Lawn of your dream is just a few steps away!

September 26, 2008 on 9:14 am | In Home Safety Tips and Topics, How To's and Helpful Tips | No Comments

Make the neighbors wonder how you do it!

By following these steps your lawn can look “professionally kept”
without the cost of having it professionally kept. The initial
investment of time will pay off in a fabulous looking healthy lawn.  

First you will need to strip your lawn of any dead grass and debris.
This can be done with a leaf rake or by renting a power rake if you have
a rather large yard. When you’re done with this step, your shoulders
will ache and your lawn will actually look worse, but that’s fine – it’s
all part of the plan.

Second you need to pick up some grass seed, which will be spread over
the entire lawn. Choose the best one for your yard based on how much
light your lawn gets, the climate of your region, how much traffic the
lawn will receive, etc.  

Most of this project will require the use of a spreader. Using a
spreader, cover the thinned-out lawn with the seed mix you chose. Once
the seed is down, use the spreader to cover the seed with a lawn
fertilizer.  After the fertilizer has been spread, covering the lawn
with peat moss will keep the seed moist when you water it and also keep
the birds from eating all the seed. The peat moss can be spread by hand
or using the spreader, provided you break the clumps up by hand into a
fine, spreadable consistency.

You’ll want to water the lawn regularly to achieve about an inch of
water saturation. Deep, infrequent waterings are much more effective
than short, daily efforts, as generally the roots of weeds grow only in
the first two to three inches of soil. Therefore, the deeper the water
soaks into the lawn, the more it will be going to the direct benefit of
your grass versus the weeds.

Within about two weeks, you’ll begin to see the new grass coming up.
You’ll also see some bare spots, which you’ll want to add seed to by
hand and cover with some peat moss to fill in. After about a month it
will be safe to mow the lawn. Set your mower to a higher setting,
leaving about 2 to 3-inches of blade height on the grass. After this
initial cut, you can go back to your usual mowing height.

For fertilization, follow this schedule:

* Step One: February-April – crabgrass preventer
* Step Two: April-June – weed and feed
* Step Three: June-August – lawn food
* Step Four: October-November – winterizer

Follow these steps for the greenest lawn you’ve ever had.