I take very good care of my lawn, but I can't seem to get it even close to perfect. Please help!?
Question:I water at least once per day. I fertilize every three months. I use lawn disease control 3 to 4 times per season. I use weed killer once per month. I mow every two weeks. High in the summer. Still, I can't seem to over-come thin spots, brown grass, weeds, and crab grass. However, some parts of my lawn look amazing. How can I get a more consistently healthy looking lawn?
Answers:
Both prior responses are very good! However, you may not have ideal soil conditions to obtain healthy turf. Here are a few recommendations you might want to consider;
1) Get a pH reading of your soil...this can be either by taking a soil sample into your local agricultural extension office OR by purchasing a pH meter from most hardware/garden shops. (although it's not the most accurate, it will give you an approximate reading). Since lawns prefer a pH of 6.5, you may need to add granular lime if your pH is below this OR add soil sulfur if it is higher. The pH is very important since this will determine how much of the available nutrients are taken into the roots.
2) Water deeply the day before aerating. (Aerate in both directions) Remove the cores taken and then add bagged compost. The compost can be added by using a push-broomed into the holes. The addition of compost and organic matter will help add valuable beneficial microbes (bacteria & fungi) to your soil. These microbes help retain nutrients and make them available to the roots of your lawn. They also help keep your soil loose thereby allowing oxygen and water to penetrate more readily. Microbes have also been known to help reduce the incidence of diseases and attacks from some soil-insects such as nematodes.
3) IF you suspect your water or soils has salt issues or if you have hard/compact soils, you can also add some granular gypsum over the top of your lawn. The calcium will help displace the sodium found in salts and also help strengthen your turf.
By performing steps 1 & 2....and #3 if you choose, you'll find a better response to your fertilizer applications. Make sure your fertilizer contains some iron.which will help make your lawn become a darker green.
In addressing your bare spots on the lawn..you can aerate that area as well... and also work up the soil with a shovel/rake...and then mix in more compost. Scatter the grass seed and water 3 times a day for a minimum of 2 weeks. (if your weather is too hot, you may want to wait till fall to do this).
Once you get your pH and organic matter improved, you should see a denser lawn.and a reduction in weeds.
Hope this helps get you your ideal lawn and one you'll be proud of.. GOOD LUCK!
-Certified Professional Crop Consultant with over 30 years of experience and a Degree in Plant Science
Your fertilizing, weed control and mowing seems good. .. the watering you are doing seems to concern me. Follow this rule of thumb, "water deep and infrequent". If you water a little bit each day, the roots will tend to stay near the surface, because that is where the water is, therefore the root system is not strong. If you water deep (heavy) and maybe 1-2 times a week, that will force the roots to grow deeper and therefore the lawn is strong.
Also, if some of your lawn is shady and grass is thin there, get some grass seed that does well in the shade.
Hope this helps.
you should aerate your lawn.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=ho...
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