Lawn Mowers

Green Lawns with Green Methods is the new approach to lawn care. There is a new trend taking place in many localities were they are doing away with pesticides and the use of any chemicals to control weeds and grow nice green lawns. What is the average gardener to do in this new situation? How does the average consumer maintain their lawn, control the weeds and keep their lawn lush and healthy?

Well it turns out to be relatively easy. All it takes is the following and I will expand later in this post:

• Water your lawn on a regular basis
• Add fertilizer at least four times a year, without the pesticides
• Cut your lawn at least weekly
• Allow your lawn to grow longer during dry periods
• Never cut your lawn really short
• Never cut more than an inch at a time
• Routinely pull weeds each week from your lawn

Green Lawns with Green Methods

Here is some more detail about each of these suggestions.

Water your lawn on a regular basis

Always water your lawn for at least an hour once a week or at least an inch of water to make sure that the roots receive sufficient water to help them grow deeper. You can place a small can were you are watering to make sure that you are delivering sufficient water to your lawn.

Add fertilizer at least four times a year, without the pesticides

There are still some fertilizers that offer pesticides mixed in with them to kill off the weeds and fertilize the grass. However more and more cities and towns are making them illegal, so the best way to combat weeds is to make sure that you have a very healthy lawn so that weeds cannot get a foot hold in your lawn. Fertilize at least 4 times a year and use the correct fertilizer for each season of the year to make sure you have a green lawn.
Cut your lawn at least weekly

Your lawn should be cut more often rather than waiting until it gets too long. At the most you should be cutting no more than an inch of grass each time, otherwise it shocks the lawn too much. Also a sharp blade is very important. A sharp blade cuts while a dull blade tears the grass and makes it tougher for the grass to be healthy.

Allow your lawn to grow longer during dry periods

If you are going through a dry period, allowing your lawn to grow a bit longer is better to provide more protection for the roots and preventing the ground from drying out. Set your lawn mower higher so that the grass can grow longer and still cut no more than an inch at a time.
Never cut your lawn really short

Some people like to cut their lawn really short, however this makes it more susceptible to drying out, weeds and damage. If you really want the lawn short, then water more often and spread your fertilizer so that it goes on well spread out to avoid burning.
Never cut more than an inch at a time

We have emphasized this several times. It is more important to cut the lawn more often and just trim it instead of allowing it to grow long and cutting two or more inches off at a time.

Routinely pull weeds each week from your lawn

One of the impacts of no pesticides for weeds is that you have more weeds. I take five minutes each week and walk the lawn to dig out any weeds that I see. I started in the spring and there seemed to be a lot of weeds to dig out especially dandelions. Now when I walk the lawn there is only maybe 3 or 4 weeds that I find and have to pull out. There are special tools you can purchase to make it easy to get the root and all out or you can just use a sharp chisel to do the same thing.

Hope this post helps people maintain their lawns. We welcome other ideas as well so leave your comments for our readers.

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