Ten Tips for a Better Lawn

The Grass Roots: Encourage your grass roots to grow deep and be less dependent on nutrients and water. If installing a new lawn, prepare the soil to a depth of 24" and improve it with organic matter such as compost. For an existing lawn that you maintain or want to improve, practice tips 2 through 10.

Water Wisely: Water deeply and not too frequently – about 1" a week is all that's needed. If it’s been raining a lot, you probably don’t need to turn on sprinklers. Deep watering also helps encourage your grass to grow deeper roots.

A Carpet of Moss: Our Northwest soil is naturally acidic, which mosses love. Moss also flourishes in shade and soggy soils. If you don’t mind the moss, you can leave your lawn as it is and set your mower height a little higher for the illusion of a greener, grassier lawn. If you want to get rid of moss you will need to change your soil conditions. Keep in mind that moss killers are only a temporary fix unless you improve soil by adding lime to balance the pH and sandy loam or better drainage for a drier soil. See step 8 for how to sweeten your soil and get rid of moss with a key ingredient.

Fertilizing Basics: Lawns want nitrogen, but use only the slow release type. Too much fertilizer will cause a flush of soft green growth that is weak, grows rapidly, uses more water and requires more frequent mowing. With slow release fertilizers, you won’t see instant results, but over time the roots will be encouraged to reach deeper into the soil to grab the nitrogen. The results are worth the wait.

Mowing Matters: Take advantage of grass clippings; they are a FREE source of nitrogen. Leave clippings on the grass by mulch mowing. Set your mower height from between 2 and 3 inches, so you mow the grass blade, not the stalk. Sharp blades make the difference; dull blades will make your grass look ragged. Cut a maximum of 1” or 1/3 of the blade at a time. Grass clippings can supply ¼ to ½ of your lawn’s fertilizer and nitrogen needs.

A Plug for Aerating: Golf shoes don't work for soil aeration. If you have clay or heavily compacted soil, you need to aerate with a power aerator. Leave the plugs on the lawn. They will naturally disappear, and your lawn will love you for it.

Add Sandy Loam to Your Dirt: After aerating, you will want to add a thin layer of sandy loam, compost or top soil to your lawn. This will improve packed soil conditions and allows grass roots to dig deeper.

Sweeten your Soil: Dolomite lime, Super Sweet and calcium carbonate - these are all inexpensive soil additives that make the soil less acidic so the grass can absorb more nutrients. Lime also helps to break up hard-packed clay soil over time.

Seed Sense: To keep your lawn healthy, reseed once each year even if you don’t think it’s necessary. Use only a patented grass seed. You may pay a premium, but it is one place where you get what you pay for. The process of reseeding will help keep weeds at bay and keep a healthy supply of grass growing in your lawn.

Time Tested: Enjoy your lawn and have fun. If you’re after that perfect lawn, know that it takes time to see the results. You could spend a lot of time and money on over fertilizing, over watering, weed and moss killers or even new sod. You may see some quick results but they will not be long lasting, unless you care properly for your lawn.