Best Lawn Maintenance Tips
You could spend several hours studying and researching the best lawn maintenance tips to make your lawn healthy, lush, and green. But if you don’t have that kind of time, we’ve summarized the most important things you can do to help your grass grow into the lawn you want. These three tips are simple, maybe even obvious, but very few people actually take the time to do them right. The three essential and most effective actions you can take to help your lawn are to 1.) fertilize properly 2.) water properly, and 3.) mow properly. Doing just these three things will get you well on your way to growing great turf.
Fertilizing
There are many companies out there that will take care of this for you. But if you choose to do it yourself, you can pick up fertilizer at any home improvement store. Be sure to check the label for application directions. Make sure you schedule your applications to put down the right amount of the right fertilizer down at the appropriate times for your area.
Watering
Water correctly! Your lawn needs about ½ inch of water each time you water because it needs to sink deep into the soil. Do not water every day. Instead, follow this rough schedule:
Summer – 3 times per week
Late Spring/Early Fall – 2 times per week.
Early Spring/Late Fall - 1 time per week.
You will need to adjust watering based on factors like sunlight and sprinkler head type.
Check your sprinkler system at least twice a year to make sure water is covering every area of the lawn adequately.
Mowing
Don’t cut the grass shorter than 3 inches and don’t cut off more than ⅓ of the blades at a time. It’s important to cut the grass frequently.
“Mowing too short or scalping results in stress to the grass plant...“
“Mowing too short can allow weed seeds to get more sun and increase the chance of germination.” - University of Michigan Extension
Be sure that the blades on your mower are sharp and clean. If you mow weekly and your mower is capable of mulching, leave the mulched grass clippings on your lawn.
One more thing - if another landscaping or construction company leaves items on the lawn on a hot day, it can damage the lawn within a couple hours. Even mowing in the heat can leave marks on the lawn. Be careful not to refill gasoline or oil on the lawn at any time, because spills will burn the grass.