How to Keep Grass Healthy

by Kevin Tuck

Why do you Need a Healthy Lawn

Some folks could care less what their lawn looks like, but it really isn’t good to ignore your grass and allow it to become unhealthy.  Here are some reasons you need a healthy lawn:

1.  Some neighborhoods require it.  This means that the township will fine you if you haven’t taken proper care of your lawn.  The fines can really add up if you ignore them.  Unpaid fines can also end up as a warrant for your arrest.  Don’t worry, if you pay the fines before an officer finds you the warrant will be dropped.  It is best if you check with your local government to find out if this is a law in your area.

2.  When you want to sell your house, you want to do everything you can to make it attractive to buyers.  A house with an un-kept property gives a bad impression.  Believe it or not, at least a third of buyers will not even consider stopping and looking at a house based on the appearance of the overall property.  If you have a decent Real Estate agent come to give you an estimate, they will tell you do spruce up your lawn to sell your home faster.

3.  For visitors.  How would you like to play volleyball in the backyard with grass up to your knees?  Your friends won’t either.  If you plan on having guests at your house, you will need to make sure your lawn is healthy so that you can all have a good time.  This goes for young children as well.  If the grass is too high the kids won’t be able to play outside with their toys or enjoy a picnic lunch.

4.  Pests.  The longer you leave your grass unhealthy, the more chances you have of seeing some unwanted pests.  Tic’s love tall grass as well as crickets.  You may even begin to find some snakes.  Of course, if the grass is too tall you won’t be able to see the snakes and will find them by stepping on them.

5.  To keep pollen levels at their minimum.  If you don’t take care of your lawn, you are more likely to suffer from allergies. 


How to Keep Your Grass Healthy

Now that we know why we need a healthy lawn, lets learn how to keep it healthy.

1.  Give your lawn the appropriate amount of water.  Without the right amount of water your grass will die.  Your best bet is to water your lawn for thirty minutes each morning before the sun comes up.  If you have had a lot of rain water, then you can skip out on watering it yourself.  If you don’t want to get up each morning and water your lawn, you can set up some underground sprinklers.  These come with timers that you can set.  Before you go to bed you may set the sprinkler system for five am.  Then all the work is done for you while you sleep.

2.  Fertilize your lawn.  Your grass will need sunlight (which it gets naturally), water (mentioned above), and food.  The grasses food comes in the form of fertilizer.  Your grass only needs to be fed fertilizer twice per year, so it doesn’t take up too much of your time.  The organic fertilizers are the best because they last a little longer than the other brands.  They are also natural so your grass will take to them without any side effects.  You don’t have to worry about the cost since the cost of organic fertilizer is similar to the cost of chemical fertilizer.  If you have any question about what brand of organic fertilizer to use, contact Best Organic Fertilizer.com (See resources) as they have tons of information on the subject as well as a section to request free information.

3.  Take care when mowing.  If you want to have healthy grass, then you need to keep your lawn mower in good shape.  Keep the blades of the lawnmower sharpened so it cuts the grass evenly.  Also make sure you don’t set your lawnmower to cut the grass any lower than one and a half inches.  Any lower than that and you will find that you are growing more weeds.  In the summer months you will want to mow your grass once per week.  In the spring and fall you may only need to mow twice per month. One final word about mowing-don’t mow the lawn when there is still dew on the grass.  It’s not good for the grass and it isn’t good for the lawnmower.


4.  Watch for weeds, but don’t use weed killer.  Weeds are the enemy in a healthy lawn, but you don’t want to use week killer for several reasons.  First, the pesticides in the weed killer are harmful to pets and children.  Second, they cause damage to your healthy lawn.  The pesticide kills such things as earthworms which do your grass a lot of good.  In any event, there really isn’t anything healthy about chemicals.

5.  Test your soil.  Testing your soil is a good way to find out if Ph balance is off.  The test can also show if any nutrients are low so that you can correct the problem.  Bad soil equals an unhealthy lawn.  You can purchase a kit and test the soil by yourself, or you can hire a professional to test it for you.  The professional will be able to give you recommendations based on the test results.

Tips:
*Use grass seed if you have an dry patches in your lawn.  A lawn doesn’t look healthy if it is not completely covered in grass.

*Leave your grass clippings where they lay.  That means that you don’t need to rake them up or have them placed in the bag of the mower.  These clippings are considered good compost of the lawn.

*Hire a professional if you have the money.  Professionals specialize is keeping grass healthy.  Just make sure you get recommendations before hiring a landscaper and be clear with the landscaper about what you want done.  For example, you can require him or her to only use organic products.

Resources:
Best Organic Fertilizer

How to Keep Healthy Grass

Written by Alicia Bodine