There are a lot of good reasons to fertilize your lawn:

-Keeps it healthy
-Prevents disease
-Aids in the recovery of damage caused by foot traffic and animals
-Replaces lost nutrients
-Helps it maintain a vivid green color
-Promotes growth

The most important reason of all this is the ability to checkmate weed growth, this in turn saves you a huge amount of time as well as expenses which would ordinarily be incurred trying to get rid of them later on.
Two essential kinds of fertilizer are considered necessary to use in order to attain the goals of having a lush and healthy lawn:

Liquid Fertilizer tends to be fast acting and is usually absorbed quickly, while it is rather easy to apply, it tends to need reapplying at least every three to four weeks throughout the growing season.

Granular Fertilizer tends to work rather slowly and may a bit more difficult to apply, this usually means that you have to spread it across the whole lawn and water it for it to take effect. It tends to come in two main kinds:

1: Quick Release, which lasts about a month and is water-soluble
2: Slow Release, which can last between 8-12 weeks and is considered water in-soluble.
Despite the nature of fertilizer which you would rather use on your lawn, all kinds of fertilizer essentially contain three main ingredients:

1: Nitrogen to promote leaf production and a rich vivid green color.
2: Phosphorous to promote root growth
3: Potassium used to help promote a good root system development and prevent disease.

Whenever you’re buying fertilizer you should ensure that the respective percentages of each kind of fertilizer matches the particular requirements of your precise grass type as well as the climate. You can make this determination by looking at the back of seed bags or asking your local nursery for the right suggestions.
Other than these three essential ingredients which are listed here, a number of fertilizers also tend to contain a weed control or weed killing element as well.

Pre-emergents are utilized in order to prevent the growth of any form of weed and they should be applied before they start to take hold of your yard.

Post-emergent may be used in killing weeds which have already taken root in your yard. They also do not harm the grass as well as other plants.

In order to find the best fertilizer in your yard, you should consider the following advice:

-Know Your Grass Type. Different grasses react differently to different fertilizers, you should ensure that your fertilizer matches your grass type.

-Test Your Soil for its PH Level. This will assist you in choosing the right fertilizer to complement the natural chemical balance of your soil.

-Determine Your Lawn Size. Choosing the right fertilizer is the primary step, using the right amount of fertilizer is also an essential factor in getting the job done properly.

Fertilizing a lawn shouldn’t be a complicated task. All it takes is some amount of work and a small amount of knowledge. The most important thing is finding the best kind of fertilizer which works well with your kind of grass and to use it in the right amounts in order to get the best results.

A good-looking lawn is the dream of everyone who has a lawn. Few people however, want anything to do with the intense amount of work and strenuous effort that usually goes with maintaining a lush green turf. A lot of people tend to find lawn care quite fun and relaxing but a number of people who lack the time and the ambitions to spend a substantial amount of their time every week taking care of a lawn, can take advantage of these tips in order to make sure that they get the lawn of their dreams without all the associated hassle and strenuous work involved:

Preparation and Maintenance are an essential aspect of great looking and healthy lawns. For lawns to succeed they must be kept free of organic debris, most especially in periods of early spring and late fall. Leaves which have fallen as well as sticks and other debris which are left lying around on the grass later during fall can help diseases such as dangerous fungus thrive as soon as they have be covered with snow. If such fungus is left to act on this debris throughout winter and under these damp and dark conditions, your lawn may turn brown and very dead when spring comes.

A good clean up in spring is rather necessary as well, if not the sun will be unable to get through to the grass and the roots thereby causing rather unsightly brown splotches to occur all over your yard.

No maintenance program will do any good, if you fail to select the right kind of grass right from the very start. As with all plants, certain kinds of grass tend to do better in certain climates. You should ensure that you select grass which suits the area which you live in best, in order to encounter less stress when taking care of your lawn and to have the best results as well.

Having said this, some regular proper care could do wonders for anyone who wants to have a great looking lawn. Mowing your lawn rather regularly will aid in keeping your lawn looking great and rather healthy at the same time. Make sure that you examine the whole yard with each mowing in order to look out for any signs of disease as well as insects or trouble. When you recognize and treat any problem areas immediately, you tend to prevent further damage, work and expenses which you would rather not have in the future.

Some things to watch out for include:

Holes and Bare Spots.

Holes and bare spots should be filled in with topsoil. The water should then be seeded as is recommended on the seed bag.

Bumps.

Bumps can be detrimental to the well-being of your lawn mower. Other than this bumps don’t really look that great. However they tend to be rather easy to fix. All you have to do is cut an X across a bump and carefully pull back the sod. Get rid of the extra soil and place the sod back over the area. After this you should water properly and let nature handle the rest.

Lawn diseases can turn drastic and ruin the lushness and perfect color of your lawn. These diseases affect your lawn in an unsightly manner and allow diseases to penetrate the root system of your lawn, this can also result in a lot of time and expenses spent in order to handle the level of damage which has been caused by fungus as well as disease.

Fungi tend to be the most common cause of lawn disease. Such microscopic and thread-like organisms tend to propagate through water as well as air. They also allow spores penetrate different areas of your lawn and cause brown dead grass to result which causes spots that affect entire areas.

Fungi also allow other diseases to take hold by weakening grass blades and making them susceptible to other pathogens.

Not always easy to recognize, watch out for these possible danger signs:

-Areas of withering or dead grass (the size and shape of the affected area may help you determine exactly what lawn disease has attacked your yard).
-Specific types of spots on leaves.
-Root damage.
-Root thinning.
-Change in color.
-Time of year and temperature (like common human viruses, diseases which attack grass often come at specific times of the year or after a temperature change).

What are some of the most common tuft diseases that may attack your luscious green grass? Here are a few:

Leaf Spot.
This disease commonly affects bluegrass and it tends to be caused by excess thatch as well. It can also be caused by too much water or mowing too close to the ground. It is easily recognizable and it features purple and brown spots as well as thinning.

Blight.
This rather common grass disease is usually recognizable by its donut-shape. It tends to affect grass in a circular pattern, affected areas are left looking brown and dead while leaving a greenish and grass-like center.
Summer Patch.

This usually occurs during hot and dry summer months and it usually leaves a yard looking rather yellow in patching and usually ranges from six to twelve inches in diameter.

Brown Patch.
This disease tends to leave a rough and circular patch of affected grass which initially tends to appear dark and water soaked as well. Later on it becomes dry and light brown, this occurs just a few days later. It usually appears during hot summer periods.
Powdery Mildew.

This disease usually attacks the turf in areas which are shrubbery covered and properly ventilated. After attacking it usually turns the grass yellow and dry, after this the look is followed by a white powder-covered look.

Snow Mold.
Appears in the early spring after the snow has melted away. It is caused by organic debris left lying in the yard over the cold wet winter months, allowing fungus to thrive until spring, when it attacks the grass causing severe brown spots.

Rust.
Cool-weather disease which strikes an otherwise healthy lawn when the temperatures dip to the 50’s and 60’s F for long periods of time. It creates elongated yellow striping of the grass, ultimately splitting blades in an unhealthy manner.

Mushrooms.
This is an unsightly condition which tends to be dangerous to human beings and animals when it is ingested. Otherwise they really do no damage to the lawn.

Moss and Algae.
These conditions tend to be most commonly found in areas which are densely shaded and kept moist. They can also be unsightly and detrimental to root growth as well.

By recognizing and understanding the kind of disease affecting your lawn, you understand the first step in treating your lawn properly. Once you have identified the culprit, you can ask your local nursery dealer how best problem areas can be treated.

Regardless of whether you are a professional specialists on lawn care who treats lawns like a mother treats a new born baby, or a weekend mower without a care of how their lawn looks insofar as its presentable enough, a number of requirements and basic equipment for lawn care must be purchased.

Investing in a great lawn takes time, energy, and yes, a bit of change from your pockets . But, buying the right equipment can ease your lawn care burdens by making the job quicker, easier and yes, even more satisfying.

What exactly is required in order to get the task at hand executed properly? Here are a few pieces of essential equipment which every homeowner should have.

Good Quality Lawnmower:

A good and functional lawnmower may be your most valuable asset as far as your lawn is concerned. A good lawnmower will save you from wasting your time as well as your energy. There are two main kinds of lawn mower which are available on the market. First of all, you have the standard bog mower which has no single motor and operates on push power. The second kind of mower is the motorized mower which may run on gas or electric power.

If you are unsure of the particular kind of mower that you require, you should examine your yard. If your yard is large and flat, you should get yourself a power mower. Yards which are very large may need a sit-on mower in order to reduce the amount of time which is spent moving up and down your yard pushing a mower. Yards which are smaller may only require a motorized push along mower. Lawns which are rather smaller may need a person-powered mower.

Of all the lawn mowers in existence, one of the most popular and least expensive model of lawn mowers, is the push mower, without the push. It is a power-assisted and self-propelled mower which is easy to handle and quick to operate as well.

Edger and Trimmers:
Mowing may look like all that is required in order to create a great looking lawn but in reality, this isn’t true. Edging and trimming your lawn properly can do great wonders in making a yard which doesn’t look so good, quite great.

Great trimming tends to add a good touch of completion to a lawn which tends to be a rather scruffy one.
Trimmers come in both manual and motorized models but a large number of people think of the motorized trimmers as rather difficult to handle. They also tend to be rather heavy and cumbersome as well. This makes your trimming job rather long and arduous as well. Choosing a trimmer of great quality may save you a lot of time as well as trouble.

For models which are small and rather easy to handle. You should consider the modern ‘strimmer’ type of edge trimmer but it may be hard to control because of its excess speed.

Sprinklers:
When purchasing lawn equipment, a lot of people tend to forget the most basic of all items needed: a means to water to your lawn.

Sprinklers tend to come in different sizes as well as types and prices. You have everything from movable models which you hook up to your hose and position all over your lawn, to pop-up timed models. There is always a sprinkler system for every need, interest or budget.

For some people, the best way to take care of a lawn is hiring a person who is aware of what they are doing. However, choosing a professional lawn care service to handle your lawn isn’t as easy as it seems. Different kinds of companies exist and while some offer a basic level of maintenance, others tend to provide a service which is much more profound.

When you are picking a lawn care service, think of these essential things:

References.

While you may be able to find the sort of service you require by consulting the yellow pages. Nothing is better than a first-hand referral. You should ask friends, neighbors as well as people who work with you, whether they know anyone who they’d like to recommend.

Licensing.

Different communities and states have their own particular requirements for business licensing. This is most especially the case for services that handle chemicals in their treatment for insects as well as weeds and disease. You should always ask for their state pesticide and license number to ensure that you are dealing with an operator that is legitimate.

Prices.

You should ask different companies to come out and give you the cost of their service before you choose one. You should also ensure that they have included a detailed inspection as well as a correct measurement of your lawn along with their bid. Measuring a yard improperly may result in poor workmanship as well as a substandard level of service.

Guarantee.

You should select providers who offer a sort of written guarantee to their clients. This sort of thing usually gives you an assurance of getting some quality work.

Service Agreements.

You should be aware of what exactly it is that you are buying, make sure that you examine your service agreement rather carefully. A number of services tend to provide, weekly, monthly as well as seasonal service. A number of others tend to require a certain long-term commitment which includes a number of seasons before you can qualify for the quoted price.

Know what materials they use.

You should steer clear from companies which advocate one method of grass treatment by discrediting another. Different forms of treatment exist and each one tends to come with its own particular benefits. Liquid tends to work much faster than granule, but granule tends to be longer lasting. Organic products may be important to certain consumers as opposed to traditional products. A number of others will make use of any sort of chemical which works. By understanding the exact products and materials that they will use, you will understand the kind of service which you’ll get better.

Ask about their professional membership.

You should ensure that any service provider you choose to take care of your lawn should belong to a lawn care association which is professional. Such professional organizations tend to keep their members constantly informed of new developments in terms of pest control methods, safety, training, research as well as regulation. Other than this, their members tend to be bound by certain ethical codes in order to retain their membership.

Know Their Schedule.

For a number of people, the idea of sticking to a regular maintenance schedule is rather important. Certain people aren’t bothered as to the particular time so far their lawns are cared for at least once on a weekly basis.

The issue of choosing the right lawn care service isn’t a difficult one, however it tends to take a certain amount of time in order to consider the different things you think of as important and finding the provider that can give them to you on a platter.

If you want to learn how to have a lawn that looks great, you should first of all learn how to mow it properly. Proper mowing starts with learning how high you should mow in the first place.

Grass usually looks its best when it is mowed at a higher setting, this fact is most important in summer and such higher grass is liable to remain much healthier. In order to keep that lawn of yours in prime shape you should always avoid scalping and refrain from cutting more than a third of the length of grass blades in a single mowing. If the grass ends up growing much faster than you can cope with, mow it a single time at a higher length and then lower your blade and repeat your mowing a few days later.

If you aren’t really sure about the length which is the most suitable for your particular grass style, these are some precise recommendations for mowing heights of some more popular residential grasses available nationwide:

Grass – Minimum Height – Maximum Height
Fine Fescue: 1½” 2½”
Kentucky Bluegrass: 1½” 2½”
Ryegrass: 1½” 2½”
Bahiagrass: 2″ 4″
Tall Fescue: 2″ 3″
Bermudagrass: ½” 2″
Buffalograss: 2″ 3″
Carpetgrass: 2″ 3″
Centipedegrass: 1″ 1½”
St. Augustinegrass/Floratam: 2″ 4″
Zoysiagrass: ¾” 2″

One more question which a lot of homeowners also have concerning the care of their lawn is how regularly they should more. A lot of lawn care experts are of the opinion that once is week is usually sufficient. During spring or times which are very rainy you may be required to mow more often but don’t cut more than a third of the grass length in a single mowing.

The practice of keeping your lawn mower blades sharp is essential to preserving a lawn which is healthy and good-looking. If you use a dull blade to cut your grass it can tear the ends of the blades and leave ragged ends instead. All these things can end up making your lawn look dried, turn brown and dry it out. It may end up damaging the grass blades and spread dangerous fungus diseases as well.

When caring for your lawn, consider these other care tips:

• You shouldn’t mow the same way twice in a single row. Use alternate mowing directions and move in a diagonal, horizontal or vertical pattern. This will assist you in preventing the “leaning” of grass blades in your lawn.
• Do not make sharp turns with your mower. Instead of doing this you should use sidewalks and driveways in order to turn your mower around. Other than this you can create “header strips” and turn the mower at the end of each strip in order to create a more cohesive look.
• Mow only dry grass. The mowing of a wet lawn can lead to cuts which are uneven . It may also open the way for fungus to penetrate the blades.
• If you want the “striped” or “checkerboard” look of the kind you see on a professional baseball field, you should simply place a roller on your mower. You can buy one rather cheaply at a local hardware store.

When it comes to autumn, a lot can be done to prepare your home and your yard for the needed winter nap. Gardens are harvested and put to rest and even the pools are treated and closed as well. Patio furniture is also put away until the return of spring weather in some months time. One more thing however still remains: the winterizing of your lawn.

Homeowners often tend to forget to make the necessary preparations for the winter months and later on their prized blades turn out damaged or worse when spring finally comes. In order to keep your lawn healthy and to keep it protected from disease, you should also take some time in order to prepare it for winter. If you fail to do this, the snows will melt and you will discover grass which is dead and brown when everything else is turning green.

There are four basic steps to winterizing your lawn:

Step #1: Reseeding
Regardless of how well your lawn is cared for, they will always be one section or the other which could do with a little extra. You should ensure that you reseed any areas which turn out to be bare late in fall, this way you give your grass some time to grow before the onset of cold weather and you prevent weeds from overrunning your garden in spring.
Step #2: Fertilizing
Making use of a good winterizing fertilizer which has a strong concentration in nitrogen will be key to promoting the growth of the roots of the grass. Such fertilizer will help grass stay strong and healthy regardless of the level of harshness of the winter weather. A lot of home improvement centers and nurseries sell it. Make sure that you ask for winterizing fertilizer and not the usual kind of fertilizer.

Step #3: Rake Up Debris
Debris such as fallen leaves, sticks and grass clippings can be removed by raking. All this just doesn’t make your garden look nicer but it is also great for it as well. The organic debris which is left covering the grass tends to create a great atmosphere for a huge number of diseases and disease-causing organisms as soon as snow starts to fall. This also leaves your grass prone to the damp and dark conditions which are rather regular during winter. People who reside in areas where the snow covers the grass for a great number of weeks at a time should be rather vigilant in order to prevent snow mold from occurring. Snow mold is a rather common disease which kills off the grass and turns it brown. The greatest form of prevention from all this as well as the dangerous kinds of grass molds and fungus is by raking up any debris from your yard before the first snows come. Removing thatch is also a wise idea as well.

Step #4: Mowing One Last Time
A number of homeowners often make the error of assuming that as soon as its October the first, they do not have to bother about mowing their lawns again. This really isn’t true, depending on the particular weather you may have to continue your mowing for some few more weeks or even an extra month. As soon as the grass has ceased to grow you should go over it once more with your mower blade in order to size the lawn down to a single inch. This is important to make sure that your grass can handle the difficult winter weather.

When drought strikes, it doesn’t really take that long before its negative effects start to manifest on your lawn. How long can a great lawn be preserved when the issue of water conservation is the most critical thing for its survival?

Here are a few tips to get you through the next summer drought:

Use your water efficiently.

A lot of people tend to make the erroneous assumption that the act of sprinkling their lawn a bit every day will do them much better than soaking it completely every week. This is not true. Plants require water to reach their deep roots. Watering at a depth of six to eight inches allows the deep roots create their own reservoir of moist from which they can draw from during dry periods.

In order to ascertain whether you have reached the right level of penetration with your watering, the soil should be probed with a screwdriver. If this screwdriver moves easily then you should know that this watering level is ok. If the screwdriver pushes hard then you should know that your grass needs some more water.
Never water at night.

Early in the morning is the best time to water since you do not lose water from evaporation during the heat of the midday. It also won’t encourage diseases as water evaporates from leaf blades early in the morning. This may usually be the case when you water at night and the water lays on the grass blades and creates an optimal breeding ground for diseases such as the dangerous grass fungus.

One more tip which is often overlooked is the watering schedule which should change in the weather. You should water a lot less frequently during periods of cool and wet weather, you should also shut down automatic systems in periods of rain.

When facing drought conditions it is especially important to:

-Avoid Waste. You should avoid runoff by using pulse irrigate, Sprinklers should be allowed to run for about ten minutes, they should also be turned off after this and the water should be allowed to soak in properly. After this, the soil should be watered for another ten minutes. The cycle should then be repeated until the soil is wet to a depth of about six to eight inches.

-Watch your Irrigation System to be sure it is working properly.

-Fertilize your lawn properly in order to reduce the need to have to water much more regularly. You should choose formulas which have been advertised as Ready-to-Use in order to avoid the need to mix nutrients with water. Timing your applications with regular watering can do this as well.

-Set out mower blade higher. This in turn creates much more foliage to shade the soil from the sun and reduce the rate of evaporation. One rule is to set your mower at the upper end of the mowing height which has been recommended. You should also note that different grasses require different mowing heights, for example:

-Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall Fescue — Set cutting height at 3 in.
-Bermudagrass — Set cutting heights at 1.5 in.
-St. Augustine — Set cutting height at 2.5 to 3 in.
-Fertilize Less. Slower growing lawns require less water, so cutting back on fertilizer can help reduce the amount of water your lawn needs to grow strong.
-Aerate Warm Season Lawns to increase water penetration.

Mowing grass often seems like a rather easy thing to do. How hard can it be ? All you have to do is rev up your lawn mower and start moving, isn’t it? Of course, if your aim is to get the task done – that’s great. However if you want that great looking lawn that competes with the lawns in landscaping guides and magazines you should learn a few rudimentary mowing skills which will help you convert your regular lawn into a masterpiece.

If you’ve ever wondered how your next door neighbor gets those very straight lines on their lawn, it isn’t really that much of a task. The first essential thing to remember is to keep the wheels of your mower within a two-inch level of the last line you mowed. You should also only turn the mower on a hard surface like sidewalks or driveways, if it’s not possible you should only turn the mower at the end or head of each line in order to avoid creating a messy look.

Emptying the grass catcher on a regular basis will also aid you in creating a much more professional lined look for your lawn, since your lawn will be devoid of clipping dumps which should be raked up along the way and which tend to destroy great mowing lines.

When you encounter hilly areas ensure that you mow across the incline for two essential reasons:
1. Help keep your mowing lines straighter
2. Help you keep your footing

One more trick to creating a beautifully manicured lawn is alternating directions each single time that you mow your lawn. You should never mow your lawn more than the same way twice. For one week, make sure that you mow in a diagonal direction, alternate the next week and mow in a horizontal direction and the third week in a vertical direction. All this will help the blades grow in every every direction and cure the problem of grass leaning which isn’t pleasant to the eye.

Frequent mowing can also help in the creation of a beautiful green landscape in both the front and back areas of your abode. Mowing once a week is recommended in most areas but there are particular times where mowing one time every week isn’t sufficient and much more regular mowing is necessary.

In order to determine how regularly your lawn should be mowed , you should apply the rule of thirds. This rule stipulates that you should never cut more than a third of grass height in one single mowing. If you disappear for a while only to return and see that your grass has reached unwelcome heights, put your blade on a much higher setting, lower the grass, wait a few days and then mow again. Fail to do this and you may damage the root system of your grass and kill off your rather luscious lawn.

One more important tip is to visit the local nursery or seed company in order to make a determination of the best sort of mowing height for your grass type. Certain grasses require cutting at a one inch height in order to grow properly while some other kinds require no less than two inches or more in order to look their best.

A number of different kinds of grasses are currently available on the market. While some of these are advertised as “ native” grasses, a number of them came from places other than the United States and have been bred and seeded to adapt to the climate and temperature of particular areas.
There are two main types of grass most commonly used by today’s homeowners:

1. Cool Season Grass
2. Warm Season Grass

Best Cool Season Grasses:

Cool season grasses are best suited to areas of the country which tend to have cold winters and warm or hot summers. Regular rain is experienced for the duration of the growing season and this enables the grass to thrive.
Some common cool season grasses include:

• Bentgrass.
• Kentucky Bluegrass.
• Bluegrass.
• Red Fescue.
• Ryegrass.

Good Transition Zone Grasses:

People who reside in the transition zone between the northern and southern turf grass regions from Virginia to North Carolina west, through West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas and includes parts of southern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri to Kansas may find it difficult to sustain the cool or warm grass varieties and may need to plant grass varieties which are transitional in order to succeed.

Which ones? Try these is you live in any of these hard-to-grow grass regions:

• Kentucky Bluegrass.
• Tall Fescue.
• Ryegrass.
• Thermal Blue Grass.
• Zoysia.

Warm Season Grasses:

It may be rather difficult to grow grass which is lush green in the south due to a higher level of temperatures as well as the dry months. This also tends to make choosing a grass type really difficult. Seeds may not grow well and this makes plugs and sods rather preferable in southern areas of the country. Good soil is rather essential in order to grow a lawn which is low maintenance in this region since almost all warm season grasses tend to turn brown when cooler temperatures arrive.

In order to ensure that your lawn looks green all year round in such warmer regions make sure that you try overseeding or seeding the existing grass with rye grass seed in the fall.

Here are some typical warm season grasses to consider planting for best results:

• Bahia.
• Bermuda.
• Buffalo.
• Carpet.
• Cebtipede.
• St. Augustine.
• Zoysia.

When choosing the best grass type for your lawn consider these important things:

• Region of the country in which you live.
• Average temperature.
• Average amount of annual rainfall.
• Type of soil you have.
• Types recommended by seed companies.
• Types of grass most used in your area.

Despite the kind of grass which you eventually choose, you should ensure that you take care and read the seeding, preparation as well as maintenance care instructions rather carefully in order to ensure success while planting. Failure to stick to these simple instructions may make it impossible to get the beautiful lawn which you want.

The choice of the right kind of grass for your yard can make an absolute difference between a lawn which is luscious green and one which fails to thrive all year round.