With the growing season upon attention should be given to the lawn including weed control; mowing; and fertilization for a healthy green lawn.  Here are some tips for your consideration for lawn care.

Weed Control

The best thing you can do to control weeds is to not cut your lawn too short.  Weeds love really short grass and when grass is short it allows sun to easily penetrate the soil.  Weed seeds will sprout if they receive sunlight.  Keep you grass as least three inches high and this will help to prevent weeds from colonizing in your lawn.

Yellow stripes after mowing

If you have notice yellow stripes in your yard after you have mowed, you are mowing your lawn too short.  Scalping a lawn exposes the lowest portion of grass blades to sunlight and it burns them.  The grass will first turn yellow, then brown and die.  To avoid this problem simply raise your lawn mover blades.

Seeding a lawn

When seeding a lawn, use a spreader to get even coverage.  Work in a criss-cross pattern.  First, travel back and for the across the lawn.  Next, travel up and down the lawn.  You should set the seed spreader at half the recommended application rate to do a more even job.

Drought-proof your lawn

Tips for drought-proofing your lawn before summer heat sets in:

• Dethatch your lawn and reduce compaction of the soil.
• Reduce or eliminate nitrogen fertilizers.  Try to use potassium based fertilizers instead.
• Water your lawn early in the morning.
• Sharpen you mower blades two to three times per season.
• Cut your lawn no shorter than three inches.
• Leave your clippings on the lawn and stop using pesticides.

Grass clipping for a natural fertilizer

Let grass clippings lay where they may when you cut the lawn.  Grass is made up largely of water.  The moisture from the clippings will quickly evaporate leaving behind a natural fertilizer.  Grass clippings decompose at a fairly rapid pace, and they are high in nitrogen.  By letting your grass clippings decompose naturally, it may save you from having to apply nitrogen in fertilizer form to your lawn.

Lime your lawn to correct pH balance

The ideal pH range for healthy lawns is between six and seven.  If your soil test comes back with a reading of six or less, adding lime can correct the balance.  Apply 40 pounds of lime per 1,000 square feet if the pH is at six.  Add slightly more for levels below six.  If soil testing shows that your lawn/soil has low magnesium levels, adding dolomite lime will supply the magnesium.

When to fertilize your lawn

You should fertilize your lawn twice a year.  You should us a slow release chemical that is made specifically for fertilizing lawn grass.

The first treatment of fertilizer should be applied in the spring. Spring fertilizers should be formulated to promote growth and color.  The second treatment should be applied in the fall.  Fall fertilizers should promote root growth and health.

Proper mowing height

Many people believe that it is best to cut lawn grass very short.  Granted, it may save you from having to mow again real soon.  However, it is not good for the health of your grass.

A good height for grass is approximately three inches.  If you cut grass too short, these will not be an adequate amount of shade on the grass plants at the soil level.  This can cause the plants to sunburn.  Also, taller grass will keep weed from developing.

Watering requirements for lawns

On average, a lawn requires one inch of water per week to stay in optimal condition.  One inch of water penetrates into the sold to a depth of one foot in light soils and up to six inches in heavier soils.  If you are receiving a decent amount of rain in your area, you may not have to water your lawn each week.  Be mindful of when it rains and monitor your grass.  Too much water can cause disease and rot to occur.

Dethatching

Thatch is a layer of dead matter which is above the soil line but below the green blades of the grass.  If thatch gets too thick, grass will take root in the thatch and no the soil.  To help decide whether you lawn requires dethatching, dig up a small spice with a sharp tool.  If the dead grass layer is more than ½ inches high, you need to dethatch.  You can dethatch by using a rake or renting a dethatching machine.