Watering and fertilizing your lawn is all about scheduling. Timing your sprinklers to go on at the same time each day is a good practice to keep your lawn green and healthy. In Utah, our summers have been getting hotter but, the thing that remains the same is how inconsistent our weather is. At least once a summer it will snow and it never ceases to surprise. Keeping up with these crazy conditions is what Lawngevity is all about. Here are some basic helpful tips on how to keep your lawn happy, healthy, and green through the process of proper fertilization and watering.
Watering and Mowing
Something you may not have realized is that, while having a shorter lawn is easier to mow and requires less mowing, having longer grass allows the roots to penetrate the soil deeper and absorb more water and vital nutrients. Part of keeping your lawn happy and healthy is knowing when to water as well. Night time and early morning are ideal times. If you water during the day, especially in a place that gets as hot as it does in the summer as Utah, the water will evaporate before it can reach the soil and really keep the grass hydrated. Another good practice is not watering every day but, instead water once a week and let your lawn really absorb a higher quantity of water. About an inch is ideal.
Fertilizing
If watering your lawn is letting it drink, then fertilizing your lawn is letting it eat. Good practices around fertilizing your lawn include many things. Fertilizing the lawn every 6-8 weeks. This is the typical cycle of time in which the lawn consumes all of the nutrients found in the fertilizer. Around this time it will be ready for another treatment. Using the right equipment for fertilizing is important as well. Using a rotary or broadcast spreader is great for larger lawns that will need more widespread fertilizing. If your lawn is smaller, something like a drop spreader is more appropriate for the job.
Aeration
Something that is crucial to helping a lawn grow a healthy and vibrant green color is lawn aeration. Aeration on a lawn is the process of moving an aeration machine over the lawn to create holes that allow oxygen, water, and nutrients to seep further into the soil. This also allows the lawn’s roots to grow deeper to weather more unfavorable conditions in the future. 6-8 weeks after aeration, paired with a regular watering cycle, your lawn will be more verdant than ever.
Scheduling
The time of year you’re fertilizing your lawn is crucial. From February to April you’ll want to fertilize your lawn at least once. This is the time of year that your lawn is waking up and it needs vital nutrients to start the season off right.
The next time to feed your lawn is in late spring. By now your lawn is growing faster and is in full swing. You’ll want to keep it nourished properly around this time, as this is when your grass is really moving. This will be around April to June.
Sometime in between June and August, you’ll want to feed it once more. The heat from the summer is tough on grass and it needs all the food it can get to help weather the blazing summer sun.
The last time you’ll want to feed your lawn for the year is from August to November, just before the snow season. During the winter months, your lawn will be mostly dormant under a layer of snow. To help it get through this stage you’ll want to feed it one last time so that when spring rolls around it’s still healthy and ready for another warm season.
Really the best way to keep your lawn happy and healthy is regular watering, regular feeding/fertilizing, and keeping an eye out for dry spots and bug infestations. For any questions, just check out Lawngevity’s services for more info and to schedule a service.