Choose a variety of grass seeds that will work best in your yard.
- Each type of grass has its own set of instructions based on climate and environment. Some variations of grass prefer shady areas, while others like the sun. Some varieties do better in warm weather, and others like cooler temperatures.
Test your soil for nitrogen, phosphorus, pH levels and other elements with a soil test kit. This will help you determine whether your soil is lacking a necessary ingredient for a green lawn.
- Your lawn may need boosters to create richer soil. Your local lawn care shop should have the boosters you need for a green lawn.
- Providing sufficient nutrients is important to getting green grass. Depending on the elements your soil needs, you may be able to correct problems with fertilizers, which release nutrients over a period of time.
- You don't have to use poisonous or harsh chemicals to fertilize your soil. Humus, organic matter broken down, has the ability to fight weeds, insects and disease, especially when you use the hardier native plants.
Water your grass around the same time each morning. If you recently planted new seed, be sure to water it every day.
- The best time of the day to water your lawn is early in the morning. The water will be less likely to evaporate, and there are generally lower winds. Watering the grass in high wind can cause the grass to dry before the water penetrates the soil.
- For a green lawn, water your grass until the water penetrates at least 6 inches (15.24 cm) deep into the soil.
- Make watering the grass part of your lawn care during the summer. You may need to water the yard at additional times to prevent the grass from drying out.
- Grass needs to be watered about one inch per week. If you use sprinklers, you can place a can in your yard and see how much water filled the can after you water one hour. This will give you the hourly rate of using sprinklers to water your lawn.
Here are signs it's time to water, according to Gaussoin:
- The soil resists when you push a screwdriver or steel rod into the ground;
- Your grass gets a slightly blue tinge; and
- Footprints across the lawn remain compressed.
If you put a cup of Ammonia (nitrogen source) into a five gallon pail of water and a cup of epsom salts (magnesium sulfate), mix and throw it on your lawn with a cup it will make the grass greener. The Nitrogen stimulates green foliage and the magnesium sulfate makes the foliage retain water so the foliage is thicker and greener. After you throw it on your lawn, hose down the grass to make the chemicals go down into the roots. This is way cheaper than Nitrogen based grass fertilizer and works well on grass.
Mow your lawn 1 day after watering. In doing so, you will help your lawn heal better from the recent cut. This can prevent the tips of the grass from becoming brown.
If you mow your lawn high it will be more durable against drought and against frost.
In the summer it is good to mulch the lawn (don't vacuum up the grass) so that you can spend less on water. Leave the clippings where they fall. Not only do you eliminate all the bagging and dump trips, but the clippings fertilize the soil.
Aerate your lawn at least once in the spring and again in the fall for a green lawn. The process of aeration makes small holes in the surface of your lawn, allowing water, nutrients and air access to the roots.
- Aeration allows better drainage, which reduces runoff.
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The best way to prevent weeds is to plant more grass with seeds. Thick grass chokes out weeds and makes it harder for them to grow or spread within your lawn.