Do you have the perfect lawn? Is the perfect lawn even possible? If it is, do you care enough to have it? Are you willing to put in the work to make it happen? Do you even like mowing? These are all debatable questions.
First of all, there is no such thing as “The Perfect Lawn.” This is coming from a guy who loves to mow. I mow about every fifth day, depending on the weather. I even mow in opposite directions to get that striped look in the yard.
Heck, I even have an old push-type reel mower that cuts the grass extra close when I really want to impress my neighbors. It’s probably more to impress me, because I’m sure they have better things to think about. They think I am crazy already for mowing my lawn so often. Anyway, a perfect lawn may not be attainable, but a beautiful one is.
Key steps
Lots of things go into having a beautiful lawn, including watering, weeding, mowing, fertilizing, turf selection and foot traffic. How you control each of these determines your lawn’s health. Once you get your grass healthy, it is actually fairly easy to keep it there. I really only do a few key things to have a really nice lawn.
Most grass species only need 1 inch of water per week during the summer months. This is best done over two watering periods, if possible. Watering more than twice per week will lead to disease problems. Remember, the turf likes to dry out completely before being watered again. So if you are watering more than that, cut that sprinkler system off! It will not only save your turf, it may also save your wallet.
There is much more to a healthy turf than just what I have written today. If you want to learn more, stop by your local Extension office and pick up the free Turf guide. Remember, there is no such thing as ‘The Perfect Lawn’. When I came home from vacation last week, I found three weeds in my front yard. Man! I was so embarrassed.
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