Gorgeous Grass - How To Grow Grass That Is Healthy And Green As
Grass Should Be!
The Dirt on Gorgeous Grass
Hint: The Secret’s in the Soil
Spring is here and you’re
ready to toss your coat into the back of the closet, break out the Bermuda shorts and stride out onto your
lawn ... which is even more thin and weedy than last year. You faithfully fertilize, seed, apply weed killer and
water. What are you doing wrong?
Here’s the real dirt on what makes a lawn lush -- it’s what’s under the
grass that counts. Your lawn can’t flourish without a foundation of healthy soil. If your lawn is sparse and
weed-filled, the real issue might lie just below the root zone, in the soil.
So how do you achieve healthy soil? By tackling common soil issues like
poor drainage, soil compaction, thatch buildup and poor pH. Grass can’t thrive if its roots are waterlogged,
struggling in dense or nutrient-poor soil, or smothered under a thick barrier of thatch, a layer of plant debris at
the base of the grass blade.
Before wasting time and money on a no-win lawn care program, consider
whether soil problems are standing between you and gorgeous grass.
 *Poor
drainage -- Water puddling on the surface after rain or irrigation means moisture isn’t
draining freely to deeper soil levels. Healthy soil is porous, allowing air and nutrients to reach plant
roots. Roots can actually drown and rot away in waterlogged soil.
*Soil compaction -- Soil is easily compressed under constant foot
traffic and by the heavy equipment used to care for lawns -- riding mowers and heavy wheelbarrows, for instance.
Compacted soil keeps air and nutrients from reaching the root system, leaving it shallow and weak. Test for
compaction by digging up a shovelful of turf and soil. If the ground is hard to pierce or the soil sample is dense
and hard to break up, the lawn bed needs to be aerated.
*Thatch -- Take a second look at your test hole. If you’ve revealed a
layer of debris thicker than half an inch, it may be time to remove the thatch. In ideal conditions, grass
clippings, leaves, twig fragments and other debris that falls
on the lawn break down,
providing nutrients to the grass. But if the soil organisms responsible for decomposition aren’t present, thatch
builds up, creating a layer at the soil surface that sheds water and nutrients.
* pH -- Simply put, pH is a
measure of how acidic or alkaline your soil is. If your soil’s pH is out of balance, you can correct it by adding
the proper amendments.
There are time-tested tactics to tackle these problems by mechanical
means, and much newer, effective and easy treatments developed by soil scientists to improve conditions beneath the
turf.
Mechanical core aerators, available for rent, pull up finger-sized
cores from the lawn, leaving them on the surface to dissolve. The plugs will dissolve over time, but they’re ugly
until they do. Plus, mechanical aeration can bring up weed seeds from the soil bank. Renting an aerator or a power
thatching mower can be expensive and the process is labor-intensive.
New preparations like LazyMan Liquid Gold make improving problem soils
as easy as treating turf with a hose-end sprayer. This  liquid treatment includes
ingredients that help open air passages in compacted soil as well as increase beneficial organisms that feed
on thatch and support living grass. The product works over time to create healthier soil, and will lead you to
a lush, green lawn.
Can it really be this easy? Tests show that in most cases surface water
will drain away with a single treatment. The aerating elements that open up compacted soil (technically, polymers
that react with water molecules) continue their work until they break down. Research also shows that thatch is
reduced by half with three applications at four-week intervals.
This season if you want gorgeous grass the answer is to start taking
care of it from the ground up. The secret’s in the soil.
For about $35 you can treat a 10,000-square-foot lawn with the new generation of soil boosters and see the benefits
of lawn improvement, the LazyMan way. To learn more, visit www.outsidepride.com.
Courtesy of ARAcontent
Gorgeous Grass - How To Grow Grass That Is Healthy And
Green As Grass Should Be!
The Dirt on Gorgeous
Grass
Hint: The Secret’s in the Soil
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