Lawn

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Lawn' topic. Click the article's title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

Aerating Your Lawn
If your lawn is looking brown no matter how much nutrients you feed to it, consider aeration. Aerating your lawn will pull out clumps of earth which allows oxygen to get to the roots. The oxygen will help the roots absorb the nutrients the grass needs. Go to your local gardening center to rent one, or as a landscaping company to perform the service for you.

Choosing the Right Lawn Fertilizer
Lawns need to have the right nutrients to grow property. If the lawn has either too much or too little of the wrong nutrient, fertilizer exists to make things right. Start out by testing your soil. Then take your test results to your local garden center and buy the fertilizer that will fix your specific problem.

Cleaning Your Lawn Mower
If you're going to spend a few hundred dollars to purchase a lawn mower, it stands to reason that you should clean it and maintain it so that it will last many years. Follow these handy tips to clean your lawn mower and keep it in good condition for years to come.

Edging Your Lawn
Mowing the lawn is an important part of keeping it trimmed, but many people do not edge their lawns. Edging the lawn is cutting the grass off from the cement around your lawn. If you use a dedicated edger, it will leave your lawn looking great and well cared for.

Finding the Right Mowing Height
Grass lengths can make a big difference in the health of your lawn. Depending on how your grass is used, what type you have, and where it is situated, you need to cut your lawn to different lengths. Never cut below ½ inch. For best results, research the type of grass you have, then follow our guide.

Getting Rid of Dandelions
Dandelions are one flower that is an eyesore in your lawn. They are extremely difficult to kill off, but you can do it with a little bit of work. Mow them often to keep them from seeding. Kill the rest off by pulling them out by the roots. Alternatives to this are boiling them, using vinegar on them, burning them, or making your soil too rich for the dandelions.

Getting Rid of Mushroom Rings
Lawns that are rich in nutrients will attract mushrooms. These unsightly plants will do no harm to your lawn, but are probably not something that you want. It is very difficult to remove them permanent. Remove the heads to keep the mushrooms from spreading. You can try aerating the lawn or using nitrogen-rich fertilizer, but this may not work.

Growing a Lawn in the Shade
Experts agree that growing grass in the shade can be exceptionally difficult, but it can be done. If you find that grass simply won't grow, despite best efforts, consider replacing those parts of lawn with different varieties of ground cover.

Growing Grass from Seed
The most important thing to remember when trying to grow grass from seed is to plant at the right time of year for the type of grass you're trying to grow. Cool season grasses should be planted in the early spring or early fall, while warm season grasses need to be planted in late spring or early summer.

Installing New Sod
Sod is a great alternative to growing grass from seeds. When laying sod, be sure the area is prepared before hand. It is also a good idea to have an irrigation system in place. As you lay the sod down, moisten the area before the grass is laid, and then soak it once everything is down. You will have your own great lawn in no time.

Kill Dandelions Easily with Salt
While many weed killers can kill dandelions, salt is one of the only cures that remove the plant permanently and won't let it spread. Simply pour some salt on the base of the plant. While the salt will take a while to kill the plant, it will destroy the roots and stop the plant from spreading.

Kill Dandelions with Salt - Video
Although the little yellow dandelions are pretty, you're going to want to eventually get rid of them, because they are a breeding ground for couch grass.

Lawn Care along Fence Lines
Taking care of the lawn around the fence can be difficult. Trim the grass down with a line trimmer, and be careful not to hit the fence. Once you have the grass trimmed down, use an edger on the fence to make the area look striking. Make sure to do this often instead of letting the grass grow up and having to do it again.

Lawn Ornaments to Accent Your Home
Ornaments can make your lawn look even better if done properly. Make sure to plan out how to use the ornaments before you get them, and keep everything to one theme. When placing them, be sure to have everything centered around one focal point and do not clutter everything around your lawn. Finally, keep the scope to what you can actually do.

Low Water Lawns
If you you're wasting water and time watering your lawn, consider replacing it with a low water lawn. By replacing your existing lawn with low water, no-mow grasses, not only will you save time and money, you will help the environment by using your lawn mower and water hose less.

Patching Bad Spots in Your Lawn
Whether you have bald or brown spots in your lawn because of extreme heat, dog urine, or grass disease, you can easily remedy the situation. Prepare the soil to hold new grass, tend to the new growth, and then watch your lawn's bad spots blend perfectly with the rest of your lawn.

Planning an Irrigation System for Your Lawn
It should go without saying that properly watering your lawn will go along way to ensuring you have a healthy and beautiful lawn. However, without proper planning, your dreams of an effortless lawn irrigation system can quickly become a nightmare. Good thing that planning an irrigation system for your lawn is really easy. Here's how you can do that.

Preparing Your Lawn for Winter
The time to prepare your lawn for winter is in the fall. If you want a luxuriant lawn in spring, do not wait until spring to take action. Follow these simple steps for preparing your lawn for winter, in order to have a luxuriant lawn in spring.

Reclaiming Your Lawn
Spotty lawns, foreign grasses, and pets are all common causes for problematic lawns. Reclaiming your lawn doesn't necessarily need to be something that costs a fortune. Here are a few methods and simple steps that you can use to help you reclaim your lawn, so that you can once again have a lawn to be proud of.

Selecting a Lawn Tractor
Buying a lawn tractor can be a large investment, so make sure that you know what you're buying before you lay out that kind of cash. Consider ease of use, comfort, how wide the turning circle, and the obstacles you have to dodge while mowing And, at the very least, make sure that you get a good warranty for the model you are considering.

Using Shrubbery for Lawn Accents
While some shrubbery takes the form of sculpture, other shrubs can be used simply as lawn accents for your home. Choose different shapes, sizes, and colors to add visual interest and appeal, and spice up a boring landscape.

Using Sod to Patch Lawn Spots
Use sod from your existing lawn as patches. Perhaps you have an out-of-sight portion of lawn from which you can cut sod to patch another portion of your lawn. That way, you can perfectly match the two types of grass, since they both grow from the same stock. After you remove a portion of sod from your lawn, reseed it so that it will grow for use again. Using your own sod will save you money since you won't have to buy it from a nursery.

Watering Your Lawn
How often you should water your lawn really depends upon many factors such as what type of soil you have, what growing zone you live in, the type of grass you have, how much sun your lawn receives daily, and what time of year it is. Talk with a qualified grass specialist at your local nursery to discuss watering your lawn, and always remember that the point to watering your lawn is to water deeply, with less of a focus on frequency.

What are Fairy Rings?
Fairy rings are naturally occurring arcs of mushrooms caused by a fungus that grows in your lawn. They can grow to be up to several yards in diameter. They usually reoccur every year in the same general area, but if needs be, they are easily dealt with.

What is Pampas Grass?
Do you have a big area in your yard to fill and you don't want to add more evergreen shrubs? Pampas grass may just be the solution for you! It's a big, beautiful type of ornamental grass that looks great in just about any yard.

When to Aerate Your Lawn
Aerating your lawn is the best method to alleviate compacted soil and to allow your grass' roots adequate water, air, and fertilizer. As long as there is adequate soil moisture, any time is a good time to aerate your lawn, but most people like to do it in the fall.

Winter Lawn Preparation
Ensuring yourself a nice, green lawn after a long cold winter is easy when you take the right steps to winterize it. Only a few tools are needed, including a rake, your lawn mower, some fertilizer and a spreader. With some hard work in the Autumn, you'll have the best looking yard when spring comes around again.