10 Tips for a better lawn

Cutting the grass is once again almost a weekly endeavor this time of year and recently we came across a great top 10 list to consider when you are trying to create the perfect lawn.

Mowing
1. Mow frequently with sharp blades
If your hopes include a green lawn, the key is frequent cutting, which forces it to grow thick and keep out weeds. Keep mower blades sharp so the grass isn't beat up and made vulnerable to disease.
2. Don't go too short
Golf courses mow low for a tightly trimmed look, but grass cut short responds by growing faster. "The lower you mow, the more herbicides and water you need, and then it becomes an intensive management system," says Pete Landschoot, professor of turf grass science at Penn State University.
So how high to cut? That depends largely on your type of grass, but Euel Coats, retired professor of weed science at Mississippi State University, preaches the "one-third rule": Never cut more than a third of the grass' height at a time. If your grass is three inches tall, cut an inch or less. Any deeper and you're "scalping" the plants, which can take two or three mowing cycles to recover.
3. Don't mow a wet lawn
Mowing when the lawn is saturated with water will compact the soil so the roots can't breathe. When that happens, the grass dies and you'll see bald spots in your lawn.
4. Mulch clippings into the lawn
Leave the clippings where they fall. Not only do you eliminate all the bagging and dump trips, but the clippings fertilize the soil. If you're cutting often, the clippings are short and few and work their way back into the soil without becoming brown and messy.

Irrigation
5. Water deeply -- and infrequently
"The No. 1 thing I see homeowners do is overwater, which builds up excess thatch (an unsightly thick mat of tangled roots between the grass blades and soil)," says Brooks. Daily watering encourages shallow roots and wastes water. Instead, water deeply, watching closely to see when more is needed.
Here are signs it's time to water, according to Gaussoin:

• The soil resists when you push a screwdriver or steel rod into the ground;
• Your grass gets a slightly blue tinge; and
• Footprints across the lawn remain compressed.

If you don't have in-ground irrigation, a sprinkler works fine. Landschoot suggests giving the lawn an inch of water each time you irrigate. Measure by putting an empty tuna can on the grass. When it's full, move the sprinkler to another spot and start measuring again. Once you know your lawn's needs, you can put the sprinkler on a timer (they cost $10 to $60).
Poor soil -- composed of too much clay or compacted from heavy traffic -- won't absorb moisture easily. If water pools up and runs onto the street or sidewalk before your tuna can's full, try Plan B: Water just one third of an inch each night for three nights running, then hold off until it needs it again.
6. Avoid nighttime watering
Don't put the lawn to sleep with wet feet. That means to let the grass dry out before the dew falls, since prolonged moisture invites disease. The best time to water is pre-dawn or early morning. You'll lose water to evaporation by sprinkling in midday.

Fertilizer
7. Don't overdo it
Over-fertilizing stimulates very fast growth, thatch and the need for more mowing -- and you don't want that. Homeowners use far more fertilizer and pesticides than golf courses do, says Brooks. "It's overkill." (Excess fertilizer also is bad for the environment: It washes into streams and lakes, clogging them with algae. Sweep or blow any type of spilled fertilizer into the grass.)
To find out your lawn's particular needs, test the soil every three or four years by sending a sample to a local lab. A test costs $20 or less and reveals the contents, including salts, organic matter, phosphorus, nitrates and nitrogen, lime and texture. Then take the results to your local garden shop for help deciding which fertilizers and amendments to apply.
Most fertilizer comes in dry grains or pellets. Distribute it evenly using a hand-held fertilizer spreader (roughly $13 to $80) for small areas, or a wheeled spreader ($90 and up).
Natural fertilizers -- sometimes called "organic" -- work slowly because they need heat and water to break down so grass can absorb them. The USDA doesn't regulate the term "organic" as it does with food, so ignore label claims and identify products by reading the key ingredients. Ingredient names you'd recognize from a chemistry book -- ammonium nitrate, say -- are a clue the product is probably synthetic. Organics use stuff in the forms found in nature -- dried manure, kelp, blood and bone meal, feather meal or poultry waste, for instance. Both types are applied in spring and again in fall.
8. Don't mix your fertilizers
Regardless of which type of fertilizer you choose, stick with only one. Mixing natural and synthetic gives poor results, says Scott Meyer, editor of Organic Gardening magazine.

Pest control
9. Grow thick grass -- and stay on top of your weeds
The best defense against pests -- weeds and diseases -- is to grow thick, vigorous turf. If you've only got a few weeds, pull them by hand or use a dandelion weeder ($8-$10), a tool with a forked metal end. Pay your kids or someone else's for every weed they pull.
By observing your lawn closely, you may let a problem resolve itself or stay contained without treatment, just as golf-course professionals do. "If we have a little bit of disease on a green, we let it go unless we get to the point where we could lose some serious putting quality," says Brooks.
10. Choose the right herbicide
If you decide you need extra help with weeds, there are two types of herbicides to choose from:

• "Pre-emergents" prevent weed seeds from germinating and are often applied once a year.
• "Post-emergents" are used after the weed is visible to control broadleaf weeds, such as dandelions and chickweed, or grassy pests such as crab grass, quack grass or even wild varieties of rye or bluegrass that aren't controlled by mowing or hand-pulling.

Most herbicides are synthetic. Natural approaches mostly involve beefing up the soil to prevent infestation, although corn gluten does both fertilize and stop seed germination and is used as a natural pre-emergent.
If you've followed all the tips on the product’s box and your yard is brown, dying or not thriving, you could have a disease or insect infestation. Treating diseases and insects is a complex task requiring accurate identification before taking action. Cut a sample of the affected grass, including plenty of roots and some healthy plant tissue, too. Put it in a sandwich bag and take the evidence to a local Extension service or garden center for help in identifying the culprit and choosing an approach.