Lawn Maintenance

The Basics: Lawn Maintenance

Lawn maintenance refers to the basic upkeep of your yard.  This includes regular mowing and watering, spring clean up, fall clean up, edging fertilization and weed control. These tasks are the first crucial building blocks on your way to getting a beautiful, healthy lawn.

Mowing

Proper mowing is critical to the appearance of your lawn. In fact, improper mowing causes more problems than any other maintenance practice. The first step is to make sure your lawn mower has sharp blades, as dull blades will cause your lawn to appear gray shortly after mowing and the newly cut tips will quickly turn brown. Be sure to check your lawn mower blades regularly. Don’t cut it too short, otherwise the grass will scalp and burn.

Mow your grass often enough so that you are only removing the top one-third of the grass blade at one time. This will help avoid scalping, which puts the grass under stress and reduces its vigor. Always use your lawn mower at the correct height, as it will help shade the soil and keep temperatures lower for optimum growth. Avoid mowing during midday when temperatures are above 90 degrees. If you mow often enough, you should leave the clippings, as they will recycle nutrients back into the soil and don’t contribute to thatch build-up.

Watering

Another fundamental aspect of a beautiful lawn apart from mowing, is regular watering at the proper level. Too little water leads to a shallow root system that won’t be able to withstand hot summer weather. Too much water can cause your grass to suffocate, as water floods the pockets of oxygen below the surface that are necessary for the development of healthy roots. If you see that your lawn has a grayish tint or doesn’t spring back to life quickly after being stepped on, these are signs that your lawn is thirsty. Conversely, if your lawn feels spongy under your feet or you notice sudden excessive weeds or fungi, these are signs that your lawn is being overwatered.

The proper amount of water can vary depending upon the type of grass, but a general rule of thumb is 1-1.5 inches per week. If you are unsure of how much water you are applying, one way to find out would be to place some buckets around your lawn and see how long it takes for them to fill up to the recommended depth. Note the length of time it took for future waterings.

In addition to the amount of water you give your lawn, you should also pay attention to when you are watering your lawn. You always want to avoid the midday sun because too much water will evaporate before reaching your lawn’s root system, but waiting until dark can cause problems too, as diseases linger and thrive under night conditions. The ideal time is in the early morning hours, between 4 AM and 10 AM, as the grass has ample opportunity to soak into the ground and the morning sun is less intense causing less evaporation. ­

Fertilization

Fertilization is the process of adding much needed nutrients to your lawn’s soil. You should apply fertilizer in the spring, followed by one or two more applications throughout the growing season. Common fertilizer ingredients include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. It can be very difficult for the average person to figure out their own lawn’s fertilization needs, as there are many factors to consider, such as grass type, soil quality, and local growing conditions. Your lawn has a unique set of fertilization needs that a cookie-cutter approach might not properly address.

Thankfully, lawn fertilization is easy with the help of a professional lawn fertilization company like Lawn Doctor. Our lawn fertilization experts specialize in fertilizing a wide range of lawn and turf grasses, including Kentucky Bluegrass, Ryegrass, Fescue, Bermuda grass, St. Augustine, Zoysia grass, and Centipede grass.

Seeding

The primary goal of lawn seeding is to promote germination, a process that relies on seed-to-soil contact to grow new grass. Seeding should be done when temperatures are mild, as warm days and cool nights encourage turf growth and a fuller thicker lawn. As a general rule, fall is the best time of the year to overseed in the northern half of the country and spring in the southern half.

Depending on the current state of your lawn there are different methods and techniques that will be most effective. If you already have an established lawn, you will want to consider overseeding.  Overseeding means spreading seeds on an established lawn to make it denser and to fill in any areas that look bare. All established lawns should be overseeded annually to help combat the damage done to your grass roots by extreme summer temperatures.

If a machine is used to distribute the seeds on your lawn, it is known as power seeding. This method can be used for both overseeding an established lawn or to create a brand-new lawn.  This technique often incorporates scratch seeding—randomly scattering seeds below the soil surface to allow them to germinate and reach their maximum potential. Since seed-to-soil contact is the key to growing new lawn, scratch seeding with power seeding equipment provides the fastest and most efficient path to lawn maturity.

Lawn Doctor uses our exclusive Turf Tamer power seeding machines that have been specially designed to deliver the right amount of seeds at the proper lawn depth.

Aeration

Aeration is the process of creating small holes in the surface of your lawn to alleviate soil compaction. It is an important procedure that opens up passageways for oxygen, nutrients, and moisture to better penetrate the ground and reach your lawn’s root systems.  It also helps make seeding and fertilization more effective. Lawns benefit because it enhances your lawn’s tolerance to drought, increases the effectiveness of weed & insect control, and reduces thatch. Thatch is the compact layer of living and dead organic materials which accumulates between the surface level grass and the soil underneath. Much like seeding, aeration is most successful when done during the growing season – fall for the northern half of the country and spring for the southern half.  In fact, aeration is quite often done in conjunction with seeding to increase the seed-to-soil contact.

Weed Control

Weed control is the prevention of unwanted and invasive plants from ruining the look of your lawn. Weeds compete with lawn grasses for resources like water, nutrients, and light. Depending on the types of weeds you have in your lawn, the process and procedures could be different.  For example, dandelions are broadleaf weeds and are most effectively controlled by post-emergent herbicides. Post-emergent means that the treatment is applied after the weed emerges from the ground and it usually needs to be applied several times during the growing season in order to be effective. A thorough final application during late fall will often help prevent new weed growth in the spring. Other weeds like crabgrass can be combated with pre-emergent herbicide, sometimes referred to as “weed preventers” as they are applied before the unwanted weed emerges from the soil.

Lawn Doctor offers lawn services that can tackle your weed problems. Our treatments are designed to thwart the full range of weed species and weed types that may be growing in your lawn or turf grass.