Friday, 4 April 2014

Maintaining A Picture-Perfect Lawn

By Frederick Vaughn


If someone told you to imagine a pristine suburban setting, large, beautiful houses and healthy, well-groomed, grassy lawns would most likely come to your mind. An overwhelming majority of homes have grass of some type heavily incorporated into the landscape. People tend to be attracted to the gorgeous greens and soft feel of a well-cared-for lawn. So, in order for your lawn to reflect that ideal image, what are some of the things you need to do?

It seems that the main way we humans use grass is to beautify the exteriors of our homes. However, grass is much more integrated into both society and the ecosystem than many people realize. There are nearly 10,000 different varieties of grass, and some of them are responsible for producing the corn, oats and rice that are the staple of many culture's diets. Additionally, even if humans don't directly eat a particular species of grass, it might still be part of the diet of an animal, perhaps livestock.

To begin with, grass needs to have its basic needs covered in order to flourish. Every plant shares the same base requirements, though they may differ in volume needed. These requirements are nutrients, water and sunshine. If you want your lawn to be so green that it looks like a golf course, these needs have to be cared for.

Just as important as giving the grass what it needs, however, is keeping the bad things away from it. There are a number of destructive entities that could be harmful to your grass, including certain insects, weeds and disease. Do what you can to remove or prevent any issues that arise.

Since the soil that the grass is rooted in is where it will be getting its water and nutrients, you need good soil to have healthy grass. If soil is dense and compacted, air can't penetrate and it won't absorb water efficiently. Additionally, if the ph balance is too high or too low, it can be inhospitable to growing grass. Liming the soil can reduce the acidity of the soil, and sulfur can be used to increase it.

If you determine that lack of progress is due to poor soil, there are things you can do to amend it. Various composts and fertilizers can be applied to enrich the soil with nutrients, and the acid levels of the dirt can be altered by using lime and sulfur to lower and raise the ph balance, respectively.

To have that lawn that looks like it taken right out of an ad for a country club, all it takes is dedication, a bit of effort and attention to detail.




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