its time to throw down some Iron.
Iron applications can be effective for all types of grass, but some of the species that do especially well with extra iron include Bluegrass and Fescue.
An Iron application will help the foliage of almost any plant green up. From roses, to tomatoes, to citrus trees and grass, if you want dark green leaves, give those plants some iron. Itll do the trick even in the heat of summer when your neighbors lawns start to look brown and crispy!
How to Apply Iron to Your Lawn
I apply a granual iron supplement to my lawn by mixing it with a slow-release fertilizer every spring. I like to wait until the temperatures outdoors are in the 60s consistently before applying it with my broadcast spreader.
You can continue to apply iron with your fertilizer applications for the rest of the year to keep your grass that nice dark shade of green and provide your lawn the micronutrients it needs.
When you apply iron, ensure that you carefully follow all the instructions listed on the packaging. This is essential in order to avoid overdosing, which can cause damage, or even turn your grass gray .
Also, if some iron treatments get on concrete it can stain it an ugly shade of orange. Yikes!
What I Use
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!
Don’t Miss: Does Scotts Lawn Fertilizer Expire
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
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.
Read Also: How To Get Rid Of Rye Grass In Lawn
How To Make Grass Greener
The grass doesnt have to be greener on the other side. Learn how to make grass greener so your lawn can be the envy of the neighborhood. With a bit of research and work, you can achieve the green grass of your dreams.
This guide will teach you how to get green grass. Itll outline how to test soil and fertilize it according to what your lawn needs. Youll also learn how to best care for the type of grass you have.
Compost For A Healthy Lawn
Using a sprinkling of the compost material that youve collected can be a great contributor to your lawns health. That waste material is full of nutrients that can promote growth. Just remember not to overdo it, you dont want to smother your lawn and prevent it from getting the air that it needs as well.
Don’t Miss: How To Get Rid Of Geese On Lawn
Tips For Greener Grass #: Aerate Compacted Soil
Over time, soil can become compacted. This compacted soil makes it more difficult for moisture to penetrate the lawns root zone. Thats one cause of discolored lawns that no longer look healthy.
It is difficult for roots to grow in compacted soil. Fortunately, the solution is called aerating and its relatively easy to do.
Aerating helps to fix compacted soil by poking hundreds of tiny holes in the turf. This allows water to penetrate more easily.
Contact a local lawncare maintenance company to aerate your lawn in the spring. Proper aerating will enable your lawn to be more resistant to drought and maintain its healthy green color. Thats why aerating deserves its place on the lawn care tips for greener grass list.
Make Sure Your Lawn Is Getting Equal Watering
Uneven watering can cause a ton of problems and make your lawn look unbalanced and multi-colored. For that lush, green, even look you need to water your yard evenly too. Check for extreme hills, dips, divots and any other areas that can cause extreme runoff and uneven watering.
Remember that watering is best done every few days and to be extensive.
Recommended Reading: How To Revive Brown Lawn
Water Deeply Not Often
If you water frequently and for short periods, the grass has no reason to grow long roots. Shallow roots cant reach nutrients deep in the soil, or deliver extra water when the surface is dry.
Water deeply enough to penetrate the soil to about 100 or 150mm deep. Use a spade to check the water penetration and get an idea of how long and how often to water for your local soil type and weather conditions. When you know how long the lawn needs, set up sprinklers and connect a timer.
Heavy clay soils should be watered less often and less intensely but for longer periods of time. Sandy soils, on the other hand, can handle heavy, fast watering but also dry out more quickly.
Remove Moss And Scarify
Moss likes to grow in bald patches of the lawn and can quickly take over. While some gardeners like a bit of moss, if you are looking for the perfect green lawn, it has to go. Use moss killer first, and then remove it from the lawn.Scarifying the lawn will also help to remove thatch which may cause problems later on in the year. Once you have removed moss, you should overseed to fill in the gap to discourage further growth.
Don’t Miss: How To Keep Lawn Green In Summer
Get Rid Of Thatch Build
When was the last time you seriously cared for your lawn? You probably mow every week, but neglect to do anything else. If thatch buildup occurs, it can be deadly for your grass.
Thatch to some degree is helpful as it protects roots. But too much thatch will block nutrients and water from seeping down into the soil. Spend an afternoon removing thatch to let your roots get the supplies they need.
How To Make Your Lawn Green And Beautiful: The Best Tips
Its the ultimate goal for any homeowner: a perfectly green, lush lawn boosting curb appeal.
But figuring out how to make your lawn green isnt always as easy as it seems.
Weeds, thin grass blades, and dry, brown patches can quickly make your lawn look bad.
Keeping your lawn healthy and nourished can help you get that green lawn you want. Strong, healthy grass is better able to keep weeds at bay and withstand other treats.
Use these tips to help your lawn stay green and lush.
Don’t Miss: How To Kill Wild Violet Weeds In Lawn
Mow At The Right Height
Raise the cutting height of your lawnmower during summer to keep your lawn looking at its best. The grass wont dry out as quickly and the roots will be better protected by the longer blades. We recommend mowing your lawn every two to three weeks in summer to keep it looking tidy, though the need can vary if theres been a lot of rain.
