- To avoid having birds eat up your newly laid lawn seed, run string from stake to stake around and across the seeded area, and attach one-inch by one-foot strips of aluminum foil to the string every 1-1/2 feet. These strips will twist and flash in the air in even just a gentle breeze, which will discourage birds from coming anywhere near.
- If your footprints stay on your lawn when you walk on it, the lawn needs water. Well watered turf springs back; dry grass doesn't.
- It's important that you not walk on the grass area you're about to mow, as this tends to make it lie down, and you won't get an even cut.
- Never use a grass seed mixture with clover in a play area. Clover is slippery, and when running feet try to stop quickly, clover won't cooperate.
- To find out which grasses are best for your area, take a walk in your neighborhood. Look at the lawns, find out the types of lawns that look best.
- To keep the blades of the lawn mower from getting grass stuck to them, wipe with vegetable oil before you mow.
- Never cut more than forty percent of your leaf blades. A "butch haircut" weakens turf and causes browning.
- If grass tips turn white after you've mowed, your mower blades probably need to be sharpened. Rotary blades should be honed monthly, reel types annually.
- Wear your spiked golf shoes when mowing your lawn. It helps aerate compacted soil.
- When spreading seed or fertilizer, ensure even coverage by working in a crisscross pattern. Spread one half of the seed over the whole area, moving from North to South. Spread the rest of the seed over the whole area, moving from East to West.
- If your lawn gets heavy traffic, increase its resilience by adding fertilizer and soil amendments that encourage strong root growth.
- To make a beautiful carpet of grass, your lawn will need about six hours of sun a day and one inch of water a week.
- Water during the early morning, never at midday--you'll lose water in evaporation and run the risk of burning the grass.
- Make sure your soil is well drained and aerated. This allows water and oxygen to move down into the root zone to help produce strong, healthy grass roots. Organic fertilizers and soil amendments will help prevent compacted soil and the leaching of nutrients while increasing the soil's ability to retain water.
- In areas where the soil has high clay content, spray your lawn monthly. Use a cup of children's shampoo per twenty (20) gallons of water.
- To keep a healthy, beautiful lawn start the Spring this way--it'll carry you through the year:
- De-thatch - Roughly 75-80 percent of all lawn problems are the result of thatch.
- Mow - Cut as short as your mower will allow.
- Feed - Feed a lawn any lawn food at one-half the recommended rate.
- Water - Continue to water; always between 11:00 am and 2:00 PM.
- Spot seeding - If you have to spot seed: trick your seeds into thinking you spread them last Fall by soaking them in tea in the refrigerator for 36 to 48 hours. Then drying them before spreading.
- Aerating - If your lawn gets compacted from wear or aging, aerate by walking on it with spiked shoes.
- As the weather gets hot, give your lawn a dose of Summer tonic:
- 1 cup household ammonia
- 1 cup Epsom salts
- 1/2 cup of liquid soap
- 2 cans of beer
Spray this solution over 2,500 square feet of lawn after you have mowed it.
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