The Qualities of a Good Lawn
A quality lawn is lush, healthy, and green. It’s also a great way to improve your property’s curb appeal.
Whether it’s water, nutrients or soil conditions, there are many factors that go into a good lawn. A quality lawn maintenance by Lawn Care Utah County company understands the basics and will employ all of these tips to ensure your lawn is healthy and beautiful.
1. It’s Green
Green lawns aren’t just aesthetically pleasing; they also promote good health. A healthy lawn can act as a barrier to keep pollutants and dust from entering the home, and it can help filter out and capture dirt, toxins, and other allergens in the air. It’s also a great place for children and adults to get some much-needed exercise. Playing croquet, bocce ball, or even just running around in the yard is a fantastic way to burn calories and release pent-up energy.
A lush, green lawn is also a beautiful addition to your property and can boost its value if you’re considering selling it in the future. But perhaps the most important reason for a beautiful lawn is that it’s an escape from the demanding world outside your home, a place to relax, unwind, and enjoy time with family and friends.
To keep a lawn healthy, it’s essential to provide it with the nutrients it needs to thrive. The most basic of these is nitrogen, which encourages new grass growth above the soil line and helps ward off pests and diseases. The other important nutrient is potassium, which supports plant cell membranes and helps the grass resist damage from heat and cold.
Water is also essential for healthy turf. It’s often forgotten during hotter weather or if you’re away on vacation, but a proper watering schedule is the best way to keep your lawn green. Overwatering can cause puddles and standing water, which is detrimental to grass health.
Another essential factor for a lush, green lawn is sunlight. Grass needs at least seven to eight hours of direct sunlight every day to stay full and healthy. If your lawn is shaded, thinning trees or mulching with organic compost may be necessary to allow more light through. Regular aeration and over seeding can also help relieve soil compaction and allow oxygen and water to reach the grass roots.
2. It’s Thick
A lush, dense lawn is not only attractive but a sign of healthy grass. It can withstand stressors such as disease, insects, heat and cold better than thin, spotty lawns. Grass that is thick and full can choke out weeds, which require open space for rooting. A thick lawn can also help deter erosion, provide habitat for wildlife and protect soil from runoff.
The secret to a thick lawn starts with the right grass for the climate and soil type. There are only four cool-season grasses that produce acceptable dense turf Kentucky Bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue and turf-type tall fescue. These species hold their color well in extreme temperatures, grow rapidly in spring and fall, and tolerate heavy foot and mechanized lawn equipment.
Another essential ingredient to a thick lawn is proper mowing. Keeping the grass to about 3 to 3-1/2 inches in summer gives the grass blades room to shade out weed seeds and reduce evaporation from the soil surface. If the lawn is mowed too short, the grass cannot fill in bare areas with its lateral growth and becomes more vulnerable to disease, insects and a lack of nutrients.
Thin lawns can be the result of a number of problems, such as excessive traffic on a poorly designed or maintained lawn, improper watering, compacted soil, thatch buildup, poor drainage and a soil pH problem. To overcome these conditions, make a few simple adjustments, such as redirecting traffic patterns, resurfacing the lawn with materials better suited to the amount of traffic it receives, and reducing the number of times the mower goes over the same area of the yard.
Performing a soil test, which is simple and inexpensive, will reveal the specific conditions that inhibit thick, healthy grass and provide a roadmap to correct them. Follow the recommendations provided by the lab to achieve a dense, healthy lawn.
3. It’s Healthy
A lawn is often a sign of a well-maintained home. However, it’s not just a nice aesthetic – a healthy yard is good for the environment. The lawn is an air filter, releasing massive amounts of oxygen and catching tons of dirt and dust, reducing indoor pollution. It also absorbs noise and serves as a place for family activities like croquet or backyard sports.
The lawn is also a natural water resource, protecting soil from rain and absorbing runoff. But too much of the wrong kind of runoff can cause erosion, flooding, and even drought. Many people have begun to embrace “natural” grasses that are more drought tolerant and less invasive to their environments, as well as replacing their grass with a groundcover that reduces irrigation and maintenance.
In some cases, a grass problem may be caused by a lack of nutrients in the soil. One simple way to address this is by adding a nutrient-rich weed control product like Ironite. This product not only contains nitrogen, but it is also formulated to be absorbed quickly by the roots of the grass, as opposed to being flushed away with rainwater and lost to the surrounding environment.
A thick, healthy lawn is one of the best defenses against weeds. This is especially true for cool-climate grasses like bluegrass and fescue, but it is also important for warm-climate grasses, too. Keeping the cutting height high enough to prevent the turf from thinning out, and over seeding the lawn regularly (usually after aerating) are essential for thickening and strengthening turf.
A beautiful lawn can help your property value and increase the enjoyment you get from your home. But it requires time and effort to keep the grass looking great — especially in hot weather when watering and mowing are necessary.
4. It’s Easy to Mow
A good lawn is easy to mow, and mowing correctly helps keep it that way. If you have the right grass for your site, mowing at the correct height (not too high nor too short), and use a rotary mower with sharp blades to get a clean cut, you’ll be well on your way to a great looking lawn.
Avoid mowing more than necessary, as it will stress the turf and increase wear. The best time to mow is in the early morning when dew has evaporated and the turf will be cool and relaxed. This will reduce turf wear, soil compaction and also help with thatch control.
Regular lawn aeration relieves soil compaction and allows water, oxygen and nutrients to penetrate into the root zone of your turf. This is important for a healthy, dense lawn. It should be done in conjunction with over seeding to take advantage of the new growth created by aeration and help prevent weeds from outcompeting your existing grass.
Edging your lawn after mowing and removing any stray clippings will make the yard look neater and cleaner. This will also reduce the amount of lawn waste that washes into storm drains and can clog them or make their way into lakes and rivers.
For a modern, low-maintenance look, try replacing your lawn with beds full of shrubs and flowers that are easier to trim than grass. Plants like 'Creeping Phlox' produce a sea of colorful blooms that will draw the eye away from the grass and provide an appealing alternative to a razor-sharp lawn. However, before deciding to replace your lawn, do a careful assessment of the space in terms of sun exposure, soil quality and type, rainfall, and site conditions. This will be critical information when determining how much effort and time you want to put into your yard and what types of lawn works best for it.
5. It’s Easy to Maintain
When selecting a turf type, consider the amount of water and sunlight it will receive. Also consider the soil conditions, including pH, drainage and other factors that influence a lawn’s health and maintenance needs. Grass cultivars or hybrids are continually being developed to be more drought resistant and lower in water usage.
A healthy, lush lawn is a major asset to your home. It acts as a giant air conditioner to help cool your house, releases a lot of oxygen into the air and captures dust and dirt from the environment. It is also a great place to play games such as croquet and provides an oasis for wildlife to rest and feed.
It’s important to maintain a regular maintenance program that includes proper fertilizing, mowing, aeration, top dressing and over seeding practices, and watering practices. It’s best to use a quality turf grass fertilizer that is specifically designed for your climate zone and soil conditions.
Inspect the lawn regularly to catch any problems early. Look for signs of disease and insect pests such as thatch, grubs or sod webworms, or signs of damage from environmental stresses like salt, road gravel and dog urine. Having a professional on the property throughout the year will ensure that lawn care and treatment programs are being applied properly and in a timely manner.
A densely mowed lawn cut at the correct height helps prevent weed invasion, drought stress and heat injury to the grass. It’s also best to let grass clippings stay on the lawn rather than bag them – they decompose quickly and add moisture, organic matter and nutrients to the soil. For best results, utilize a professional weed control program that includes pre-emergent weed treatments in the spring to fight weeds before they sprout; broadleaf weed applications to get rid of dandelions and clover; and spot treatment for pesky weeds as they arise.
A quality lawn is lush, healthy, and green. It’s also a great way to improve your property’s curb appeal. Whether it’s water, nutrients or soil conditions, there are many factors that go into a good lawn. A quality lawn maintenance by Lawn Care Utah County company understands the basics and will employ all of these…