We hear a great deal about “Curb Appeal” these days. Curb Appeal is a real estate term used to describe the initial impression of a potential buyer when approaching a property for the first time. Based on the appearance of the house and - equally important - the surrounding landscape. Google “Curb Appeal” and you’ll come up with countless articles on how to improve your home’s curb appeal and a vast majority of those articles deals with lawns and landscaping.
Lawns are big business in the United States. With over 30 million acres of lawn to care for, companies like Tru Green, Scott Lawn Care, Chem Lawn, and other professional lawn care services are raking in the big bucks. Everybody loves a beautiful lawn but not everyone can afford to have professionals come in and care for it and their services aren’t necessary. With a little knowledge and a willingness to break out in a sweat, you can do it all yourself. Even if you can afford the services of a professional lawn care service, nothing will beat the pride you will feel when you tell everyone who compliments you on your beautiful lawn and asks you who your lawn care provider is that you care for it yourself.
A beautiful lawn begins with the soil. Does the soil contain the nutrients needed to nurture a velvety, lush green lawn? What’s the soil pH Factor? How much nitrogen does it contain? How much phosphorous does it hold? The road to a beautiful award winning lawn begins with a soil test. The proper testing of the soil takes all the guesswork out of the care and feeding of your lawn. There are a number of inexpensive DIY soil testing kits on the market today but one needs to be careful when purchasing them because most only test the pH Factor. Mosser Lee Soil Master Soil Testing Kit Model 1210 is the exception to the rule. Mosser Lee not only tests the soil pH Factor, it tests for Nitrogen quantity and phosphorous quantity as well. Each Mosser kit comes with detailed instructions on how to conduct the tests as well as a color-coded chart that will help you interpret the test results. If you would feel more comfortable, having the soil tested by a professional, contact the United State Department of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Services in your area. This Cooperative System’s Map will help you locate the service in your area. The Diy soil test kit costs around $15 whereas the professional test will cost you about $20. Each DIY kit comes with enough supplies for conducting ten complete test routines. The big difference is that the professional test results are guaranteed by the agency. Whichever way you decide to go, testing the soil is essential because over- fertilizing your lawn is just as detrimental to its health as under-fertilizing it.
When it comes to fertilizer there is no one formula that fits every situation. The type of fertilizer your lawn requires depend on the condition of the soil and the type of grass you are feeding. No matter what type of fertilizer your lawn requires always opt for a slow release formula and lay it down with a spreader. The Scotts® Basic Broadcast Spreader is a good value. This spreader is available at most True Value Hardware store for less than $40. This particular spreader will hold enough fertilizer to cover 5,000 square feet and lay it down in 5-foot swaths. Just overlap each pass by a couple of inches. Take the soil test results to your home center and the professionals there will match those test results and the type of grass you have with the right fertilizer formula.
Watch your lawns calcium levels. Ninety percent of lawns weeds problems are linked to a lack of calcium in the soil. For good weed control, there should be calcium to magnesium ratio of 7 to 1 in the soil. If your lawns soil test below this target ratio, spread a high-calcium lime on your lawn. The high-calcium lime also promotes the soils ability to absorb nitrogen and produce/synthesize proteins, which rob the weeds of the foods they need to grow.
You need to prep your lawn yearly with organic matter. For a really lush lawn, spread a ½” thick layer of compost over the entire lawn early every spring, raking it into the lawns surface. One yard, 27 cubic feet, of compost should cover 600 FT2 of lawn surface. If you make your own compost, make sure that it’s in its finished state. Finished compost smells earthy and slightly sweet. Don’t use compost that is still steamy, which indicates that it’s not fully decomposed.
Take preemptive steps against the incursion of crab grass. Crab grass raises it ugly blades when the soils temperature reaches 56°F. Wait until your lawns soil has reached and maintained this temperature for a couple of consecutive days and then apply a liberal application of pre-emergent herbicide. Use a good soil thermometer as the Waterproof 8” Digital Soil Thermometer Item No 71119 is a good choice at less than $25. A good pre-emergent herbicide for crabgrass is Scott 49805A “Halts” Crabgrass Presenter, which is available at most home centers and hardware stores.
Weeds will pop up from time to time, especially after a rain, and the best way to deal with them is to pull them up by hand while the soil is still wet.
Make sure that your lawnmower is ready to cut your lawn properly. The lawnmower’s blade should be sharpened before using it every spring and then sharpened again after every 6 to 8 hours use. You can sharpen the blade yourself or remove it and take it to a shop to have it sharpened by an expert.
Your lawn may be as short as a putting green but you don’t want to keep it that way. As a rule grass should be between 3” and 3 ½” tall, which allows the blades of grass to smother out weed seeds before they germinate. Keeping the grass between 3” and 3 ½” also allows the blades to shade the soil and helps prevent the soil from drying out during the long hot summer months. There are two exceptions to this rule of thumb, if you live in the deep south and have Bermuda or seashore paspalum grasses they can be cut to a length of ¾” to 1”.
If you are starting a new lawn from scratch, April is the time to roll out the sod…but starting a new lawn from scratch is fodder for another article.
