How to Produce a Lush, Green Lawn

Growing a thick, green, weed-free lawn is simple!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Having a beautiful looking yard is important to most people. The one part of a property that exceeds all other parts in size is the lawn....the grass (unless you live in a desert zone).
   
   So, it only makes common sense that the grass should be in top condition. And keeping the grass in top condition is simple and fairly inexpensive.

2. Millions of people spend billions of dollars treating, grooming, and maintaining their yards. Although there are very experienced and trained professionals available that can make your yard beautiful, these services are usually very expensive and sometimes don't even produce the standards or results that you are wanting.
   
   The next steps will explain how a person can maintain their own yard to produce thick, green, weedless, and healthy grass!

3. No matter what the condition of the yard is in to start with, the following steps should be applied for all starting conditions...
   
   1. Start in the fall. Work appropriate grass seed into bare spots on the lawn. At the same time, overseed the entire lawn. Appropriate seed means to use seed that will work well in shade, sun, or a mix of shade and sun. The seed manufacturer supplies very good information on the packaging. If you still have questions, just call a local nursery or yard service with your questions - they will be happy to assist at no cost.
   
   2. WATER! As weather allows, you must water the yard once a week - 1 to 1.5 inches of water. Put a water or rain gauge in your yard to determine how much water is being applied. Hopefully mother nature will cooperate and supply the water(rain) for you.
   
   3. Water until temperatures consistently fall below 60 degrees for the season. The grass will start to become dormant and water will not be effective.
   
   4. Early Spring - when the temperatures start to warm up into the 50's, it is time to start watering again. Follow the same 1 to 1.5 inches once weekly routine. Always best to water in the early mornings. This is the time to over seed the entire lawn again. In addition, this is the time to add a seasonal step program fertilizer. There are several companies that offer fertilizer in a 4 step program. Do some research and choose which product to go with. Early Spring is the time to apply step #1 fertilizer. Just follow the package instructions.
   5. Late Spring or Early Summer - Apply step #2 fertilizer. CONTINUE THE WATERING!
   6. Early Fall - Apply the step #3 fertilizer.
   7. Late Fall - Apply the step#4 fertilizer.
   
   It is that simple! Repeat these steps each year and your lawn should look beautiful. You may have to occasionally pull or kill a few weeds, but as your lawn gets thicker and thicker each year, the grass will prohibit weed growth.

4. The last thing I need to mention is MOWING. People tend to cut their grass too short. Leave the grass at appx 2-3 inches tall. You should mow when the grass exceeds your desired height by 1-1.5 inches in length. Never cut more that one third of grass height away.

5. Very simple and fairly inexpensive system. A little added cost to water bill and appx $100-$150 per year for seed and fertilizer. Much less than an annual service.
   
   Don't skip any steps and enjoy walking barefoot through a yard that your neighbors will envy!