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We all know that the real homeowners dream is a lush, green perfect lawn that requires almost no work to maintain and that is cheap to grow. The simplest solution to this problem that fills all the required needs is to grown an organic lawn. The organic lawn is the easiest to maintain, comes with a very low price tag, and is hearty against the effects of nature resulting in a picture perfect yard. When you grow an organic yard you need to monitor the way that you mow the lawn, and how you water if you want that picture perfect yard.

Mowing

Mowing an organic lawn is much different than a normal yard and you will need to use techniques that you aren’t used to in order to get ideal results from your organic lawn. The first major difference with the organic lawn is that you don’t want to cut it as low as you normally would lawn. You should instead set the mower to cut approximately three to four inches bout the ground for the ideal cut. Leaving the organic grass at this length will reduce its chance of diseases and will also allow it to fill in quicker resulting in the lush look.

Another added bonus of cutting your grass three to four inches above ground level is that it doesn’t matter how often you cut your grass. This creates an avenue for you to fight the weeds on your lawn without reducing to the use of pesticides that can damage the natural look of your lawn. By going over your lawn only once a week you will ensure that you never see a weed all summer long. After you have finished cutting the grass you want to make sure that you leave the cut grass where it lies. With organic grass this actually helps your lawn as it creates food for grass to eat and helps recycle nutrients.

Watering

Another major benefit of the organic lawn is that it needs to be watered less often than regular grass. You should only water your organic lawn when it is starting to show signs of thirst including wilting. Another great tactic that you can use to prevent weeds is by using water as a weapon. If you drop at least half an inch of water when you are watering this will make your organic grass stretch its roots deeper into the soil which will eventually kill weeds by preventing them from accessing the moisture in the ground.

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How to seed and fill in bare and thin spots in your lawn

Spring and Fall are the best times to fill in bare and thin spots in your lawn with grass seed. Any area the size of a basketball will probably fill in on it’s own by the end of summer if you fertilize, water and mow properly, but for larger areas, fresh grass seed can help speed up the process. Keep in mind, if you are going to plant grass seed, you will use these tips for large or small areas. First, choose the right seed for your lawn by reading this article.

3 Keys to Growing Grass Seed

1. Moisture: it seems obvious, but no plant can grow without proper watering. This is especially true with grass seed, as the moisture triggers the actual germination process. The secret here is constant moisture. Allowing the seed to dry out in between waterings will kill it. Grass seed germinates at different rates. Ryegrass sprouts in about 7 days, whereas Bluegrass can take up to 2 weeks … BE PATIENT!
2. Seed-to-soil contact: The seed must be wrapped in soil. The soil beneath is used for rooting, and the soil above supports the young sprout as it reaches for the sky. Soil also retains moisture and heat.
3. Heat and sunlight: Temperatures must be above 40 degrees at night in order for most grass seed to germinate. Ideally, temps will be in the upper 50s and lower 60s during the day. Sunlight is important because the young seedling needs to create its own food through photosynthesis so it can keep growing. The energy stored in the seed is only enough to give it an initial push.

The pictures below illustrate the seeding process. In this example, I am using Scott’s Tall Fescue blend seed and Scott’s Lawn Soil as a seed covering. Normally, landscapers use a slurry mixture of peat moss and top soil in equal parts to cover the seeds, but Scott’s now sells their “lawn soil” as a seed covering which saves you the hassle of mixing.

Another very good quality grass seed is the Eco Lawn Fescue seed sold online. It is cold hardy and can be grown in sun or shade with outstanding results!

The lawn soil bags are $3.50 each at Menards. One bag is enough to cover an area 3 feet by 3 feet when seeding.

Here are 2 other articles that relate to this one if you care to learn more.

“Grass seed types for your lawn”

“Growing Grass in Heavy Shade”

Below are a couple updated pictures taken just 2 weeks after the above pictures. You will see the germination is very favorable.
Keep in mind that quality seed is very important!

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Your Wife & Your Lawn

By Allyn Paul,

Did you know that wives and lawns are one-in-the-same? I do because I’ve got an ex-wife, and ex-lawn; and a wonderful current wife and wonderful current lawn!
Let’s talk about the “ex’s” first

My ex lawn: when I got it, it was in horrible shape. It had never been cared for or fed or watered. It was riddled with weeds and flattened out.
Same with my ex wife! (no more needs to be said LOL)
I worked hard on my ex-lawn. I talked to it, cuddled it, watered it and nourished it until it was plump and prissy and the envy of the neighbors!
Same with my ex wife! (no more needs to be said LOL)
However, there came a time when I began to neglect my ex-lawn and it headed on the down-turn … fast! So I sold my ex-lawn and it has a new owner. My ex-lawn still looks terrible and got what it deserved. It’s old and weathered and in bad shape physically.
Same with my ex-wife … ‘nuff said! (It cost me a lot to get rid of her, lemme tell ya! LOL)

My current lawn: I love it. It is always beautiful and stands at attention when I walk by.
My current wife: I love her. She is always beautiful and gets down on her knees when I am around … she says, “Come out from under that bed and face me like a man you bum!” LOL
She takes no crap from me!

On the serious side, lawns are a lot like wives.
Generally speaking, your lawn will tell you when it needs your attention, but you have to pick up on the signs. If you have not fed and watered it properly, it will crunch and lay flat when you walk on it … it will take on a dull gray color that says, “If you don’t get me what I need quick, I’m gonna go dormant on you.”
Your (my) wife is the same way. She needs love and attention. She needs her feet rubbed at night before bed. She needs to know you care. If you, as the husband, don’t put in the time and effort required to make your marriage work, your wife will clam up and go “dormant” on you. You have to learn to pick up on the subtle hints too.
Just last week, my wife said, “I’m busy working, so the laundry is gonna get done on Tuesday instead of today, ok?”
I missed the sign that day. It was up to me to figure out that I should throw a couple loads in Sunday during the Bears game. I missed the hint and she went “dormant” on me for a couple days. It’s my fault, really…I know better! LOL
I know you’re thinking, “This sounds like some heavy, dripping, drivel, from a bad episode of the Dr. Phil Show,” …but it is true. Just ask a guy who has an ex-wife, ex-lawn and a current wife and current lawn!

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Sodding a New Lawn

You may have heard the term “instant lawn” and that’s what sodding a lawn is all about. Sod gives you a quick, yet more costly way to install a lawn, than seeding. Most sod farms in the central to northeastern US grow Kentucky Bluegrass sod.

Sod is sold by the square yard, and the descriptive term is usually shortened to a “yard” of sod. One square yard of sod is 6-feet long by 18-inches wide, totaling 9 square feet. To calculate how many yards of sod needed for a given area, take the square footage and divide by nine.

Calculating how much sod you need
Example: Area to be sodded is 9′ x 10′ = 90 sq ft.
90 square feet ÷ 9 = 10 yards of sod

Sod shipment
A pallet of sod usually contains 50 yards. Sod dealers will charge you a deposit on their pallets since they must be returned to the sod farm for future use.

Don’t leave sod stacked on pallets for more than 24 to 48 hours at the most, since the sod will “heat up” and become damaged. Therefore, have your lawn area ready to sod before your shipment arrives.

Sod pieces should be laid close together to avoid any gaps — the edges should be pushed together. Don’t stretch the sod — stretched out sod pieces will shrink and create gaps between pieces of sod. Exposed edges, especially if there are any gaps, should be covered with topsoil to prevent drying-out.

Beginning row of sod has been laid

Freshly laid sod should be thoroughly watered-in shortly after it’s installed. Continue watering frequently for the first weeks while the sod knits down. Some recommendations call for rolling newly laid sod a few days after it’s installed, with a lawn roller, to remove any air pockets.

Northern sod consists mostly of Kentucky Bluegrass, which is a thatch producer. Therefore, core aerate the sod once or twice a year once it is rooted-in and well established. Dethatch as needed when thatch levels are ½-inch or more. Bluegrass sod should be mowed at a 2-½” height.

Sod laying tips for beginners:

• Leave the soil grade one-inch lower along sidewalks and pavement to allow for the thickness of the sod piece.
• Sod is “graded” so buy the best grade available (#1). When your sod arrives piled-up on a pallet, lay it as soon as you can.  Keep palletized sod covered with a lightweight perforated tarp — to help keep the wind and sun off — until you get it installed.
• Don’t stretch sod while laying it – push it together – keeping the seams butted together as tightly as possible. Fill any edge gaps with screened topsoil to prevent the edges from drying. Exposed edges will dry out and brown.
• Cut sod with a sharp knife, hatchet or gardening spade, but watch your fingers!
• Watering is very important — begin right away by watering sod thoroughly. Water often (every day or two) to encourage rooting. Pay close attention to watering pavement edges since they will dry out first.

Instant lawn!

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Now that we are 100% in the full swing of weed season in most of the country, I figure I’ll share with you one of the misconceptions that a lot of my lawn treatment customers seem to have. (my new customers who don’t read this website anyway!)

That misconception being that lawn weeds can be prevented. Let’s look at this for a moment.

Can Lawn Weeds Be Prevented

The answer is “to an extent.” How is that for dancing around an answer eh? In reality, weeds cannot be prevented, there just isn’t a product available that can do that without also harming your turf. Now, don’t get me wrong, we can use products like Barricade and Dimension to stop crab grass, but not your typical broad leaf weeds.

This is because many of the more common ones like Dandelions, for example, start growing beneath the ground almost as soon as the snow melts. It is just not physically possible to get anything down in time for this. Other weeds, such as creeping charlie and clover have very shallow, surface type root systems, meaning that a chemical burrier would be ineffective anyway.

For the most part, only post-emergent herbicides can be use to actually stop existing weeds, not prevent them.

What Can We Do To Reduce Lawn Weeds?

This is where the prevention can actually take place, and that is in the thickness of your existing grass. Thick turf is the best way to keep weeds from invading. Weeds will attempt to compete with your thick lawn, but they will lose in most cases! Remember, a thick, healthy lawn is the very best way to prevent broad leaf and vine-like weeds in your lawn.

So next time you fertilize your lawn, and weeds pop up a few weeks later, don’t blame your lawn care guy — he didn’t “fertilize your weeds” like you think. Just call him or her back to do a touch up spray and you will be all good!

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When you put a pool in your back yard, it already looks nice. The truth is, you don’t have to do very much to it to make it look nice. As long as you keep it clean, having a pool makes your backyard look great! However, you can do much more to make it look even better so that when people come over, their jaws drop. The best thing that you can do to better spruce up your pool is to add some swimming pool landscaping.
Swimming pool landscaping makes your backyard look like a spot straight out of paradise. Whenever you have a pool party or just have a few guests over for drinks, they will undoubtedly remark on your swimming-pool landscaping. That’s because not only does your backyard look great because you have a pool, the landscaping makes it look so much better.
Swimming-pool landscaping doesn’t just have to mean putting a bunch of flowers in the ground. Swimming pool landscaping can include a deck, trees, flowers and much more. You can find a pool landscaping business to do the landscaping for you or you can do it yourself. You’ll definitely save money doing your swimming pool landscaping yourself, all that money in labor can quickly add up, and many gardening stores will sell you everything you need to make your backyard and pool look great.

Plan Your Landscaping Before You Break Ground
If you are going to do the pool landscaping yourself, you should first do your homework and know what you’re doing. You can’t just plant a bunch of flowers and tell everyone it’s landscaping. Your landscaping should be planned out so that you don’t get overcrowding, too much spacing or, worse, you don’t want an ugly yard.
Ask plenty of questions from those in the know or do an internet search to educate yourself as much as possible in the correct way to apply pool landscaping. You can make patters and get complicated with it or you can go simple, it all depends on what you want to do and how much you can afford. Ask around, shop around for the best deals and you can get the best looking backyard in the neighborhood.
Swimming pool landscaping will truly make a difference in how your backyard and your pool looks.
A wealth of information about this type of landscaping can be found through a number of locations:

• 1) The Internet – A favorite search engine
• 2) The Library – Don’t forget about free books!
• 3) A Bookstore – Again, books are full of useful information.
• 4) A Home And Garden Shop – Ask the workers, look at the supplies, read their books
• 5) Ask your people in your neighborhood

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