Lush Lawn

Have you ever looked at your lawn...and then at the neighbor's lawn...and wished you could switch lawns with them? Don't bother, they probably put far too much time, effort and chemicals into what appears to be a 'too good to be true' lawn of theirs. Want a really lush lawn? Easy steps:

1. Do NOT feed the heck out of it. Put your lawn on a diet. Feed it only once per year. This forces the roots of the lawn to go deeper into the ground to get water, and that stabilizes the lawn. When you do this, the lawn tends to have a better chance of NOT turning brown.

2. If you mow your lawn once a week, chances are the grass blades aren't that high. If this is the case, allow the mowed blades to naturally mulch the lawn. The cut blades are small and thin enough to fall down in between the lawn's grassy areas, providing not only a natural mulch, but also the decomposition of the cut grass blades provides additional and non-chemical food for your lawn.

3. Do not over water your lawn. This can cause root rot (i.e.: it drowns the roots of your grass), thus your lawn will eventually turn brown. Water your lawn only as much as absolutely necessary. Don't know how much is enough? Find an area of the lawn that you can fig a small hole that will go beyond the depth of the roots of your grass blades (like the edge near a bush or flower bed). After watering the lawn, if the deepest part of the hole is still dry, you need to water your lawn more. If it's TOO wet, water it less. Soil should be moist, but not soaked.

4. There's a myth that says if you mow your lawn in different directions each time, the grass will grow stronger. Not true. Plants, of any kind, including grass, go into shock when they're cut or altered. We may not know it, but they do go through even minor shock. Mow your lawn in the same direction each time. Although it will still put the lawn into a minor bit of shock, it will not over-do things.

5. Take time to enjoy your lawn :)