Many homeowners think having a great looking lawn takes a lot of effort or costs a lot of money.
They’re wrong.
If you’re like most average homeowners, you haven’t hired a professional gardener to care and maintain your lawn. Consequently, your lawn probably looks OK, but never looks amazing. Unfortunately, there are many lawns in your neighborhood that look a little rough or uneven with a bare spot or two that are sort of kind of attractive in a general way but little better than a yard that’s been completely neglected.
People with lackluster lawns tell themselves they lack the necessary knowledge needed to make a fine lawn. And rather than experiment, possibly doing more harm to their more or less non-existent turf, they choose to do nothing.
The fact is there is nothing mysterious about creating a thick, luscious, green lawn your neighbors will drool over. It doesn’t require any skilled labor and it shouldn’t cost a lot either. You can do it. Let’s get started.
5 Steps To A Gorgeous Kick Ass Lawn
- Leveling Out
- Feeding/Conditioning Your Soil
- Sowing Grass Seed
- Rolling
- Mower And Mowing
It’s All About A Smooth Surface
The best lawns grow on a smooth surface. So, the first thing you need to do is walk around your yard and look for any holes, depressions, bumps or lumps. Smooth out any bumps or lumps you find.
Any holes, depressions or low spots have to be filled in and leveled out. This is an important step, don’t skip it. When you fill a hole it is important to tamp the soil down firmly. Use a tamper, your foot, a piece of 4×4, whatever, just put some effort into it and make sure the fill is tamped down firmly. If you don’t firmly tamp the new soil used to fill a hole down it will settle and create a dish or depression in your lawn that will be very noticeable later.
Not good.
By the way, it is impossible to put too much work in your soil. Be sure to bust up any clods and coarse dirt you come across, you can’t make it too fine and mellow. The finer your soil is the finer your lawn will be. It is impossible to grow an amazing lawn on coarse, lumpy soil.
Take your time, pay attention and when your finished filling holes and leveling bumps you’ll have a nice smooth, even surface to grow a beautiful lawn on. Leveling is the hardest part of the process but all the effort you put in now will pay off big later, I guarantee it.
Amazing Lawns Need Amazing Food
Growing the best lawn requires feeding it well.
Most yards need fertilizing of some kind. Fortunately you don’t have to figure out what kind of fertilizer your soil needs on your own. Just about any yard and garden store can quickly (and for free) analyze a soil sample from your yard and provide the precise fertilizer your soil requires.
Do not try to guess what kind of fertilizer you need. Don’t ask your neighbor what he uses, your soil needs something different. Likewise don’t run to a big box store and pick up the first bag of lawn food you see or get the stuff on sale that day. Let a lawn care professional tell you (for free) what kind of food your lawn needs.
The best time to apply fertilizer depends on the type of fertilizer you’re using. If you are using a straight fertilizer, meaning it isn’t a ‘weed & feed’ type of fertilizer, the best time to apply it is an hour or so before it rains. If it isn’t going to rain anytime soon, apply the fertilizer then water your lawn right after applying the fertilizer.
If you are using a ‘weed & feed’ type of fertilizer, the best time to apply it is either early in the morning when there is dew on your lawn or right after it has rained. If there is no dew or it isn’t going to rain then water your lawn first before applying the ‘weed & feed’ fertilizer. You want your lawn to be damp so the ‘weed’ particles of the ‘weed & feed’ fertilizer stick to the weeds and kill them.
It’s usually a good idea to spread bone meal over your lawn in the middle of summer and again in the fall. Use ‘fine’ bone meal meal if you do this. There is little danger of using too much and damaging your lawn. Lawn damage usually occurs by not using bone meal at all.
Sowing Grass The Way Your Grandpa Did It
April is a good month to seed the lawn. So is May for that matter, but the sooner grass gets started the better. Early seeding allows new grass to develop stronger, deeper roots that are more able to withstand midsummer heat.
A lot of people have trouble spreading grass seed evenly. The seed is light as chaff and is easily carried away by the lightest breeze. When you’re ready to spread grass seed, select a calm, still day with no breeze and use a seed/fertilizer spreader to help get an even application.
Use cross-sowing when you spread your seed to ensure you get a nice even application. To cross-sow, first run your spreader up and down the entire length of your yard (i.e., run your spreader north and south). Then run your spreader cross-ways back and forth across your yard (i.e., east and west). Cross-sowing your seed this way pretty much ensures you’ll get nice even seed distribution.
One common mistake people make is using too little seed. A thinly-seeded yard will not give you a good lawn the first season. On the other hand, a thickly seeded yard will. A thickly seeded yard will have a thick, lush, velvety look after its first mowing. It’s better to have too much seed than not enough. Make sure you get enough seed to adequately cover your yard.
Finally, buy the best possible seed you can get your hands on. Yes, the good stuff costs a buck or two more per pound than lesser quality inferior seed. But the difference in the quality of lawn you will grow for the extra money you spend is mind boggling. Don’t be cheap, get the good stuff!
The Forgotten Step: Rowing The Seed
Most people think they’re finished after sowing their grass seed.
Not done yet!
After sowing the seed, and to get an amazing kick ass lawn, you need to roll the surface of the lawn with a ‘lawn roller‘ to embed the seed in the soil. Rolling also firms up the ground so it retains sufficient moisture to insure germination. This is an important step, don’t skip it.
Three or four days after rolling your yard you should start to see teeny tiny little blades of grass starting to show. In a week or so the surface of your yard will look like it’s covered in a green mist. In two or three more weeks you should be able to get a good idea of the kind of lawn you’re going to have. If the season is dry, water the lawn every day after sundown. Keep watering until it rains or the grass takes hold of the moister soil below with it’s delicate feeding-roots.
Mowing The Right Way
Do not mow your new grass until it is at least three inches high. When you do mow, be sure the mower’s blades are sharp as they can be and cut lightly the first time, just cutting only the top of the grass. If your yard isn’t too big, use a reel mower for best results.
Mowing new grass too close while it is getting started is the worst thing you can do. You can cut your new grass lower once you see new shoots emerging from the new grass and your lawn begins to thicken. Never shear your yard, meaning don’t ever cut the grass so low you damage it. You will never have a velvety, lush lawn if you shear it. Never cut your grass lower than an inch and a half (two inches is better).
Never underestimate the importance of having a good sharp mower. For a kick ass lawn use a reel mower to get an amazing fresh cut lawn look. Using a reel mower is like using a razor blade to cut your lawn. Here’s a review for a good reel mower.
A mower with dull blades tears grass apart instead of cutting it. Grass that has been torn apart looks ragged like a heard of goats gnawed it away. A mower with really sharp blades cuts grass evenly and neatly, just like a razor. You will never use a dull mower blade again once you’ve seen the difference between a yard cut with a sharp blade and one that hasn’t.
Final Thoughts
It isn’t difficult to grow a velvety, thick and lush kick ass yard. It does take a little effort initially, but it’s well worth the effort when your neighbor is standing in your driveway and telling you what a kick ass yard you have!
