My Tractor Forum banner

Lawn Health

3K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  Grand Sierra 
#1 ·
Whats the best and cheapest way to get my lawn prettier? it just seems to need protein & some spots where old floweswere is crappy looking. Thx
 
#2 ·
First thing I would do is to take soil samples to the County Ag department for analysis to see what is lacking. Not only can the Ag department ck the soil, they can recommend which seed will give best results for your area.
MikeC
 
#3 ·
Grass doesn't need protein. I'll second the advice to get some soil samples and take them to your county extension. That's probably the best spot to start. What type of seed did you use to seed over the old flowerbeds?
 
#6 ·
Getting a soil sample is a good start. Since you posted in organic forum, we'll go that route. Scotts, Bayer and other lawn care "systems" are basically chemical salts and really not good for lawns or plants.

First, since your in WV you're on the border of lawn types. Do you have a cool season (bluegrass, fescue, ryegrass -stays green in fall, winter, spring and some summer months) lawn or warm season (bermuda, st augustine, centipede - turns brown in the winter) lawn.

Feed early in spring and late fall with corn gluten meal (10#/1000 sq ft is the recommended) If you get in on right as the forsythia start to bloom it also prevents weed seeds from germinating. As it also does the same for grass seed don't use same time you are re-seeding lawn. Never feed your lawn in the heat of summer when it is stressed. Check with your local ag extension to see if there are any fertilizer rules/regulations. I know MD and VA have laws trying to keep over fertilization from ruining the Chesapeake Bay

If you want to build or reseed lawn - cool season in fall and warm season in spring

Maintenance - setting lawn cut height at 3" will allow strong root development and allow grass to choke out many weeds, and help with moisture retention. One of the easiest and best things for a healthy lawn is to keep lawn clippings on lawn - they are 10% nitrogen by weight and supply 50% of lawn nutrient needs!

Watering - as with many plants - infrequent, deep watering is best. Do not water every day for a little bit. Never water later in day especially evening when moisture can cause mold and disease.

Core aeration is a great way to improve you lawns health and should be done every 2-3 years if possible.

If you follow these basic guidelines you have a really nice lawn in 2-3 years without a lot of cost and will be a healthy place for you, you kids and pets to hang out on. It won't be a picture perfect lawn but I've come to realize that it's better to accept that nature is imperfect and trying to make it so wastes a lot of energy and you never win in the end anyway
 
#8 ·
The cheapest way to make a lawn look better is to kill the weeds. Once weeds are gone, grass grows better. Then start a fertilization program as long as there is some grass to work with and not all undesirable grasses such as quack.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top