Taking care of your lawn is the chore that most of you consider one of the very important thing to do at home. Since this helps beautify and create a good ambiance within every home. Lawn care tips that we always bare in mind is not just enough to learn but also the mistakes that we often neglect or caught unaware of it. Just to freshen things up, here are some lawn care mistakes that we should avoid.

* Wrong schedule of fertilizing and watering of lawn - There is always a right time to water and fertilize your lawn. But this will also depend on which area you belong as well as the season and weather condition in your place. But, the most required time to water lawn should be done early in the morning for the grass to absorb it thoroughly and so your grass would not remain its moist for long compare to watering it on night time which most of us do especially when we are working during daytime. Same goes with fertilizing, it should have the right timing and schedule depending on the climate and area you have.

* Cutting lawn very short – Usually when we have a busy schedule everyday, we use to come up to an idea of cutting the grass in our lawn too short for us to have a longer period of break till we mow them again. But it is not a healthy for the grass to cut it more than 1/3 of grass blade this will make them weak and will result to unhealthy growth.

* Ignored mulch importance – Mulching plays an important role in lawns since this makes lawn grow healthy. It provides nutrients and blocks pests that would invade lawns.

* Mistakes in Using seed and sod – When making a new lawn, one should decide which method to use either seeding or sodding depending on its advantages or main purpose to your lawn. Sodding prevents soil erosion and seeding helps fills bare spots from your lawn.

* The use of powder and organic products – Powder products is less expensive compared to organic products but this has the tendency not to stay within your lawn because can easily be blown. While organic products could be penetrated within your lawn provided this is time consuming and could produce longer results.

Photo by Stan Shebs

Having a perfectly healthy lawn requires a lot of effort and time. These simple yet helpful tips could help you achieve your goal to attain a healthy, nourishing lawn that will help you feel relax:

1. Water your Lawn Early in the Morning – This is the best time to water your lawn so it could be absorbed by the grass thoroughly. Watering in the evening would make your grass stay wet that could be prone to diseases. In maintaining a healthy lawn, it only needs at least 1 inch of water in a week this is for cool and warm weather. 1-2 inch of water weekly for hot,windy or dry weather.

2. Regularly Mow and leave grass Clippings in your Lawn – Mowing your lawn is the next important thing to do to make it more healthy and to eliminate unhealthy growth or excess grass that grows in your yard. Always remember to leave grass clippings after you mow since it could be an additional food and dew to prevent weed invasion. Only an inch must be cut off from the grass and maintain the height of 2 ½ inches to 3 1/2 inches long. Then If it exceeds to 6 inches in length, rake up and combine it to compost.

3. Conduct Soil Test – Have your soil test for you to identify the best lawn care needed for you to attain a healthy one. Through the test, it will help you determine its type of soil and the right amount of fertilizer needed.

4. Fertilize Properly – After you conduct your soil test, you could already start to know how to properly fertilize and the right amount required depending on how wide your lawn is.

5. Distinguish Weeds – Learning to identify weeds in your lawn will also aid you to determine the health of your lawn.Thus, it is always important for you to know and be familiar with the weed so you will know how to treat or prevent them from destroying your lawn and the plants within it.

A video about renovation of your lawn to attain a green healthy lawn. The key to a successful renovation is ensuring that new seedling has enough opportunity to grow healthy and not be damaged.

Brown spots on your grass? This can be the cause of many different things: compacted roots, animals,insects, high traffic areas, less water and sun. No need of buying expensive products just to fix your lawn. Here are some tips for you for a healthy lawn:

In fixing your lawn, you need a fertilizer, seed, and also compost. To begin with, rack the affected area with a firm rack, to roughen your lawn. With a hoe,cultivator,or a garden fork loosen the soil down a couple of inches to give the grass the chance to germinate and grow long and healthy roots. place the fertilizer down and work it into the soil with a garden fork or your hands. Just make sure you have gloves when working with those fertilizers. When fertilizer worked into the soil you can then sprinkle the grass over the top of the soil. In buying the seed, choose the perennial type that fits your area an that would last in your area will not die after its season. Once the seed is in the area, cover the area with a compost to help in the healthy growth of your grass. Then water the seeds thoroughly to give it a good start.

If your dog or pet created a spot of urine in the area, add some lime to the soil to help neutralize the urine acid and not ruin your grass. If not sure if its an animal urine, you can test the soil with the PH tester. Grass requires a PH level of 6-7 to grow right. And when dealing with some fixes, place the seed fertilizer together with the compost in a bucket then mix up to make sure it is dispersed evenly, now, roughen the area that needs to be fixed and place the mixer to each stop and press down finally, water the patches everyday until about a two inches high new grass grow an do water it at least every other day until the grass is well rooted that would create a healthy lawn.

Everybody is dreaming of a healthy and perfect lawn at home. Especially for those living in a cool season grasses rule. But, not every lawn needs a complete renovation. Maybe others just needed an extra care with tender loving. For cool season lawns & planting seed, early fall could be the best time to finish such a renovation then spring for a warm season grass and you can do laying new sod, plugs or sprigs, almost anytime during the growing season. Here are the six essential steps to follow:

1. Test the Soil – Investigating the soil is very important before removing your old lawn and that the soil has adequate nutrients and proper pH ideal for the grass to grow. Once you had undergo thorough test on the soil, you will exactly know what to do for a best possible place for your lawn to grow.

2. Remove the old lawn – these requires an average strength to help haul away the remains of the old loan.

3. Preparing the Site - Remove all rocks and expose all the roots. Large visible rocks must be dig up and tree roots be put down below soil level if it is a problem as well. With the sod removed and taken away from the site, rocks removed, holes filled, you’ll want to start adding the necessary amendments. You’ll probably want to add some sand (about 3 cubic yards per 1,000 square feet). To better condition the soil, add aged compost. This will add a lot of bio-mass to the soil (about 3 cubic yards per 1,000 square feet).

4. Tilling it in and Fertilizing - Turn the soil until there are no big clumps or patches of packed earth. with a rotary tiller and add lime, peat moss, or sulfur to balance the soil’s pH level. Spread peat moss with shovel, you can use pelletized lime or sulfur, to spread with a walk-behind spreader set to the appropriate calibration rate listed. And spread a starte fertilizer to the whole area using. Using a metal rake you can work on the fertilizer in one place. Finish grading the soil by raking it level. Pay attention to drainage slopes being careful not to alter the natural drainage pattern.

5. Spread the seed - Select a grass type that would fit in your area. With a simple hand sprinkler, apply the seed as evenly use a walk behind spreader.

6. Water regularly – When seed is sown, Don’t just spray your lawn with a hose nozzle.3 times a day to keep the soil evenly moist, but not soaked. Avoid over watering.Once the seed has sprouted, cut back watering to once a day (depending on local weather). It’s best to water in the morning.

Here are brief descriptions of the different kinds of lawn grasses. The kinds that you can plant as seed include bahia, bent, Bermuda, blue grama, buffalo, centipede, fescue (all kinds), bluegrass, ryegrass (both annual and perennial), and some zoysias.

Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum) a tough coarse grass popularized in southeast a low maintenance and low quality lawn. Tolerant in drought and shade that requires frequent mowing

Bent grass, creeping (Agrostis stolonifera) loves to creep up in cooler weather. It grows relatively low and has slender, pointed, light-green leaves. It’s actually welcome in some environments, such as golf courses, but it’s no friend to the average front yard.

Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) The Sun Belt most important lawn grass that has all the essential characteristics that a lawn needs Its aggressiveness is also its key disadvantage. Bermuda grass is tough and fast growing enough to be one of the most popular grasses for sports fields. It’s good for pet owners for the same reasons: damage from whatever cause will repair quickly.

Blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis) is a North American native grass. Well suited in northern plains. It is very cold hardy and able to survive a North Dakota winter. Mowing it 3 or 4 times a year will make it more lawn like.

Buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides) North American native grass, a once dominate grass of the vast American short-grass prairie. For obvious reasons, it makes good sense as a lawn grass in much of the low-rainfall West.

Centipede grass’s (Eremochloa ophiuroides) Centipede grass’s Centipede Grass is a low, medium textured, slow growing, but aggressive grass that can produce a dense, attractive, weed-free turf. It is more shade tolerant than bermudagrass but less shade tolerant than St. Augustine and zoysiagrass. Since centipede produces only surface runners, it is easily controlled around borders of flower beds and walks.

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis). By far the most popular type of lawn grass for most of the northern half of the country. It is also planted further south, usually in areas with significant coastal influence, such as coastal southern California. It grows there, but long term survival is rare.
Ryegrass, annual (Lolium multiflorum). Often found in low priced grass seed. It does not over-winter in cold climates. Germinates quickly and can be used as a temporary ground cover while the slower growing bluegrass plants take hold. Used mostly as a forage plant for animals. DO NOT PLANT GRASSES INTENDED FOR HOME USE IN PASTURE AREAS. Certain toxins may increase in lawn grasses that may be harmful to grazing animals. Check with manufacturer on suitability.

Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum) Seashore Paspalum is native to tropical and subtropical regions of North and South America. Seashore paspalum grows naturally in coastal environments and is often found in brackish marsh water or in close proximity to ocean waters. It also grows in areas that receive extended periods of heavy rains and low light intensity. Its best growth occurs in response to warm temperatures and long daylengths.

St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) is one of the most important grasses of the South and West. It’s fast-growing, deep-rooted, and coarse-textured with broad, blunt-tipped blades. It is a spreading grass via above-ground runners. Seed of this grass is not available; plant it from sprigs, plugs, or sod only.

Zoysia grass (Zoysia species) is often touted as a miracle grass, and while many of the claims of its virtues are true, there are also drawbacks. Three species available: Japanese lawn grass (Z. japonica), Manila grass (Z. matrella), and Korean grass (Z. tenuifolia). Korean grass is more a ground cover than lawn grass. It’s wiry but fine-textured and creates interesting mounds as it grows.

Eco-Friendly lawn care is one of the healthy ways to take care of your lawns. American lawns has generated a large amounts of “green waste”, waste water, require tons of herbicides, and would cost much money and time.

“According to the Audubon Society, the average American lawn generates almost 2 tons of clippings a year, and requires 2½-4 times more water than shrubs or trees. Homeowners use 50% more herbicides than they did 20 years ago, spend 40 hours per week mowing the lawn each year, and spend over $8 billion annually on lawn care products and equipment.”

Here are some more tips for a more Eco-friendly lawn care:

1. Instead of using a conventional gas-powered lawn mowers, use an electric or manual push mower to cut your grass to avoid air pollution and global warming.

“According to Sylvan Garden, “atypical 3.5 horsepower gas mower…can emit the same amount of VOCs—key precursors to smog—in an hour as a new car driven 340 miles. To top it off, lawn and garden equipment users inadvertently add to the problem by spilling 17 million gallons of fuel each year while refilling their outdoor power equipment. That’s more petroleum than spilled by the Exxon Valdez in the Gulf of Alaska.”

2. In maintaining your yard, Use hand tools or electric-powered tools such as hedge trimmer or lawn edger. Don’t use gas-powered tools instead, Use good old fashioned push broom and rakes for yard clean up, instead of noise and air polluting leaf blowers. Don’t use the hose to wash down your driveway or sidewalk, as this is just a waste of water. On the coasts, the leaf and grass clippings end up in the gutter and go down the storm drains, out to the ocean.

3. Diversify your lawn by planting a mix of different grasses–that way, if one variety doesn’t do well or dies, you still have grass that can “take over” for the dead variety. But you can also use organic fertilizer for your lawn.

4. Avoid toxic chemical pesticides and herbicides According to PANNA (http://www.panna.org/campaigns/pesticideFreeLawns.html ) “Every year U.S. homeowners apply at least 90 million pounds of pesticides to their lawns and gardens…pesticides are applied more intensively for lawn care than for farming! One recent survey reported that when informed about the risks posed by lawn chemicals, nearly 70% of homeowners indicate a preference for non-toxic alternatives.

5. Conserve water. Instead of using sprinklers, water your lawn with a hose. This will avoid waste of water from runoff as well as avoid water spills from your sidewalks and driveways.

6. Conserve water. Water your lawn by hand with a hose instead of using timed sprinklers.Water at night to avoid evaporation of water before it has a chance to soak into the ground.

7. Save your grass clippings you can use them as mulch for your yars. It is anything that is put on top of the soil around your trees and shrubs to give nutrients back to the soil, grass clippings, tree bark, leaves and other yard called a “greeen waste” also a food waste from the kitchen ans even shredded newspapers. Mulch breaks down over time an adds up nutrients to the soil. Mulch also prevents soil erosion and hardpan (tough, dried-out topsoil). Make a compost pile and feed it your grass clippings.

8. Research plants that are native to your area and resistant to pests and drought, and replace some or all of your grass with these low-maintenance alternatives. I’ve let the shrubs in front of the house, on one side of the yard, grow down to the front sidewalk, eliminating about 24 square feet of lawn.

Try to follow these simple ideas for your lawn..lesser environmental impact, save money and you can have a healthy green lawn that you always long for.