When you were house hunting, the front lawn was the first thing you saw every time you drove up to a house. Now that you have finally moved into your new home, you want to keep up that curb appeal.
However, figuring out how to maintain and care for your new lawn can seem daunting, especially for a first-time homeowner. There’s lots to learn: You must determine which tools you need, understand how to address lawn challenges, and navigate the various lawn care products available. But don’t worry — you’re not alone!
Our experts have put together this lawn care for beginners guide to set you up for success. Whether you’re dealing with weeds, bare patches, or other turf issues, our practical lawn maintenance tips will help you every step of the way. With some time and effort, you can achieve a lush, green yard that not only boosts your home’s curb appeal but becomes a space your family and friends will enjoy.
Mowing Your Lawn Care Tips
Figuring out how to mow your lawn may seem like a no-brainer. However, not following proper mowing habits can lead to a dull, unhealthy lawn. Regular mowing is not just about appearance; it directly impacts the health of your lawn. Unevenly cut grass can block sunlight for shorter blades, weakening the lawn’s overall vitality. Keep a consistent mowing schedule to maintain even grass across your yard and consider these expert lawn care tips:
Use sharp blades
When mowing your lawn, you want to cut your grass, not tear it. Mowing with a dull mower blade tears the grass blades. Ask any medical professional, and they will tell you that if you get cut, it's better for it to be with a sharp knife than a dull one. This is because the wound will heal faster. The same goes for your lawn. Grass blades have to heal after being mowed. When mowing with a dull blade, your lawn will take much longer to recover, resulting in discoloration and will make your lawn more susceptible to lawn disease.
To maintain sharp blades, sharpen your mower blades at least twice a season. If you mow frequently or have a larger lawn, you may need to sharpen them more often. Invest in a good blade sharpener or have a professional tackle your blades to ensure optimal blade performance year-round.
Mow high and often
Mowing can seem like a never-ending chore on your to-do list. It is common for homeowners to want to mow their lawns really short to keep from mowing as often. While the temptation is great, this is very bad for the health of your lawn. Longer grass blades provide more surface area for photosynthesis, which is vital to the survival of the grass. Grass blades also provide shade to the soil, helping with water retention and weed prevention. Here's a cool fact for you: grassroots will grow as deep as the grass blades are tall. This is especially important during periods of drought because longer roots can reach water reserves deeper in the ground. For a healthy lawn, keep your mowing height between 3.5 to 4 inches, and mow frequently to ensure that you won't be removing more than one-third of the grass blade at a time. Doing so will shock the lawn, leaving it vulnerable to disease and drought stress.
If you’re unsure about your mower’s settings, check your owner’s manual for guidance. Some newer models even come with suggested height settings for various grass types. Experimenting with mowing height for your specific grass type helps you find the perfect balance between health and appearance.
Watering Your Lawn Best Practices
Watering incorrectly is a waste of time, money, and energy. It’s important to know how much water your lawn needs for optimal growth. Learn to understand your region’s watering needs to help determine the appropriate care for your lawn. In arid climates, for example, lawns may need supplemental watering all year, but more temperate zones may rely on seasonal rain. Research local guidelines or consult lawn care professionals to determine the best practices for your area.
Here are some simple lawn care tips to help you get the most out of watering your lawn:
When to water: Depending on your region, lawns usually need about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week. Unfortunately, Mother Nature often falls short when it comes to providing the right amount of water for your lawns. Sometimes, she tries to drown us, while other times, she will go weeks without giving us a drop of water. If it rains every day for a week, you won't need to water two days later just because it's "watering day." Instead, let your lawn tell you when it needs water. When your lawn shows any of the following signs of water stress, then it's time to water:
- When you walk in the grass and your footprints remain, it's time to water.
- If the color starts to fade to a blueish-green color, it's time to water.
- Are the tops of your grass blades beginning to wilt? Then, it's time to water.
To monitor the rainwater levels, invest in a rain gauge. This simple tool helps track how much water your lawn receives from rainfall and irrigation so you can avoid overwatering or underwatering your grass.
How to water: When it is time to water your lawn, doing it correctly will not only save you time and money. Too much water can damage your lawn. It increases your chances of getting a turf disease, promotes shallow roots, and is a waste of resources and money.
- The best time of day to water the lawn is early in the morning, between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Watering later in the day is ineffective because a large amount of the water will be lost due to evaporation. Watering in the evening can lead to turf disease. So stick with watering in the mornings!
- When you water, you want to water deep. This simply means that you want to wet the soil down to the deepest roots. Watering this way promotes a deeper root system which will help protect your lawn from heat stress, drought stress, and turf disease. Watering your lawn for 30 to 40 minutes will allow the water to penetrate deep into the soil and provide the proper soaking you're looking for.
- If you're one of the lucky homeowners with the convenience of an in-ground irrigation system, then watering is as easy as flipping a switch or setting a timer. Unfortunately, many homeowners don't have that convenience. Check out our watering tips for ways to make watering your lawn a little easier.
Tips for Weeding and Feeding
Weed control isn’t just about aesthetics. It’s also about protecting your lawn from nutrient competition. Different weeds require different control methods, so identify the types in your lawn before choosing a strategy. For effective weed control, follow these lawn maintenance tips:
- Pre-emergents: Sadly, there isn’t a miracle product that can prevent all weeds from ever growing. However, you can keep crabgrass at bay with well-timed pre-emergent herbicides. Pre-emergent herbicides work by inhibiting cell division and preventing crabgrass seeds from emerging. Because these herbicides work on germinating seeds, proper timing is crucial!
- Fertilizer: Fertilization is important in maintaining your lawn's density, enhancing the color, cultivating root growth, and helping your lawn recover from seasonal turf stress (like hot, dry periods) and turf damage. Applying the right fertilizer at the correct time helps turf accumulate and store essential nutrients it needs for proper growth and development. An annual fertilizer program should consist of five to eight fertilizer applications. When developing your annual fertilizer program, you need to take into consideration your lawn's current condition and your specific goals for your lawn. For organic lawn care, consider natural fertilizers such as compost or bone meal. These options enrich your soil without introducing synthetic chemicals, and they release nutrients slowly into the soil, making them a more eco-friendly option.
Broadleaf weed control: The first thing most homeowners think of when considering a weed control program is the dreaded dandelion. Still, dandelions and clover are among the most common weeds homeowners have a hard time managing. This may be due to the way the bright yellow color pops in their otherwise green lawn, or the way their fast-growing stems stand so much taller than their grass that was only cut two days ago, or maybe it’s the fact that they know that they can't stop the soft white seeds from floating into their lawn creating a never-ending cycle. Weeds don't just look bad; they are also bad for the health of your lawn! Weeds take away nutrients your lawn needs to stay healthy and strong. Applying broadleaf weed control constantly throughout the year will kill the weeds and their seeds. While some weeds, such as dandelions, will usually die off after one application, more stubborn weeds may require multiple applications. This is why a broadleaf weed control program is so important.
If you are still unsure of which fertilizer to use and how to keep weeds out of your lawn effectively, you may need professional lawn care help. The professionals at Lawn Pride® have the expertise to help you maintain a healthy lawn throughout the year, and we personalize all our solutions according to your grass type, soil health, and location.
Aeration Tips for Your Lawn
Lawns can take quite a beating over time. Natural stresses like soil compaction and an overly developed thatch layer can damage your lawn if not alleviated regularly. While thatch is a normal part of actively growing lawns, it can act like a clogged filter, preventing nutrients from reaching your lawn's root system if the thatch layer becomes too thick. In addition, weather, erosion, and foot traffic can contribute to soil compaction. Soil compaction restricts root growth, decreases the soil's oxygen content, and prevents the soil from being able to absorb water properly. Aeration will amend the soil compaction and thatch layer.
How often to aerate: Core aerations should be done annually for most lawns. However, lawns with serious severe soil compaction may require this to be done bi-annually at first, then annually, once the severity of the compaction is elevated.
When to aerate: Aeration can technically be performed at any time of the year. However, the most effective time is in the late summer or fall. In the spring, soil can become too moist from all of the spring rain, resulting in damage to the turf from the heavy equipment. Also, if you have pre-emergent weed control applied in the early spring, poking holes through the pre-emergent barrier would pretty much render it useless. Aerating in the middle of summer can add unnecessary stress to the lawn due to the constant heat that can last throughout the night. Even though the days may still be hot in late summer, the cooler nights allow the lawn to recover nicely.
Seeding Tips for Your Lawn
Is your lawn thin? Do you have bare spots? Do you struggle with lots of weeds? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then your lawn should be over-seeded. Unfortunately, it is a common misconception that fertilizing your lawn will fill in thin and bare areas. While fertilizing helps produce stronger and healthier turf, it won't grow new grass. So, when seasonal stresses cause thin areas or Fido decides to dig a hole in your yard, you'll need to over-seed to correct the damage.
When to seed: Mid-August through Mid-November is the optimal time to plant grass seed. At this time of the year, soil temperatures are excellent for seeding growth. On top of that, since weeds naturally start to die off in the fall, the new grass won't have to fight for room to grow.
How to seed: To ensure a successful over-seeding, you'll need to follow a three-step process: prep, seed, and maintain.
- How to prepare to seed: To prepare your lawn for over-seeding, you will first need to aerate it. Proper seed germination requires good seed-to-soil contact. Aerating prior to seeding will break up thatch, help alleviate soil compaction, and provide plenty of soil contact, which the seed needs. Next, you'll need to select and apply your seed.
- How to seed: Second, apply seed with a broadcast spreader to get an even spread. Applying too much seed can cause the seed to choke itself out. So, make sure you follow the recommended spreading rate for the seed you are using.
- How to maintain: Lastly, your new seed will need to be watered every day for 21 days. After the 21 days are up, you can resume regular watering habits.
If all of this seems a bit overwhelming, Lawn Pride is here for you. Our experts know what lawns in Central Indiana need and will work with you to develop a lawn care plan that fits your needs and budget.
Get Professional Lawn Care Help
Maintaining a healthy and attractive lawn can be challenging, especially when faced with stubborn weeds, soil compaction, and seasonal stresses. While these tips on how to care for your lawn will help, there are still so many little factors that can impact your lawn. Sometimes, it’s best to turn to the professionals before your lawn is past the point of saving.
Lawn Pride has locations throughout the United States. Your local lawn care experts will tailor solutions to meet your lawn’s needs and ensure it’s healthy all year. From customized weed control programs to adequate aeration and overseeding techniques, we handle every aspect of lawn care with precision. Find a local Lawn Pride near you to get started.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and may not be applicable to every situation. You are responsible for determining the proper course of action for your home and property. Lawn Pride is not responsible for any damages that occur as a result of this blog content or your actions. For the most accurate guidance, contact an independently owned and operated Lawn Pride for more information and a professional on-site assessment.