There are several different tasks that should be included in your lawn care program to keep your grass happy and healthy.
Aeration
Every year at the end of the growing season, get your lawn aerated. This process removes small plugs at intervals throughout the grass. Aeration helps alleviate problems with a built-up thatch layer and improves the health of your grass, since water, air and nutrients have an easier time reaching the roots.
Fertilizing
Another task that you should do in the fall is a round of fertilizer, ideally right after you have performed aeration. This will prompt the roots to grow and anchor themselves farther into the soil. They will also add the nutrients to their storage in preparation for the coming harsh winter. If it are properly fed, grass will have an easier time and will grow better the next year.
Mowing
As we’ve mentioned before, you will need to adjust your mower blades up 25-50% as the temperature rises to protect your grass. Leave at least 2/3 of the blade there. If you cut off too much, the grass has a harder time performing photosynthesis (since there is less area available) in addition to dealing with the stress of hotter conditions.
Pest, Disease and Weed Control
Unfortunately, there are many different pests, diseases and weeds that can pop up in your lawn. Applying pesticides and herbicides at the start of the growing season can help keep them at bay.
Raking
This should be done throughout the season to clean up your lawn areas. If the layers are thick, they can prevent sunlight from reaching the leaf blades. Piles of wet leaves can also make the lawn more prone to diseases like those caused by fungi.
Watering
You will need to adjust your sprinklers throughout the growing season. You do not need to water daily; in fact, this can cause problems for the lawn since the roots will develop near the top and dry out easier. You want to water every few days for a long period to help encourage the roots to dive deeper in the soil. In times of drought, they will then have a better chance of finding water.
You also need to water at the correct time of day. If you water between the hours of 10 am- 6pm, it is quite likely to evaporate in warmer weather and never reach the roots. Watering at night can encourage diseases. Set your sprinklers to go off during early morning.
If you need help with your lawn care program for this coming growing season, give us a call!
Image by heipei under a Flickr Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
