Step 1- Get your Soil Right

The first thing you have to do to get the lawn of your dreams is make sure the pH of the soil is close to neutral.  In West TN, most of our soils are acidic which means the pH is low.  In order to raise the pH and get the soil right you have to add lime.  The best time to do this is in the winter.

You may be asking yourself “Why should I care about the dirt?  I just want a better looking lawn with no weeds.”

I understand completely, but in order to do that your dirt has to have the right pH.  If not your lawn will be more susceptible to weeds that thrive in acidic soils.  Not only that but if your pH is out of whack then your grass won’t even be able to use all the fertilizer you put on it.  So you are literally throwing money away. 

Some people have a soil analysis done on their lawn, some don’t.  In our area it is almost a guarantee that the pH s going to be low and that you’ll need lime every year.

Step 2- Prevent weeds from growing before they start.

There’s only 1 way to do this.  And that is by applying pre-emergent herbicides in the right amount, at the right time of year.  Applying pre-emerges can be a bit tricky. 

The best time to start is late winter.  I usually put down half a rate of pre-emerge from late January thru February.  This makes sure that I have it in place and active before any chance of early weed germination.  Remember, pre-emergents don’t kill weeds, they stop seeds from being able to grow.  *Another good thing about this time of year and applying chemicals is that you can use some really aggressive herbicides to kill the weeds that are already growing in your lawn.

From mid-March thru April I’ll put down the second half of the pre-emerge and if any weeds are popping up I’ll go ahead and spot treat them then.  Or, if it’s real bad, I’ll just add the weed killer to the tank with my pre-emerge and kill two birds with one stone.

I’ll apply pre-emerge one more time in the fall (mid-September thru October) to try to keep those winter annuals down. ** This will be a different chemical than what you used in the late winter and early spring applications.

If you are wanting to over-seed your lawn in the fall Do Not Put a Pre-Emerge Down in the Fall!

Step 3- Use the right fertilizer

Usually when I go visit with a potential client I’ll ask them about how they have been managing their lawn.  What type of fertilizer they use is one of my first questions.  If they fertilize the most common fertilizer homeowners use is 15-15-15.

The problem with using 15-15-15 is that it is not what your grass needs.  Your lawn doesn’t need all the P and K (the 2^nd and 3^rd numbers respectively).  It is good to have some K with your mixture but you really don’t need the P unless there is a deficiency detected by a soil test.

I like to use a fertilizer high in Nitrogen especially when the grass is trying to green-up in May and June.  Another good quality in a fertilizer is Sulfur Coated Urea, SCU.  Simply put, SCU is a slow release N.  It will keep you from having to mow your grass twice a week.  Straight Urea is going to result in immediate growth because it is available as soon as it gets worked down into the soil.  SCU is urea coated in sulfur.  The plant roots have to break down the sulfur (which will make your lawn greener) before they get to the N.  SCU is usually good for 6-8 weeks which keeps you from having to apply fertilizer so often and it keeps you from mowing so much.

It is good to reapply fertilizer every 6-8 weeks from the start of the growing season until the grass starts to go dormant.  Usually 3 applications per year will do.

Step 4- Keep sharp mower blades

This is critical.  Dull mower blades not only make the lawn look rough in appearance, they also make the grass plant itself more susceptible to disease. 

On my lawn, I try to sharpen the blades after every third mowing.  The general rule of thumb is that a sharp blade will last for about 10 hrs.

Step 5- Proper Watering

There is no one size fits all approach to watering.  Several factors contribute to the amount of water a lawn needs each week. 

First, there is soil type.  In our area, soils are usually high in clay which means they hold water more so than sandy soils.  However, you have to take into consideration the hard pan that lies below the soil layer.  If the bedrock layer is 3 inches below the soil layer more frequent watering will be needed.

I like to let the lawn tell me what it needs.  If my lawn goes from a dark green to a lighter shade of green or a bluish gray green then I will water it deeply which means I’ll put down at least a quarter inch and up to a half inch.

Another good rule to go by is water within 48 hrs after a fertilizer application has been made.

There are several good watering techniques.  The best I know of is to have an automatic watering system installed.  It is expensive but it is the most efficient and user friendly choice.  The best time to water in my opinion is just before the crack of dawn.  You can program these systems to come on whenever you want them to and they do all the work.  With the technology available today, you can have ground sensors installed throughout your lawn and the system will program itself based on your lawns needs.

The second way is to have a traveling sprinkler.  These are very user friendly.  You do still have to drag a hose but you can set them up on a timer and there is a “stop block” that comes with most Once the sprinkler makes it back to the block it will stop and shut the water off.

The last way is to just set a sprinkler up in your yard and move it when you have put the desired amount of water on your lawn.  With this method you have to or need to stick a rain gauge in the yard so that you’ll know how much water has been put out.  With the other two methods there are ways to determine the amount of water in inches your lawn is getting without having to use a rain gauge every time.