2 Lawn Maintenancetips To Help You Keep A Healthy Lawn

Posted on: 8 August 2016

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To grow the thick, green, and lush lawn you want in your yard, there are certain rules you need to follow when taking care of your lawn. Here are two important lawn maintenance tips to remember to help you achieve and keep a healthy lawn.

Balance Your Lawn's Watering Schedule

With not enough water, your lawn will become dry and dead, but too much water can also cause problems. Over-watering, leading to a too-moist environment in your lawn, can allow fungus and disease to thrive in your lawn, ultimately destroying your entire lawn. So, it is important to make sure your lawn is receiving the right amount of water at the right time of day. 

First, it is better to water your lawn early in the morning. This allows time for any water remaining on your lawn's blades to evaporate during the heat of the day. Watering in the evening can allow the water to remain on your lawn overnight, which can lead to fungal growth and other diseases. 

Second, you should make sure you are watering your lawn one inch of water each week. You can use a rain gauge in your lawn to check the amount of water your lawn receives, or you can place a cake pan on your lawn while your sprinklers are running. Then, set a timer while you watch the level of water collecting in the cake pan. 

Check to see how much time has passed when the cake pan has accumulated one inch of water. Then, split up this watering time length over the course of a week's time. And keep in mind it is better to water your lawn for longer periods than shorter periods, as this helps your lawn's roots grow deeper and healthier. As an example, if it takes 40 minutes of watering to accumulate one inch of water in your cake pan, it is recommended to water your lawn twice a week (every three to four days) for 20 minutes each time. 

Know When to Dethatch Your Lawn

All lawns should have a layer of dead plant material made up of leaves, grass, and roots that collect over the soil's surface within your lawn. If your lawn is healthy, it should have a layer of thatch that is from one-half to one inch-thick, which provide beneficial nutrients and house microorganisms. Thatch can collect into a more thick and unhealthy layer when you use, for example, too many pesticides or fertilizers on it. 

Dethatching can put extra stress and is hard on your lawn if it is completed when it is not necessary. For this reason, it is only recommended to dethatch when your lawn accumulates a layer of thatch that is thicker than one inch.

Too much thatch can create several problems for your lawn. A too-thick layer of thatch over the soil can create a barrier and prevent fertilizers from reaching and benefiting your lawn's roots. A thick thatch can also prevent new root and grass plant growth in your lawn. Your lawn needs air to circulate down to its roots for new roots to grow and produce new plants. And for your lawn to grow into a thick carpeting, it needs to continually grow these new grass shoots and roots. 

Check your lawn to measure its thatch layer. You can hire a professional lawn care service or complete the check yourself. Insert a shovel into your lawn to make a cut several inches deep into the lawn and soil. Use the shovel as leverage to create a gap in the layers of your lawn. Measure the layer of thatch situated between the root-filled soil and the lawn above it. If your lawn's thatch is too thick, you can use a thatch machine or a lawn mower thatch blade to remove the thatch. Then, rake up the thatch in your lawn and compost it in your garden, or bag it up for trash collection.

Use this information to keep your lawn healthy and beautiful.