It’s that time of year, and many people are looking for different lawn care tips. In some communities it is a nonverbal competition to see who can have the prettiest lawn. If having a beautiful lawn is a big part of how you define the beauty of your home keep reading, this article will have some helpful tips for you.

Lawn Care Options:

First let’s consider your lawn care options. As you know there is always the option of hiring a professional to get the job done. However, if you are one who actually likes to work in the yard there are some simple things to consider to help you take the do-it-yourself approach.

Where do we start?

Just like anything else lawn care requires a solid foundation. When you consider a lawn that foundation would be its soil. No matter what you do, if your lawn is having soil issues you’re your lawn will never have your desired outcome. I know your probably asking how your suppose to know there is an issue with your soil. All you have to do is perform a soil test. This is something you can do or have someone else so for you. The end result will be the necessary information to move forward on creating the perfect soil.

Picking Your Grass Seed

Now that your soil is in order you are ready to pick your grass seeds. This choice will depend solely on your location. If you are a person who lives in a hot area like Florida the St. Augustine is probably a favorite. The other areas in the country have options like Tall fescue or Bermuda, among others
If you are happy with the grass in your yard then identify what kind it is and learn how to care for that specific type of grass. Remember that if you are starting from scratch you need to make sure that the grass is appropriate for your geographical area.  A good short cut to figure out this information is paying your neighbors a nice compliment about their yard. In the course of this conversation they are sure to give you useful information like the type of fertilizer, seeds and maybe even their watering schedule.

What Do You Do If You Live in a Shady Area?

Because most grass requires a four hour span of sunlight each day living in a shady area could create a problem. There are different solutions to choose from. One option is to choose a seed mix that grows well in the shade.

Planting New Grass

Here are the simple steps for planting new grass.

1. Find a way to loosen-up the soil. If nothing else, give it a good vigorous rake with a dirt rake.
2. After tilling the area spread the grass seed out evenly over the area. For smaller areas you can do it by hand or for those bigger areas you can use a seed spreader.
3. After spreading the seed cover the area with a light layer of soil. You can take it a step further and use treated soil to promote growth.
4. The final and most important element to healthy grass is correct watering if the seed. Remember to maintain a level of moisture around the seeds until they start to grow. Keep the soil around the seed moist until the new grass grows as tall as the grass around it. There has to be a balance, if you over water the seeds they will drown if you runder water the seeds they will not sprout.

How to fertilize the lawn

Fertilizing the lawn is the best way to provide it with the nutrients needed to grow thick and green. The ability to fertilize a sizable lawn will require a spreader. There are two varieties of spreaders: drop and broadcast.
Drop spreaders live up to the name and drop the fertilizer directly below the spreader. The broadcast spreaders push the fertilizer in a pattern out and away from the spreader. It’s obvious that drop spreaders are more accurate, however broadcast spreaders cover larger areas and cuts down on time. Here are the steps to using a spreader:

1. Load the fertilizer into something called the spreader’s hopper. You have the option of controlling the amount of fertilizer put down. There should be directions on the fertilizer bag to help you use the correct amount. .
2. Before doing the entire lawn lay out a perimeter line of fertilizer. This means to take the spreader over the edges of the lawn.
3. After completing perimeter, begin walking the spreader back and forth over the lawn. It is best to do this in parallel lines. Be sure to turn off spreader when you reach the fertilized perimeter, so you don’t run over the same area twice. Although, spreading the fertilizer this way will take more time, the results will make the effort well worth it.

When to fertilize and seed your yard

The best time to do both is during the cooler parts of the spring and fall season. If you live in southern states, it can be done in the Spring between the months of February and April. If you choose to wait till the Fall, it should be done between October and November. In the northern states, the Spring seeding would be done from the months of April to early June, on the other hand the fall seeding can occur between September and early October.
Following these instruction will give you professional results, but the bragging rights of doing it yourself.