Having a healthy, green lawn around your home is like having a nice frame around a work of art. It adds beauty to your home. Selecting the right grass for your lawn is important. Factors such as the pH of your soil and determining the amount of money, time, and care you want to put into your lawn should be taken into consideration. I often make the analogy, when teaching, that it’s better to have an old, reliable Chevy that’s properly maintained than to have a Cadillac you can’t afford to keep up. The suitability and maintenance demands of your lawn can be just as exacting as with the upkeep on your car.
The type of lawn that should be grown depends in large measure on the size of your property, the amount you wish to spend, and the time you can devote to its upkeep. Those who have semi-rural property on several acres possibly can get by with fertilizing and mowing the grasses already in the soil. This will provide an orderly expanse of green that looks neat and attractive. But for the majority of homeowners with homes on normal-sized city lots, a lawn should be planned and started from scratch. This means total preparation of the soil, careful selection of the type of grass and proper upkeep of the lawn to maintain its appearance and keep it free of insects and disease.
MR. GREEN THUMB RULE
Select the right lawn grass for your area. Bitter Blue St. Augustine does better in shade. Bahia is the most drought-tolerant. Bermuda is the finest looking, but also the highest in maintenance. Select by learning about your lawn areas and knowing what the best choice is for you.
PLANNING AND PREPARING YOUR LAWN
Installing a lawn means more than merely filling the open spaces between trees, shrubs, and flowerbeds. You have to determine how much of each open area gets full sun or partial sun and which is fully shaded all day. These factors are crucial to your choice of the type of grass to plant. Soil analysis also will help you choose a variety that will do well.
WATER: THE KEY TO A GOOD LAWN
After you’ve installed your grass, watering is crucial. Some people water their lawns only during drought periods, and some won’t water for some time after it has rained, mistakenly thinking that the rain offered sufficient moisture. Lawns use an abundance of water, especially during the warm, humid season.
Whatever watering system you use, check to make sure you are getting adequate coverage. Sprinkler systems are designed to overlap, thus curbing brown spots, but even the best sometimes miss a few patches. Check out your system and find ways to compensate. A healthy lawn will demand a reliable deep-watering system. Your lawn will get some additional moisture from rain, normal condensation, and even morning dew; but you can’t really rely on these. Nor can you rely on occasional short waterings. It is better to water once or twice a week with 1⁄2 to 1 inch per application than to sprinkle lightly every day. This develops a stronger and deeper root system opposed to a shallow one.
LAWN CARE AND FEEDING
Your grass also will need feeding—not merely to promote health but also to help it choke out weeds that inevitably invade any lawn. Healthy grass will fight for its own space in the ground, and this battle should be reinforced with fertilizer to enable the grass to hold its own. Many horticulturists believe in fertilizing only once or twice a year. But more frequent, lighter fertilizer applications seem to be the secret to continuing the good growth of turf. All lawns need NPK—nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—but other minor elements, such as iron, also are advisable for optimum turf growth. Check the label on your fertilizer to make sure you are feeding your lawn all the elements needed for best results.
MOWERS AND MOWING
Many gardeners spend considerable money, time, and effort installing a lawn, then attack it with a mower that does little more than lacerate the grass. Then they wonder why the turf deteriorates after a few weeks with rough brown tips on the leaves. Every lawn deserves care and consideration when it is being mowed, just as attention should be given to the type of mower being used and its condition. The height at which you should set your mower depends upon the type of grass you have. St. Augustine should be kept at 3 inches and the dwarf variety at 2 inches. Bermuda and zoysia look best when cut to 2 inches, as do most other lawn grasses. After you have planted a lawn, allow it to grow fairly high before mowing, then mow once at a setting of about 5 or 6 inches. Then make another pass to cut it down to the final, desired height. Place your mower on level concrete to make the height adjustment, measuring from the blade to the ground for accuracy. Never try to mow very high grass down to 2 inches as this may result in damage to the grass. Mowing grass is like having a haircut at the barber: gradual shortening will achieve the desired results better than a heavy-handed attack!
