Isn’t it wonderful when you look outside and see a freshly cut lawn with pure green grass resembling a perfect carpet? Green and healthy grass makes your entire home look a lot better – especially if you have a front garden! The trouble is that many people suffer from yellow grass or grass with brown patches all over it. Weeds might be growing everywhere too, so your lawn looks awful.
It diminishes your home’s curb appeal and can be hard to correct. That’s why looking after your lawn is a top priority – and here are some amazing tips to keep your grass as green and healthy as can be!
Mow the lawn regularly
Two common misconceptions exist when talking about mowing the lawn:
- People think long grass is healthy grass
- People think they should cut their grass as short as can be
The second misconception probably fuels the first! You shouldn’t cut your grass too low as this “scalps” it. When the blades of grass are too short, it reveals all the muddy soil below. While it means you can wait longer between cuts, it will also mean your grass ends up with lots of brown patches and looks unhealthy.
So, if you keep the grass long, that means it’ll be healthier…right? Somewhat – but there’s a limit. When you don’t cut the grass for weeks and it gets too long, the blades are tall enough to shade the soil below. In other words, the soil isn’t getting enough sunlight and this can kill the individual blades, resulting in the horrible yellow tinge you don’t want to see.
It’s a balancing act, but you should set your mower blades to around 3-4 inches high and accept you’ll have to mow fairly frequently. The golden rule for how often to mow your lawn is to be out there once a week most of the time. When there’s a lot of rainfall in spring or autumn, you can extend this to once every 10 days. Likewise, if you’re in the middle of a dry summer, head out every two weeks. A healthy lawn length provides the best conditions for each blade of grass to get amazing root growth and stay as green as possible.
Ensure the grass gets enough sunlight
You noticed we mentioned cutting the grass as the blades shield the soil from the sun. This usually means the soil struggles to absorb any moisture, so the grass dries out. The same thing happens when areas of your grass are shaded by different things. This could be an overhanging tree that’s suddenly causing a shadow or some loose leaves covering part of your lawn.
Whatever the reason, you need to rectify it so your grass gets a good few hours of sunlight per day. Sunlight gets converted into energy which encourages growth and makes every blade strong and healthy. Without it, your grass will soon look very brittle, yellow and dry. It’ll appear more like straw than blades of grass!
With that in mind, go to your garden and deal with anything shading the lawn. Use leaf blowers to remove loose leaves and debris from the surface and trim any branches or bushes causing shadows along the grass. You’ll now have a garden that welcomes the sun and encourages it to keep your lawn as healthy as can be.
Photo Source – CC0 License by Ochir-Erdene Oyunmedeg
Water your lawn (but don’t overdo it)
Lawn care has the funny habit of contradicting itself:
- Don’t let your grass grow too long – but don’t cut it too short!
- Make sure your grass gets enough sunlight – but don’t let it dry out!
- Water your lawn – but don’t overdo it!
We’re interested in the third point now as it’s one a lot of homeowners are guilty of getting wrong. If you live in a wet part of the country, you may get rainfall at least once a week – probably a lot more frequently during autumn, winter and spring. As a result, you don’t need to water your lawn much during these seasons as the weather does it for you.
All lawn care experts agree that your lawn needs around one inch of water per week. You’ll easily get this from an average rain spell, so there’s no need to head out and water your grass again. This will cause waterlogging, which suffocates the soil and makes the grass die. It’s how you end up with horrible muddy patches of yellow grass on your lawn.
On the other hand, it’s easy to forget about watering as you’re used to the weather doing it for you. This becomes a problem in the summer when it might be a lot sunnier and drier. You could go weeks without rainfall, which will dry out your lawn and leave it scorched like hay. If there’s been no rain throughout the week, head out and water your lawn so it gets around an inch of coverage. You’ll know if you’ve given it enough as you will see a few small standing puddles.
Fertilise during the growth seasons
Fertiliser is food for your grass. It eats it up, improving the structure and strength of every blade and causing the whole lawn to look luscious and green! Most people don’t know when to fertilise, so we’ll give you a few simple tips.
Lawn professionals advise one feed during March/April in the main spring growth season. Then, you can do two feeds in May/July to ensure your garden is perfect for summer. Finally, go for one last feed between September and November in the autumn growth season. That’s all you need to do throughout the year, giving your grass all the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and green the entire time.
Doing these things might help you recover an old lawn and bring it back to life, but they’re more effective as preventative lawn care tips. Looking at them in isolation shows you don’t have to do a great deal to keep your lawn healthy. Maintain its length, give it enough sunlight & water and then fertilise it when necessary. This comes together to give you the greenest grass in the land!
