Browse > Home / Beginners Guides / Beginners Gardening Guide #9 : Lawn Care for Beginners

Beginners Gardening Guide #9 : Lawn Care for Beginners


New homeowners often discover that the lawn surrounding them is not very attractive, healthy, or well-maintained. In this guide we want to provide some basic tips for getting your lawn into good condition. Some of what you do to maintain your lawn will depend upon your goals. If you want a healthy, natural lawn, some weeds will be a part of it, and the grass will be green, though it won’t resemble the fairways at Torrey Pines Country Club. If you do want that picture-perfect lawn, then a few additional steps will be required.

The most important steps to a healthy lawn are adequate watering and regular cutting. When your lawn has sufficient water, the grass will thrive, and will displace invasive weeds. When not enough water is present for grass to do well, weeds that require less water will spread and threaten to take over. So, when rain during the hot summer months is insufficient to keep grass green, you’ll have to water it regularly. Selecting the evening hours to do the watering is best. Do not bother watering during the heat of the day, especially if the sun is out. The water will be evaporated away before it reaches the grass’ roots and does any good. Watering in the evening gives the lawn the longest possible time frame in which to drink up the water and put it to good use in healthy growth before the sun rises again.

Regular mowing of the lawn will prohibit weeds from growing tall enough to produce seeds. As the grass thrives, and the weeds are prevented from reproducing, they will die out gradually, leaving the lawn increasingly weed free. Cutting the grass with a mulching mower will return the clippings to the ground where they will become nutrients for healthy growth. Be sure not to cut the grass too short. Most grass types do best when mowed to 3-4 inches. Never set your deck to leave the grass shorter than 2.5 inches, and always maintain very sharp cutting blades. Dull blades damage grass by shredding it.

For many home owners, this is sufficient. Even if a few dandelions manage to bloom, a bit of cow vetch spreads its purple glory, or a common mullein raises its stalk at the edge of your yard, tipped with gorgeous yellow blossoms, you won’t mind.

If your goal is to sport the tidiest, greenest lawn in the neighborhood, you’ll want to eliminate the possibility of weeds by using fertilizer that contains weed killer. Follow guidelines on the packaging, in terms of when to fertilize and how much to use. It is best to fertilize when the grass is wet, so that the weed killer will stick to the leaves of the weeds, which is essential to killing them off. As that happens, the nitrogen-rich fertilizer will fuel a rapid rise in photosynthesis, greening your lawn in a matter of 4-7 days. Be sure to water your lawn if it doesn’t rain in a day or two, to keep the fertilizer from burning the grass.

Many homeowners like to aerate their lawns once or twice a year. Commercial landscape companies will do this for you. Rental companies may have an aerator you can pull behind your lawn tractor, if you wish to do this work yourself. Aerating the lawn allows oxygen and water to get deep into the roots where they will do most good, and will contribute to the health of the grass. These basic lawn care steps will insure a lawn your family can enjoy a barefoot walk through, and it will demonstrate the pride of ownership you have in your home and yard.

A-Z Beginners Gardening Guides

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • email
  • StumbleUpon
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks
  • Yahoo! Buzz