3 Vital Tips For A More Beautiful Lawn

Is your lawn in a less than ideal condition? Does it seem like your lawn is always half-dead, no matter what you do? For many people, "lawn care" means little more than turning on a hose a couple times a week. Unfortunately, if this is all you do, your lawn is unlikely to do as well as you might want. Grass can be temperamental, refusing to grow at all if even a small part of its care is neglected. If you want to grow a more vibrant lawn, some things that you may need to do include:

Change mowing habits: The perfect lawn is often thought to be a closely cropped patch of grass. While this can be attractive to look at, it can be hard on your lawn. The blades of grass are the leaves of the plant and how the grass turns sunlight into energy and food. The shorter the grass, the more it will struggle to grow and recover after each mowing. Instead of mowing your grass short once a week, set your mower blades higher and mow twice a week. Your grass may look "shaggier" when compared to your neighbors, but it will almost certainly be healthier and look better.

Fertilizing regularly: Since grass is constantly growing, it can deplete the nutrients in the soil relatively quickly. This is especially true if you bag up your grass clippings instead of leaving them to break down and return to the soil. Since different types of soil contain different nutrients and different grasses have different requirements, you should ideally test your soil before applying any fertilizer. This will allow you to apply the proper type and amount of fertilizer that will maximize the growth of your grass. Since soil testing can be complicated, you may want to contact one of your local lawn care services to handle this for you.

Dethatch as needed: As your lawn grows, a layer of dead grass, called thatch, can build up on the surface of the soil. Unlike grass clippings, this layer is tough and doesn't break down readily. Removing this layer is called dethatching. Depending on the variety of grass that you have in your lawn, it may be best to dethatch every year or you may be able to wait a couple years in between. Since dethatching can be a difficult and time-consuming process, you may want to hire one of your local lawn care services to perform the task for you. Otherwise, renting a dethatching machine is going to be the easiest way for you to accomplish your goal.