Exposed Grass Care

Exposed Grass Care

Some people take their grass care seriously, and some people have nicely manicured weeds that only masquerade as a lawn. The fact is that nurturing and maintaining a healthy and vigorous turf lawn through common sense grass care is not an arcane mystery.

Interestingly enough, 80% of all private households in the U.S. have grass lawns [1] that comprise about 21 million acres of what should be beautiful green turf. But we all know from just a short walk through the neighborhood that at least half of that acreage is dandelions, clover, crabgrass and chickweed. Just think of the difference a little lawn care could make?

Below are five simple grass care steps that will rejuvenate tired turf and create a healthy and gorgeous greensward that will be the envy of the neighborhood.

Aeration and Dethatching Promotes Grass Care

Old sod gets careworn and tired. Without proper long-term grass care, lawns become patchy, weak and subject to weed, pest and disease infiltration. Biodiversity is great in the rain forest, but on your lawn, you only want grass.

Aeration is a process of poking holes through the grass surface into the soil substrate, allowing nutrients, moisture and air to the root layer. Healthy roots make thick and primo sod. Dethatching removes dead and dry grass that forms a layer at the base of the grass plants and impedes spread. It is recommended that turf be aerated annually and dethatched at least every three years depending on conditions.

Overseeding

Overseed the freshly aerated and dethatched lawn with at least three to five pounds of quality grass seed per 1,000 square feet, depending on the variety that best suits the growing zone. The best time to overseed cool climate lawns is early to mid-fall, which gives the new seedlings time to establish before winter dormancy without the competition of annual weeds and crab grasses that have already died off.

Food and Water for Grass Care

Feeding is an essential element of rejuvenating grass care. Apply a slow release fertilizer after overseeding to ensure proper germination, which should occur between two and four weeks after seeding. Five weeks after germination apply a quick release fertilizer to spur growth, and repeat after another six weeks through the growing season.

Watering regularly is required for reestablishment grass care, especially as the new seedlings sprout and become established. It is recommended to keep the soil moist but not wet until the new growth is established, after which the watering rate can be adjusted.

Weeds

Heavy and established weed infiltrations can be a problem for rejuvenating grass care projects. While the use and overuse of chemical weed killers is a concern in our increasingly Green-Conscious society, the fact is that sometimes you have to commit herbicide as part of a comprehensive grass care program

Mowing

The thing about mowing and grass care that too many people just don’t get is that lawns don’t like to be scalped and shaved. Mowing too short causes thinning and browning. Mow no shorter than 3 inches and let the grass keep some leaf it needs to create healthy and thick turf.

Follow these simple tips as part of your regular grass care routine for a healthy and rejuvenated lawn.

[1]http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.journals/abstract/395/displayColumns/1

Incoming search terms:

• when to apply grubex