Many homeowners are frustrated by lawn maintenance. Too much time is required to keep grass green and smooth, weed-free, and mowed. Others bemoan wear from foot traffic or visits from pets that make things look less than perfect. However, this whole subject can be made easier by analyzing soil conditions in the yard.
It's good to read up on the topic during winter months, when grass doesn't need attention. Put aside those colorful seed catalogs and focus on the plants that probably cover most of your yard. Grass can be as much fun as flowers.
Weeds that grow in your lawn compete with grass for sunlight, nutrients, and water. Since they can thrive with less of these things than most cultivated plants, they take over. Knowing the kinds of weeds that invade your yard is as important as checking the rate of growth and the color of the foliage of all your growing things.
Once you've identified them, you can then look up what soil pH they like. Two or more well-established acid-loving weeds mean that the soil pH is too high. It's more rare to find that the pH is too low, but this also impacts grass, which likes neutral conditions.
A weed may also be able to penetrate compacted soils that smother grasses. Moss can spread over areas that stay too damp for grass, which is susceptible to fungal diseases. Many native plants we think of as weeds can tolerate less fertility than cultivated plants, which are often of foreign origin. Identifying invading plants is actually a very precise way to judge your ground, but there are tools like soil test kits and monitors you can use instead.
If you learn more about your soil, you can move on to researching which grasses grow best in your area. You need to know your planting zone; for example, Blue Springs, MO, is in zone 6 with temperate weather and four seasons. It also has adequate rainfall for most plants. The grasses suggested for this region are fescues and Kentucky Bluegrass.
After improving your soil (with organic fertilizers, minerals found in lime, epsom slats, and gypsum, and aeration techniques that allow air, water, and nutrients to penetrate to plant roots) and choosing the right grass for your region, you need to learn about mowing and watering. Each grass has it's optimum height; tall fescue should be from 3 1/2 to 4 inches tall. Watering should be done every week in early morning - from 6 to 9 AM - generously enough to soak into the soil without running off or puddling.
Of course, you can turn all these tasks over to a lawn maintenance company, but it's more satisfying to do-it-yourself - and cheaper, too. You'll want to start a calendar for garden tasks and a journal to record success and failure. Then, while you're out doing early morning watering or fall feeding and over-seeding and the neighbors stop to admire your lawn, you'll be able to tell them what works best.
It's good to read up on the topic during winter months, when grass doesn't need attention. Put aside those colorful seed catalogs and focus on the plants that probably cover most of your yard. Grass can be as much fun as flowers.
Weeds that grow in your lawn compete with grass for sunlight, nutrients, and water. Since they can thrive with less of these things than most cultivated plants, they take over. Knowing the kinds of weeds that invade your yard is as important as checking the rate of growth and the color of the foliage of all your growing things.
Once you've identified them, you can then look up what soil pH they like. Two or more well-established acid-loving weeds mean that the soil pH is too high. It's more rare to find that the pH is too low, but this also impacts grass, which likes neutral conditions.
A weed may also be able to penetrate compacted soils that smother grasses. Moss can spread over areas that stay too damp for grass, which is susceptible to fungal diseases. Many native plants we think of as weeds can tolerate less fertility than cultivated plants, which are often of foreign origin. Identifying invading plants is actually a very precise way to judge your ground, but there are tools like soil test kits and monitors you can use instead.
If you learn more about your soil, you can move on to researching which grasses grow best in your area. You need to know your planting zone; for example, Blue Springs, MO, is in zone 6 with temperate weather and four seasons. It also has adequate rainfall for most plants. The grasses suggested for this region are fescues and Kentucky Bluegrass.
After improving your soil (with organic fertilizers, minerals found in lime, epsom slats, and gypsum, and aeration techniques that allow air, water, and nutrients to penetrate to plant roots) and choosing the right grass for your region, you need to learn about mowing and watering. Each grass has it's optimum height; tall fescue should be from 3 1/2 to 4 inches tall. Watering should be done every week in early morning - from 6 to 9 AM - generously enough to soak into the soil without running off or puddling.
Of course, you can turn all these tasks over to a lawn maintenance company, but it's more satisfying to do-it-yourself - and cheaper, too. You'll want to start a calendar for garden tasks and a journal to record success and failure. Then, while you're out doing early morning watering or fall feeding and over-seeding and the neighbors stop to admire your lawn, you'll be able to tell them what works best.
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