Aiming for a beautiful healthy lawn needs a lot of effort and strategy. Any kind of lawn care could be possible as long as you are doing the right thing for your lawn’s good health. Here are 5 easy steps for your lawn care guide that will help you yield good results:

1. Mow efficiently – This does not only require cutting of your grass to its required height but also depends on mowing at the right time of the year. In mowing your lawn, it should not be less than one-third of its height for the efficient absorption of the sun. This should consume the right amount of light from the sun that is needed by the grass to develop a healthy plant. After mowing, your mowed grass should be left on the lawn to decompose as fertilizer that would be best for your lawn.

2. Use a sharp blade – It is important for your lawn to use sharp blade when cutting grass so it will not tear grass that would make your grass unhealthy easy to catch diseases and difficult to fight off pests. Few days after mowing, check on your grass very well especially the tip of it. If you can see brown lines on its tips, then you should make a move to get rid of those unhealthy signs.

3. Regulate water supply – The right irrigation system could help you prevent lawn problems especially the growth of pests on your lawn. Too much water would not do good for your lawn. On the average,grasses only need weekly water supply of 1-1.5 inches. that would just be enough for the clay to moistened, 4-6 inches below the surface and 8-10 inches for sandy soil. Rain Guage is the most advised in determining water supply during rain also to regulate the proper amount.

4. Keep fertilizers and pesticides at normal levels – Overfeeding your lawn with chemicals is very harmful. Be always prepared most especially during seasons of spring, summer, early fall & after the first fall be sure to provide it with balanced amount of fertilizer.. then on drought, you can skip summer feeding but not fall feeding.

5. Prevent, rather than cure – In Lawn care, you can also apply the statement that says prevention is better than cure. Regular feeding of your lawn could save its life from bugs and pests as well as diseases this could also help repair bare spots and you can use right herbicides to help you control and manage growth of weeds.

Maintaining proper care for your lawn is this easy but it also requires your proper attention for you to make things right in whatever strategy for the best of your lawn care.

The grasses that thrive in cool season areas can withstand cold winters, but most types languish in hot summers. Lawns of these grasses usually started from seed. Some are available as sod. Seeds come either in mixtures and blends of several different grasses or as individual types.

Lawns composed of a single grass type are the most uniform in appearance, giving you the maximum expression of whatever characteristic you select. A fine texture, or a tough play surface. The main disadvantage of a single type grass lawn is that it could be wiped out if that one grass were susceptible to a pest or disease in your area or sensitive to a local environmental condition. A blend of several kinds of compatible grasses is safer.

If you are unsure of the type of grass you want or the best blend for your area, you can have a tour on your neighborhood for you to locate the lawns thet meet your requirements and are suited to your particular climate. Kentucky Bluegrass and Annual Ryegrass is probably the most important cool-season grass . Cool-Season grasses tend to grow best in the cooler conditions and climates. You will commonly find cool-season grasses growing in the northern areas of the U.S. and Canada, as well as moderate coastal areas, damp climates, and higher elevations. Cool-Season grasses are the hardiest of grasses and tend to do best during the spring and fall months when temperatures range from 60-75 degrees F. Conversely, Cool-Season grasses tend to do poorly during the hot and dry summer months and can even brown and go dormant during extreme conditions.

Moreover, drawbacks of cool season grasses is that they could not sustain the extreme summer conditions, specifically the heat and drought. So they needed more water and irrigation to survive. Also, these type of grasses could be use to reseed warm season grasseson winter months when lawns go brown and dormant.

Stripping is pushing the grass down in one direction then the other as you mow your lawn. Then you can see the effects in two different shades in alternate. In shades of light and dark green. Stripping a lawn could add up a dramatic and attractive effect just like a golf course. Alternating patterns by 90º or 45º adds up to the aesthetic and is good for the grass

How to do it?

A finely tuned reel mower is needed for a bold stripping of a golf course. This mower has rollers in the front and back, first roller sometimes grooved and helps in lining up the grass for an even effect. The reel cuts in a way for the grass to be lining up for an even reel and pushes the grass down in one direction and the rear weighted roller pushes the grass down a final time. Those mowers in golf course and ball fields are commercial reel mowers that creates a more bold stripes and very high tech machines.

Getting it Stripes..

Striping kits are being attached to the rear of the mower or right behind the mowing deck. This can ranged from a weighted back roller assembly to the firm rubber flap to lay the grass down. Another alternate for stripping is the home made attachment made of lumber that could also be used for stripping your lawn. Striping also depends on the grass you have for your lawn. The low growth habit and coarse leaf blade will not allow it to lay over. Bermuda grass may be difficult to trim for stripes since it has a low growing warm season grass.

If you are willing to accept a lawn that turns brown in winter consider the Bermudas, St. Augustine grass and Zoysia grasses - Three types of subtropical grasses that are very drought tolerant.

All subtropical grasses do best in  warm climates. They survive temperatures down to 20 degrees F. and thrive in summer highs of 110 degrees. Fertilize all of these grasses with a high nitrogen fertilizer at least once in fall and once in winter. In summer, fertilize at 6-week intervals.

The Bermuda - These grasses need the least amount of water because of their deep roots. Plant either by sod or stolons (4-6 bushels of stolons per 1,000 sq. ft.) Mow the bermuda grass as low as possible.

St. Augustine Grass - Plant from sod, stolons ( 6 bushels/ 1,000 sq. ft., or plugs. To plant plugs from flats, use 10 flats/ 1,000 sq ft., placing 2 inch plugs in rows about 10 inches apart. Keep the ground moist until grass is established.

Zoysia Grasses - These grasses need warm nights for best growth. They are commonly planted from plugs or stolons. Allow 10-14 months for grass to fill in.

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.

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.