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Lawn Maintenance and
Restoration
How to Maintain a Lawn to Keep it
Looking Beautiful all Year Long
By Mark J. Donovan
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Unfortunately regular lawn
maintenance is a fact of life if you want to have a beautiful lawn. Standard
lawn maintenance requires regular mowing, watering and fertilizing. In
addition, to maintain a lawn properly it should be de-thatched and aerated at
least once a year.
The condition of a lawn can make or break a home’s curb appeal. In addition,
a lawn is an extension of a home’s outdoor living area. If not properly
maintained, however, a lawn can quickly turn into a weed infested yard.
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Early Spring
Lawn Maintenance
To maintain a lawn plan a regular
maintenance schedule. Starting in the spring, use a rake or a dethatcher to
de-thatch the lawn. De-thatching the lawn lifts up the compressed lawn and removes
any dead grass clippings that have worked their way down to the soil level.
De-thatching enables water, sunlight, oxygen and fertilizer to more easily
penetrate into the soil.
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Once you have de-thatched the lawn, mow the lawn down to about a 1 inch level.
Then rent a coring aerator and aerate the lawn. A coring aerator is used to
remove small plugs or cores from the soil that are approximately ½” in
diameter and a few inches in length. Aerating a lawn also helps to enable
sunlight, nutrients, oxygen and water to better penetrate the soil.
Aerating the lawn loosens the
soil and allows water, oxygen, and the important fertilizer nutrients to
percolate down through the lawn. You can rent power aerators from your local
home improvement center.
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Lawn
Restoration
For troubled lawn areas, spread a light layer of compost material, starter
fertilizer and grass seed over the thatched, mowed and aerated lawn. Use a
rake to work the grass seed, fertilizer and compost into the lawn. The raking
action helps to fill the aerated core holes with the compost, fertilizer and
grass seed.
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Finally make sure to water daily the restored lawn until the new grass seed
has germinated.
If your lawn is already in good shape and does not require re-seeding, after
thatching and aerating the lawn, apply a fertilizer. If you see signs of
crabgrass apply a fertilizer that includes a pre-emergent to control it.
Late Spring
Lawn Maintenance
In late spring, apply another application of fertilizer that includes weed
control. Also, apply a grub killer to the lawn to prevent the growth of grubs
in the soil. Grubs eat at the roots of your lawn and kill the grass. If you
see patches of dead grass on your lawn, take a few soil samples using a
shovel in the affected areas. Look carefully for small, white worms. If you
see them your lawn has a grub infestation problem. Another common giveaway
that your lawn has a grub infestation problem is if you see birds pecking at
the lawn. Crows commonly rip the lawn up with their beaks as they feed on the
grubs.
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Photos by Mark Donovan
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Summer Lawn
Maintenance
In mid-summer, apply another
application of fertilizer to your lawn. In addition, during the heat of the
summer make sure to water your lawn regularly, preferably in the early
morning or early evening. In addition, make sure you set your lawn mower
blade height to no less than 2-1/2 inches in depth. Cutting a lawn too short
can cause the lawn to more easily burn.
Fall Lawn
Maintenance
Early fall is the most important
time of the year to fertilize your lawn. Summer temperatures can weaken a
lawn and leave it vulnerable to weed growth and insect damage. Fortunately,
fall temperatures and moisture levels are prime time for grass growing and
lawn recovery. By making sure to fertilize your lawn in the fall you can help
restore it to its full strength before the onset of winter. Fertilizing the
lawn in the fall helps to strengthen roots and build up nitrogen supplies in
the soil to ensure a beautiful green lawn in the spring.
Finally, make sure to rake your lawn in the fall to remove fallen leaves.
Compressed and wet leaves can cause grass to die out and the lawn to contract
diseases.
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