Friday, April 3, 2009

How to Build a Green Lawn

By jason staton

Not only is a healthy lawn more pleasant to look at, but it also can improve the resale value of your home, as well as keep dirt out of the house. It is not as difficult as you think to improve your lawn if you are dedicated and persistent and adhere to the following practices.

In the fall you should aerate your lawn. An aerator is a machine that pulls plugs out of your lawn and allows it to breathe while reducing its compaction. Grass needs loose soil to grow which will be accomplished using this practice.

In addition, applying limestone once a year to the soil will correct the soil acidity. Optimally, the soil acidity should be a 7.0 which is neutral and what grass needs to grow. This is easy to apply with a spreader and one bag should be put down per thousand square feet.

Another step to a healthy lawn is regular mowing. Your lawn should be mowed regularly while never cutting off more than 1/2 of its length at a time. Maintaining sharp blades also protect your lawn from disease and insects because it will cut the grass clean rather than shredding the ends.

A fertilizing program is essential. Many programs offer step-by-step applications that prevent against insects and weeds while at the same time fertilizing.

In order for the fertilizer to be effective, it needs to be put down at the right time. While regular fertilizer can be put down at any time, the fertilizers with the additives to it need to be put down at specific times. For example the weed control application needs to be put down before the weeds are highly active in the spring and the winterizer application needs to be put down in the late fall.

The step that is obvious is watering your lawn. Everyone knows to water it, but how often should you water it? A basic rule of thumb is that if it has not rained naturally you should water your grass for at least 20 minutes.

If you follow all the practices above, you should notice your lawn start to green up within a few weeks. As you continue this as a routine year after year, the results will only get better and better.

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