LAWN CARE TIPS
Best Cultural 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 of the Most Common Lawn Care Mistakes that Homeowners Make
Mowing too Short
Mow at 3 Inches or Taller
Mowing the lawn too short is a common mistake made by homeowners in the Boulder and Fort Collins areas. Often, this occurs when homeowners either mow their own lawns or hire local lawn care companies. Many homeowners mistakenly believe that the highest setting on their lawn mower is excessively tall, while the lowest setting is too short. As a result, they choose a middle setting, which typically cuts the grass to about 2 1/4 inches or 2 1/2 inches in height. Unfortunately, this is too short for healthy grass growth. Instead, the lawn mower should be set to the highest setting, which is usually between 3 to 3 1/2 inches tall.
Overwatering, Too Frequent, etc.
Don’t Follow the Neighbor’s Advice
Many homeowners are unsure about the best way to water their lawns. Often, they ask neighbors—like one who is constantly tending to their yard—for advice. This neighbor recommends watering the lawn every day for a short period. However, this same homeowner also tends to mow their lawn too short and applies fast-release nitrogen fertilizer monthly. While the neighbor’s lawn may look decent, they invest countless hours and resources into maintaining it. Unfortunately, this routine wastes a lot of water and fertilizer and can harm the lawn. If this neighbor stopped their daily care, the lawn would quickly deteriorate. What they don’t realize is that the soil is essentially “dead,” and the grass is only green due to constant feeding and short mowing. Daily watering results in shallow root systems.
Follow the 1-2-3-2-1 Technique
At Organo-Lawn, we believe a lawn shouldn’t just survive on artificial means; it should thrive naturally, even during the heat of summer. That’s why we developed the 1-2-3-2-1 lawn watering technique. This method emphasizes deep watering followed by allowing the lawn to dry out between waterings. Deep and infrequent watering encourages the development of deep roots, promotes microbial activity in the soil, and is the best approach for supporting trees as well.
Avoid Applying Chemical Fertilizers
Why? Because Chemical Damage the Soil
Many homeowners choose to fertilize their lawns with synthetic fertilizers purchased from stores. These fertilizers contain fast-release nitrogen that is high in salts. While it’s true that these chemical fertilizers can quickly green up a lawn, they are detrimental to the soil health. In fact, they can kill beneficial microbes in the soil. One of the biggest mistakes homeowners in the Boulder and Fort Collins area can make is applying chemical fertilizers or allowing a company to do so on their lawns.
How to Properly Mow a Lawn
Why Are Cultural Lawn Care Practices So Important?
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.
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?
Lawn Care Expert
