What is the Best Treatment For a Lawn?
Your lawn needs seasonal treatments to stay healthy. It all starts with a soil test. This reveals which nutrients the soil is lacking and allows for appropriate organic amendments.
Aerating relieves soil compaction and opens pathways for air, water, and nutrients to reach grass roots. This is especially important on heavy ground.
Aeration
A lawn that is aerated regularly is more likely to fight off disease. This is because aeration alleviates soil compaction, breaks up thatch buildup, and allows roots to absorb the nutrients they need to grow strong and healthy. If you live in an area with clay-based soil, this is especially important.
Heavy use of a yard, such as outdoor entertaining, children and pets running around the yard, and frequent mowing can cause soil to become compacted. This makes it difficult for grass roots to grow into the soil.
When the grass roots are unable to reach the earth, they are starved of essential nutrients and water. Aeration is an ideal way to restore proper root development by strategically perforating the soil with small holes. This process is called core aeration, spike aeration, or plug aeration (depending on the type of tool used). It involves mechanically removing small "plugs" of thatch and soil from the yard to improve natural soil aeration.
If you have a layer of thatch thicker than an inch, this can prevent the roots from absorbing air, water and fertilizers. Dethatching is the process of raking or using a dethatcher machine to break up and remove this layer of organic matter.
Aerating also helps reduce fungal diseases that are caused by the lack of proper root growth and nutrient absorption. These diseases include snow mold, pythium blight, leaf spot, brown patch, take all patch, red thread, and rust. The best way to treat these diseases is by properly identifying the specific problem and using fungicide products that are specifically labeled for that particular disease.
Aerating the soil is a crucial part of overall yard care, as it is the only sure way to ensure that your grass will receive all of the oxygen and nutrients it needs to be healthy and strong. It is also an ideal time to apply fertilizer and make any necessary adjustments to your irrigation system. Provo Lawn Care professional can help you create a comprehensive lawn treatment plan that includes the correct aeration schedule for your location and grass type you can contact them at https://www.provolawncare.com/ for more information about the services they offer for maintaining your Lawn .
Thatch-Cleanse
A lush, green lawn is more than just a source of pride. It also helps the environment by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen, and it can help keep families healthy by reducing allergies. However, growing and maintaining a beautiful lawn takes time and effort. In addition to proper watering, fertilization and mowing, some lawns require additional treatments to stay healthy. These lawn treatments include core aeration, dethatching, weed control, pest control, and more.
To prepare a yard for lawn treatments, begin by removing any debris or dead plants and disposing of them. Then, rake to remove thatch (a mix of dead and living grass stems, leaves, and shoots that builds up over time). A layer under 1/2 inch is not bad, but more can suffocate the roots and prevent grass from getting enough water. Dethatching can be done either manually or with a machine. A thatch-cleanse should be performed at least once a year, but fall and summer are the best times to perform this treatment.
Next, apply a pre-emergent weed control to prevent annual weeds such as dandelions and clover. Crabgrass is another common summer weed that can be prevented by applying a crabgrass preventer as soon as the soil warms up, typically around forsythia blooms.
Apply a lawn fertilizer with a high phosphorus content to stimulate new growth and promote root development. If necessary, use a fungicide to prevent fungal diseases such as snow mold, pythium blight, leaf spot, brown patch, take all patch and rust.
Finally, apply a grub control to kill root-feeding beetles and other insects that damage lawns. This treatment targets immature forms of Japanese, Asian garden, or chafer beetles that hatch in summer and feed on the roots of grass until the soil cools and they die.
It is important to follow the steps of a lawn treatment plan exactly to ensure that it is successful. Failure to do so can result in wasted money and a damaged lawn. For example, improper timing of aeration or dethatching can lead to damage, while using the wrong type of grass for a specific location or climate may not grow as well.
Fertilization
In the spring, lawns come out of their winter dormancy and need a burst of nutrients to get growing again. A healthy, deep-rooted grass will be less vulnerable to weeds, insects, and diseases.
Most lawns need a balanced diet of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). A soil test will tell you which nutrients are deficient or surplus, so you can choose the right fertilizer for your lawn.
Fertilizer is available as liquid sprays or granules, and you can apply it to the lawn using a lawn spreader. Liquid fertilizers are faster-acting, but they don’t last as long as granules.
A granular fertilizer is slow-release, so it continues to feed the lawn for several weeks. However, it’s more labor-intensive to apply.
For cool-season grasses like fescue, ryegrass, and bluegrass, a high-nitrogen maintenance fertilizer is the best choice. It’s typically applied in the fall, but can also be applied in the spring before the grass comes out of dormancy.
Warm-season grasses need a different type of fertilizer. These include Bermuda, zoysia, St. Augustine, and buffalo grass. These need to be fertilized in the spring when they start growing, and then again later on during the summer as they’re focusing their energy into flowering.
There are many synthetic (made from petroleum) and organic granular fertilizers to choose from. The best approach is to beef up weakened soil with organic amendments before applying any fertilizers, and then to use a nutrient-balanced fertilizer that’s suited to your grass.
Some weeds, such as clover, actually act as a natural fertilizer by converting the nitrogen in the air into a form that the lawn can use. If your yard has bare spots from dog spots or heavy traffic, overseed those areas with fresh grass seed. Grass seed needs to be watered consistently, but not so much that the turf becomes waterlogged or subject to fungal disease. A good time to overseed is in late fall or early spring. If you do, apply a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer to give the new seed a head start.
Watering
Healthy grass helps improve air quality by trapping dust and other pollutants, producing oxygen, and reducing carbon dioxide. It also minimizes erosion on minor slopes and helps hold soil in place.
A healthy lawn needs proper watering to keep its roots deep and hydrated. The amount of water required varies depending on climate and the grass type. Ideally, the lawn should receive about 1 to 1.5 inches of water a week, either through rainfall or irrigation. Watering deeply and infrequently develops a stronger root system that is more drought-resistant than shallow, frequent watering.
The soil type and its nutrient levels also affect the amount of water required. For example, sandy soil will drain quickly and may need to be watered more frequently than clay soil. A soil test will reveal nutrient levels and help create an ideal watering schedule.
Most lawns need to be watered at dawn or early evening, avoiding the hotter hours of the day when fungal growth is most likely to occur. Using a sprinkler that automatically turns off after a set time will prevent overwatering and waste. Before relying on an automated system, it is a good idea to test the soil for moisture. Insert a screwdriver into the ground to see how far it penetrates.
A well-kept mower is another important tool for a healthy lawn. Mower blades should be sharpened, tires inflated, and the engine cleaned before the growing season begins. Regularly removing clippings reduces thatch, provides organic matter to the soil, and helps maintain a healthy pH balance in the soil.
A thick layer of leaves can smother grass, so if your lawn is full of them, consider letting them decompose and use them as mulch. If that's not an option, run the mower over them until they are broken up into small pieces and incorporated into the soil. This will also help to control grubs. If you prefer not to rake, use a leaf blower to remove heavy layers of leaves. This can be especially helpful in areas with large trees that shed their leaves throughout the fall.
Your lawn needs seasonal treatments to stay healthy. It all starts with a soil test. This reveals which nutrients the soil is lacking and allows for appropriate organic amendments. Aerating relieves soil compaction and opens pathways for air, water, and nutrients to reach grass roots. This is especially important on heavy ground. Aeration A lawn…