Everyone likes to have a green lawn. In fact, neighbors can get quite competitive in seeing who can get his lawn to look the greenest. It's true, a well kept lawn says a lot about one's character. That is, if an owner invests a lot of time and effort in lawn care then most likely that time and effort will show up in other aspects of that owner's life as well.
Green lawns are indeed desired but the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides is beginning to dwindle as they are not good for the environment. Luckily you don't need these things in order to get a nice looking lawn. These eco-friendly lawn care tips do not include the use of weed or pest controls and will have your lawn looking its absolute best. (Tips are to be followed in order.)
Raking the Lawn
Rake your lawn early each spring with a fan rake. The end result should be that the grass blades are standing upright as they should be and any debris has been removed.
Lawn Aeration
Aerating the lawn may or may not have beneficial effects. Generally, aeration is deemed to be a good thing on grass areas that receive a lot of traffic. Aeration allows fresh air to be entered into otherwise well-compacted soil. Inexpensive manual "foot" aerators work well for small areas but for large lawns power aerators are better.
Grass Seeding
Overseed any areas of the lawn that are thin and sparse to encourage new growth. For a good looking lawn you don't want to cheap out on the grass seed. Go for a good quality one such as Golfgreen. For seeding, you'll need to lay down 2-3 cm of a top soil or peat moss as a soil layer. Then spread the grass seeds thinly over this layer (1 pound per 400 sq. ft). Rake it all smooth and then water. This will encourage a thick lawn growth that will most likely overpower any weeds from even beginning to grow in the lawn.
Lawn Fertilizers
Again you'll want to use a good quality fertilizer that is high in nitrogen (20-28%), such as fertilizers by Scotts. Try to look for a fertilizer with a time-release nitrogen ingredient that will keep working long after being spread.
Cutting the Lawn
When cutting the lawn keep in mind that the blades should be kept at 2 1/2 - 3 inches high. Cutting the lawn too short is probably the most common mistake made by home owners. By keeping grass longer it becomes more resistant to burning, drought, insects and disease.
Mulch
Instead of bagging those grass clippings, have the mulching mower return those clippings back to the roots of the lawn. You don't want the abundance of nitrogen in those grass clippings to go to waste.
Update Your Mower
If you're still using your old gas mower then it's about time to update to a new one. New gas mowers produce far fewer emissions than old ones. Honda and MTD have some of the cleanest running mowers on the market. If you care about the environment even more then why not switch to a good old fashioned push mower? New reel-type push mowers are lighter than past versions and the blades stay sharp much longer.
Follow these easy, environmentally friendly lawn care tips and you'll have a gorgeous green lawn before you know it. It'll be the talk of the neighborhood!
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