Are You Sure You Want a Lawn?
By Jeanette Joy Fisher
Glorious, green grass. Roll in it. Play on it. Mow it.
Lawns may look fabulous, but they use too much water
and power lawn mowers, edgers, and blowers emit pollutants
into our air. Plus, lawn require hard work.
Instead of planting an expansive lawn, consider a
smaller grass patch and use a sod that doesn't require a
lot of extra watering.
Because I know it's futile to expect everyone to plant
draught resistant plants, here are a few lawn care tips.
Begin by raking up leaves and cleaning up all debris.
If there are high or low spots in the yard, level them.
This will give your lawn a much more lush and uniform
appearance--it levels the playing field, so to speak.
Use a good grade of topsoil to fill any holes, since you
want your grass to have the best medium possible in which
to grow. If the yard has bumps, cut an "X" in the rise and
then peel the sod back. Using a garden trowel, scoop out
enough soil to level the area, and then push the sod back
into place. Tamp the sod down firmly, to bring the roots
into good contact with the soil, and then give the area a
good soaking to promote root growth.
If you find bare spots, you'll need to add grass seed.
Make sure that the new seed will be tolerant of your
area's weather conditions, and also for the particular
spot where you'll be planting it. Some grass seed is
tolerant of a fair amount of shade, for instance, while
other seed needs full sun. Also take into account how much
traffic the area will be getting, because some grasses are
less tolerant than others of being walked or played on.
To maintain a lush, green yard, you'll probably need to
water it at times. When you do, water it deeply early in
the morning, so the water will soak down to the roots and
not just be evaporated into the air or merely wet the
surface, causing shallow root growth. You want your grass
to have deep, healthy roots.
When you mow the lawn, never cut off more than a third of
the blades, and make sure your mower’s blade is sharp. For
photosynthesis, grass needs an adequate blade surface area
and if you remove too much, your lawn will be susceptible
to disease. (A push mower gives you exercise and
helps the air quality.)
Most of all, keep a close eye on your lawn's health
through regular inspection. There’s an adage that says,
"The best fertilizer for a piece of property is the
footsteps of its owner." That’s certainly true of a
vibrant, healthy lawn. Look for trouble spots, learn to
recognize problems, and address them immediately when you
find them. If you have a gorgeous lawn, enjoy it!