LAWN CARE TIPS
Green Lawn Care Tips & Best Practices for Colorado Lawns
Simple Techniques to Dramatically Improve Your Lawn’s Health
With years of experience in the organic lawn care industry, Organo-Lawn has perfected the following green lawn care tips to make your lawn the best in the neighborhood. Follow these guidelines to get the most out of your Colorado lawn.
Three Most Common Lawn Care Mistakes that Homeowners Make
Lawn Mowing
Mowing the lawn too short – The most common mistake that Boulder and Fort Collins area homeowners make is they mow their lawn too short. Or have their lawn mowed too short by a local lawn care company. We believe that most homeowners make this mistake because their lawn mower has about 5 or 6 different height settings. Most homeowners assume that the highest setting on the lawn mower is too tall and the lowest setting is too short, therefore they set the mower on the middle setting. Unfortunately, this middle setting is typically 2 1/4 inches tall or 2 1/2 inches tall. This of course is too short. Instead, the lawn mower should be set on the highest setting of the lawn mower and this is typically 3 to 3 ½ inches tall.
Lawn Watering
Watering the lawn too frequently – Most homeowners are not quite sure how to properly water a lawn. So they ask the neighbor who is always working on their lawn what they recommend for lawn watering. The neighbor tells them that they water their lawn every day for a little bit. Unfortunately, this same homeowner also mows their lawn too short and fertilizes their lawn with fast-release nitrogen every month. This neighbor does have a decent looking lawn, but this neighbor also spends countless hours caring for the lawn. This neighbor also wastes a lot of water, fertilizer, and time trying to keep the lawn green. If this neighbor stopped caring for the lawn on a daily basis this lawn would fall apart quickly. What this neighbor doesn’t understand is that the soil in this lawn is dead, the grass is only green because of the constant lawn feedings and short mowing plus the daily watering is causing the lawn to have very short roots.
Organo-Lawn understands that a lawn can be kept green by artificial means, but we want the lawn to be able to stay green even in the heat of the summer. This is why Organo-Lawn developed the 1-2-3-2-1 lawn watering technique. Basically, we recommend a very deep watering and then we want the lawn to dry out between watering. Deep and infrequent lawn watering will create deep digging grass roots, promote microbial activity in the soil, and is the best watering technique for the trees.
Fertilizing the Lawn
Fertilizing a lawn with chemical fertilizers – Most homeowners fertilize their lawns with synthetic fertilizers that are purchased from the store. These fertilizers are comprised of fast release nitrogen that is high in salts. We won’t deny that these chemical fertilizers can green up a lawn quickly but they do absolutely nothing for the soil. In fact, they kill microbes in the soil. One of the worst things homeowners in the Boulder and Fort Collins area do to their lawns is to apply or allow a company to apply chemical fertilizers to their soil.
Why Are Cultural Lawn Care Practices So Important?
Proper Lawn Mowing – Mowing a lawn is easy. Mow it at 3 inches or taller and mow it once per week. For some reason, many people mow their lawns way too short!
Mulching Grass Clippings – Mulching grass clippings DOES NOT cause thatch buildup as long as the lawn is mowed tall and frequently.
Proper Lawn Watering – Lawn watering is something that almost everyone is doing wrong. This is why we developed the 1-2-3-2-1 lawn watering technique, an easy to follow guide to how to properly water a lawn.
Thatch in a Lawn – What is thatch and what causes it to develop? Is it good or bad for a lawn?
Identifying Crabgrass vs Tall Fescue – Learn how to tell the difference between crabgrass and tall fescue in a lawn. Hint, they are easy to tell apart after you know what you are looking at.
Disease and Lawn Fungus Identification – Is that a lawn fungus in your lawn or is that something else like sprinkler coverage problems? This is a complete guide to common lawn care diseases that attack lawns.
Necrotic Ring Spot Lawn Fungus – Learn why this common Colorado lawn fungus is caused by over watering.
Ascochyta and Dollar Spot Leaf Blight Lawn Fungus – This common summer Colorado lawn fungus is a symptom of short grass roots. It is one of the easiest diseases to cure and prevent from occurring.
What to do About Dog Spots in a Lawn – Nobody would get rid of their dog to make sure their lawn didn’t die. Is there a way to stop those pesky dog pee spots from showing up in the grass?
White Grubs – What are the most common lawn insect problems in the lawns of Colorado?
FAQ – Lawn Care Tips
How do you maintain a lawn organically?
Maintaining a lawn without chemicals is a balance of using high quality organic fertilizers like Synergy with corn gluten meal, proper lawn watering, and proper lawn mowing. The key to an organic lawn is creating an environment that will stimulate beneficial microbial activity in the soil. An organic lawn will have beneficial microbes which are like people need air to breathe, water to drink, and food to eat.