You may be damaging your lawn without knowing it!
Hate mowing the lawn? Do you try to solve that problem by mowing the grass as close to the ground as possible, then letting it grow as long as possible, until you cut it down when you can’t stand the look of it anymore?
Do you water your lawn every other day, but not too much because you don’t want to drain your poor yard?
If you do, you could be damaging your lawn!
Mowing
Each blade of grass is a living being. The roots burrow into the soil where they absorb nutrients from the soil, but that green blade of grass has its own job, too. It absorbs sunlight which produces photosynthesis.
If you cut the blades of grass too short, they won’t be able to absorb enough sunlight. Losing so much of the blade at one time will also stress the root system, making the grass less resistant to disease. On the other hand, you also don’t want the grass to grow too long, because the longer the grass, the more nutrients it needs, and therefore the more stress is placed on the root system.
For cool-weather grasses, therefore, the best height is about three inches, and for warm-weather grasses, two and one-half inches is the optimal height. Depending on the season, the grass will grow faster and will need to be mowed more frequently.
Don’t mow in the same pattern every time: mow east to west one week and north to south the next week. And don’t mow with a rusty blade: sharpen your mower blade three times a year. A dull blade will wreak havoc on your lawn.
watering your lawn
It is not necessary or advisable to water the lawn every other day. Grass doesn’t need it, unless you live in a very hot climate.
Put an inch of water in an attractive dish and place it somewhere on your lawn where it won’t spill. When this water evaporates from the dish, it’s time to water the lawn.
When it’s time to water, soak the soil well. If you simply moisten the top inch of soil, the root system doesn’t go deep into the soil as it should, but instead remains shallow and is therefore easily damaged.
The best time to water your lawn is in the morning, before the heat of the day has time to evaporate it. However, it is also important to be careful with water runoff. If your soil does not absorb water easily, the best thing to do is to lightly water it to begin with, and wait about half an hour for the soil to absorb the water. Then water it again, so the extra water has time to be absorbed by the soil as well.
Proper watering and proper mowing procedures are the two main keys to maintaining a healthy and beautiful lawn.