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Healthy Lawn Care - Improving Your Soil is the Key to a Beautiful Lawn

By Cheryl Jones

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Published: 24Feb2012
Word count: 657
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Building up your soil naturally is the key to healthy lawn care. Following these lawn care tips will provide you with the information to build a healthy lawn that is not only a maintenance free lawn, but also a safe lawn for your family, pets and the environment.

Whether you refer to it as natural lawn care or organic lawn care, it really comes down to the fact that so many of us just want to participate in healthy lawn care. In order to get the desired results, it takes up front dedication, time and knowledge. Much like when someone must change their diet to become healthier, not only do they change what they eat, but there are other alterations within their lifestyle that are made and it takes dedication and time for the change to take place.

Implementing our Healthy Lawn Care maintenance tips will result in wonderfully rich soil that will grow a healthy yard full of grass. We know that we are going to make the change to healthy lawn care, so where do we start?

Improve Your Soil - Healthy soil contains everything needed to grow healthy grass and, as an added bonus, weed seeds don't germinate as well, so less weeds. A soil test can give you a starting point. This can be arranged through your local conservation district office or local agricultural extension agent's office. The results of the test should give you needed amendments to put your soil back into a neutral pH.

Select the Proper Grass for Your Area- Once your soil has been amended; you are ready to sow the seed. A visit to your local hardware store is needed here and should be educational. Visit one of the locally owned stores such as Ace Hardware or True Value Hardware or even your local Farmer's Co-op as these stores typically have staff that is knowledgeable about these things. If you have shaded areas, you need to let them know, as they will need to help you select a seed blend especially for that area. After sowing the grass seed, covering the newly sown area with a light layer of straw can prove beneficial as it will help to keep birds from eating the grass seeds, protect the area from washing should there be heavy rainfall before the seed can germinate, provide light shade and keep the soil moist. All of these factors, including warm weather, will help to speed the germination of the grass and it decomposes into the soil.

Mow less with taller grass- Allow the grass to grow a bit more before mowing. Set your mower blades for 3 inches and let the grass grow to 4 or 5 inches before mowing. Cutting grass down much lower can damage the roots and dry out the soil. There are many organic lawn care products on the market that will naturally help your plants grow, keep weeds down and assist in building up the soil. Calcium, specifically, helps to energize plants and reduce weeds. Soil Conditioners helps to percolate and aerate the soil. Some are also available that contain biological components that can help to detoxify chemical applications from fertilizers and other products as well as help to keep flying insects at bay. Now that you have healthy soil and grass is growing, how often do we water? Well, that will vary, but the University of Missouri Extension will help guide you through that process and give you tips on watering your lawn:

Home Lawn Watering Guide: http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6720

Natural or organic lawn care isn't completely without work, but it is certainly worth the initial effort to know that you have a healthy lawn that is naturally and safe for humans, animals and the environment.

Cheryl Jones writes articles and blogs about plant care. Her web site, Greenwood Nursery, offers a wide selection of plants, including nut trees, flowering shrubs, evergreen ground cover plants, small fruiting plants, garden plants, blueberry bushes, strawberry plants and creeping phlox.

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