Building a Healthy Lawn for Home Landscaping

There is something about a carpet of green grass that makes it the important feature in the home landscape.  A healthy lawn protects the soil while still allowing water and nutrients to reach the tree and shrub roots in the soil below.  Here are tips to ensure a beautiful green lawn.

• Beefing up the soil:  Use whatever local sources have to offer such as peat moss, ground bark, sawdust, rice-hulls, or any number of other organic by-products; make this layer about 2-3 inches thick.  Organic matter adds bulk to the soil and is vital for grass roots:  it insures space for air in the soil, hold moisture, improve drainage, and prevent against compacted soil.  Add 5-10 pounds of lawn food per 1,000 square feet of lawn. 

• Till the soil:  Work organic matter and lawn food into the top 6 inches of soil.   

• Level the site:  Be sure the lawn slope and drain just slightly away from the house.  Pick out stones, sticks, and other debris using rake to get the area to final grade.  Fill in trenches and scrape down high spots into low ones.  Make sure finished slope conforms to the grade you have planned. 

• Planting grass sod:  Lay strips straight with ends staggered, pressing with your hands to firm joints together.  Cut strips to fit corners.  Roll over the sod lightly and water the lawn up to 8 inches.  For newly-sod lawn, water everyday with at least 6 inches of water; turn off the water before puddles form.  Water the lawn for 4 weeks until the grass is about 2 inches tall.  Then let the lawn dry out to allow air into the root zone.  

• Lawn maintenance:  Mow when the grass grows about 2 inches tall and starts to curve.  Set the mower at 1 ½ inches and mow when the grass is dry.  Establish a proper maintenance schedule base on the grass species for mowing, watering and aeration schedule.  Footprints on the lawn are a sign that a lawn needs water.  Water your lawn right away; try for at least 6-12 inches of water.  A well established lawn is easier to maintain than ever; power-driven mowers and trimmers have taken the pain out of lawn grooming.  Selective weed killers, modern fungicides and insecticides have solved many lawn problems and make lawn caring fairly simple.

Landscape colors look better with healthy and well-kept lawn; green and weed-free grass is a perfect backdrop for colorful flower borders, flowering trees, and perennial beds.  When you are pleased with your lawn, you would be more active in taking better care of it; ensuring that the grass is greener on your side and not on the other side.