Grow A Healthy Lawn.
 (Read 20+ times)
By ena clewes
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Sometimes lawn problems have nothing to do with the grass itself, but other factors can come into play and can often
cause grass to be unhealthy. Stress is the biggest cause of lawn problems, as a stressed lawn has difficulty in
resisting diseases and insects.
If I am new to an area, and I am not sure what kind of grass seed I should be sowing, I drive around and look at
the neighboring lawns. When I see one that looks healthy, I stop and ask what kind of lawn seed was used.
A lawn that is lacking in water will often look dull or smoky green in color. A lawn that is overwatered, is
under great stress. Wet soggy soils deprive the grass roots of needed oxygen and will also encourage fungal disease, as they thrive in wet or damp conditions.
The best method I have found of watering, is to do it thoroughly and infrequently. This way, you promote deep grass root growth. Light sprinklings of water only leads to shallow root growth, and will lead to using more and more water to feed the surface roots. The easiest way to test for moisture in the soil, is to plunge a long trowel into the lawn to see how far down the wetness goes. If the shovel goes down easily, your soil is adequately moist
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If you have a tree in your lawn, it may be casting too much shade to allow your grass seed to grow properly. Trees
in general, will take the moisture from the soil, leaving it short of nutrients. Make a point of watering under a
tree more than anywhere else and fertilize the area at least three times a year. Let the grass grow longer under the tree before mowing.
If you have a female dog, you may find bare spots on your lawn. Give these spots extra water and sprinkle on a
handful of agricultural gypsum, and the lawn should come back as good as new. Gypsum allows the water to penetrate
the soil, and in turn leeches out the urine.
Sometimes chemicals can get blown onto your lawn from surrounding areas. Perhaps your neighbor has been spraying
a chemical and it has blown onto your grass. This would make your lawn look streaky or fan shaped, but it is likely that your lawn will recover.
Don't cut your lawn too short! Many grasses are best kept at about 3-4 inches tall, but some will topple over
at that height. Keep your lawnmower blade sharp, and if you have been away and your lawn is overgrown, remember
never to take off more than a 1/3 of the grass blades at any one mowing.
If you have tried all these tips and still have a problem, look for lawn disease as the possible cause.
You may be surprised to know that 1,500 different grass species grow in the United States, and about forty of
them are cultivated for lawns .If you don't know what kind of seed you have, take a sample of your lawn to a garden professional.
" Make your garden green."
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Author Bio Box: ena clewes
Ena Clewes
Expert Author with Ezines .com
Writer and Master gardener.
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