Natural Green Lawn

Ok guys, a lot of you have contacted me asking “how can I have a thicker lawn?”

And seriously, that really is a smart question to be asking, because, well, a thicker lawn will naturally resist most other problems that come up. So let’s explore that first (yeah, I am a little long winded, so bare with me k?) 

Advantages Of A Thick Lawn

If your lawn is thick, it can survive and sustain itself through natural “pressures” that come against it during the year. These pressures can be as simple as drought and heat, or as complex as insect or disease infestation. The truth is, however, that the healthiest lawns will have a healthy root system, and a healthy root system is by default a thicker one, making the top of the lawn (the part you and I see) thicker and prettier! (you should read that again to understand it!)

A thick lawn will also keep weeds down and out, as well as offer more benefits for playing games like horseshoes or corn hole. Plus, nice, thick lawns make your neighbors jealous, and THAT is really our aim ain’t it?

How To Get A Thick Lawn

Well, there are a lot of ways to make your lawn thicker, but here are the most basic points.

1) Proper fertilization: Feeding the lawn the right way will make it grow thicker. It sounds simple, but lawns are a lot like people: the more you feed them, the thicker they get. But what you feed the lawn is important too. You want a nice balance of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus to feed every part of the grass plant from root to stem to blade. Of course, this will also benefit the lawn’s color in the process. If you want some super good details on how to fertilize your lawn, get my book!

2) Lawn Core Aeration: if you read this lawn care blog often, then you know I am a big proponent of lawn aeration. This is a process whereby a large aeration machine is taken across the lawn. The machine pulls actual plugs of soil out and deposites them back ont eh surface. The plugs themselves are only about the size of your thumb, but my removing them, air water and nutrients get directly to the lawn’s root system, making it expand and grow! Thicker roots baby! I personally think you should aerate your lawn every spring and every fall no matter what! If you can’t do it, then hire a lawn pro to do it for you… it’s that important.

3) Proper Lawn Watering: you’ll also hear me harp on this one a lot too; water your lawn right. The reason I constantly talk about irrigation practices is that doing it wrong can destroy your grass fast man! If you water shallow and frequent, you are going to create a shallow rooted lawn. That’s because light watering does no penetrate, meaning the grass roots mu turn upward to get that little water you sprinkled. Shallow roots cannot resits heat or other stresses, so they die and create a thatch problem!.. bummer!

What you should do is water just 2 or 3 times per week, and do it deeply. Like leave that sprinkler out in each are for an hour or so and let that water soak in deep. Be consistent and always water in the AM rather than the night. If you have an automatic sprinkler system, you can get away with having each zone on for 40 minutes three times per week. This is because properly installed irrigation systems are very efficient, meaning you can get a good soaking in less time.

That’s it guys: these three easy tips will help you have a thick lawn all year long, and remember, a thicker lawn is our ultimate goal!