I have come to realize that its important to know how to improve your lawn. I’ll be the first to tell you that I like my lawn. I like the looks of a well-maintained lawn. I like to walk barefoot on my green lawn, and I love the smell when it’s freshly cut. A good day is sitting in my outdoor wicker chair watching the butterflies and hummingbirds in my yard.
People are passionate about ways to improve their lawn and in some cases their neighbor’s lawn. I had a neighbor who would knock on my door and inform me that my lawn needs attention. He died recently with the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. We all pitched to buy him a tree for his parking strip.
How does one keep a lawn looking good year round?
Clean Air Gardening, the seller of Environmentally Friendly Lawn & Garden Supplies, offers 8 Easy Ways to Improve Your Lawn.:
- Aerate your lawn. Over time a lawn becomes compacted from kids and pets playing on a lawn, or even from the walking on it when mowing. “Compacted soil results in problems with air circulation, water drainage, and nutrient absorption. Additionally, beneficial soil organisms such as earthworms can’t establish in hard, compacted soil.” The easiest method to aerate a lawn is to hire someone with a large aerating machine that pokes half inch holes into the lawn and leaves inch long plugs behind. Or you can use a simple handheld aerating tool. You should aerate your lawn about once a year.
- Water your lawn deeply and less often. For a healthier lawn, learn to water your grass deeply and less often. If you water infrequently and deeply, the roots of your grass will start to grow deeper down into the soil. This helps your grass stay green during periods of drought or extremely hot weather. Experts recommend that you water your grass with 1 inch of water, once a week.
- Use natural lawn fertilizers. A recent study showed that organic and natural lawn fertilizers actually produce greener lawns than synthetics. Moreover, natural fertilizers are healthier for your family and for the environment.
- “Grass-cycle” your grass clippings. Grass-cycling involves letting your lawn reuse the grass clippings created by mowing. The great thing about grass-cycling is that it’s easy! You simply leave your grass clippings on the lawn instead of throwing them away.My gardener won’t hear of leaving clippings on the lawn. He insists on raking after he’s mowed the lawn.
- Cut your grass correctly and to the recommended cutting height. Different grass species have different needs in terms of grass cutting height. Additionally, you should keep the blades on your lawnmower nice and sharp so that it cuts your grass effectively. Choose a Reel Mower to cut grass like a pair of scissors would.
- Compost your kitchen and garden waste for greener grass. Adding compost to your soil is one of the best ways to green up your grass and all your garden plants.
- Use corn gluten meal as a natural herbicide and lawn fertilizer. This is a new one for me. Corn gluten meal is used most frequently as a natural pre-emergent herbicide for turf grass and organic crops. However, it has the added benefit of fertilizing your soil. Corn Gluten Meal is a totally natural by-product of the wet-milling process for corn. It will help control annual weeds in your lawn and will keep your grass fertilized.
- Use Mycor Root Builder to improve your soil. Mycorrhizal fungi are beneficial soil organisms that provide a sort of secondary root system for your garden plants and grass. They attach themselves to the roots and help plants and grass make better use of water and organic nutrients in the soil. With a Mycorrhizal fungi root builder, you can get mycorrhizal fungi to work more efficiently.
There is a lot more to keeping the lawn outside your sunroom healthy and green; We hope this helps.