Spring and the warmer weather are finally here! Hooray! Now enough time to celebrate, we’ve got to get to work on that lawn.
Each year I determine to do something different to get a better result on my lawn. Some years it does work, and some years it doesn’t. Some of those outcomes are beyond my control, whether it is due to inclement weather, droughts, or even invasion of the dandelion army. Whatever the case, there are some things that you can do to improve the health and the quality of the lawn.
1. Know Your Soil and Weather
Not all grass seeds are alike. If you want a great lawn, you’re going to have to pick the right grass seed. I have found that Kentucky Bluegrass works best for New Jersey.
2. Clear the Area
Before laying the seed, make sure you remove all the debris and weed the entire area. Bare areas of the lawn need to be broken up before you can spread any seed on that area. That soil needs to be broken up by at least 3 inches.
3. Seed Right
Believe it or not, you don’t want to dump grass seed into a dry area. The reason for that is that the grass seed will be competing with each other for the nutrients. You want to spread them out.
4. Seed Cover
Now that we’re talking about seeding, you want to make sure that those seeds are laid down at the right depth. Germination needs a certain amount of dirt in order to produce the best results. If the seeds are too close to the top of the soil, they will lack moisture and birds will obviously come by for a meal or two. The typical depth to have covering grass seed is about a quarter of an inch.
5. Moisture
Sometimes excess isn’t the right answer to produce the best growth. When considering your lawn health, you want to make sure that the seeds have enough water to activate them into taking root. You don’t want to wash them away with too much water. When you are watering your grass, be consistent but don’t be overly generous, and that is until the grass has grown between one and two inches. Then you can let up a bit on the watering protocol.
6. Aeration
Your grass as well as its roots need to breathe. Without proper circulation of air, water and the nutrients that grass needs, your seeds will have a hard time developing the kind of infrastructure necessary for a long-lasting lawn.
7. Fertilizer
For best results a lawn will require two applications of fertilizer that have a slow release mechanism built into them. Typically the best time to fertilize the lawn is between February and April, and then the second period to apply some fertilizer is between April and June. Some folks even put some fertilizer in the ground in August to November.