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Cultivating a Healthy Lawn

(Family Features) A lawn is the glue that holds your yard together. Keeping it looking good isn't as hard as you may think. By paying attention to watering, fertilizing, mowing and building the soil underneath the grass, you can avoid many common weed, insect and disease problems. That means more time playing ball, barbecuing and entertaining on your lawn.

Yearly additions of organic matter spread as a top-dressing (applied on top of the lawn), is the best way to build the soil. Compost is the best organic matter to use on lawns.

Every spring and fall, use a lawn spreader to broadcast a 1- to 2-inch-thick layer of compost on your lawn. It will naturally work its way into the top few inches of soil and provide nourishment to the grass.

Each spring rake up the dead grass so a dead layer, known as thatch, doesn't develop. Also loosen up compacted soil by aerating your lawn. You can rent an aerating machine or use aerating shoes that punch holes in the grass as you walk. These holes allow water, air and nutrients to freely flow into the soil.

Another way to add organic matter is to leave the grass clippings on the lawn. Grass clippings are high in nitrogen, and if chopped finely with a mulching mower, they will decompose quickly while feeding your grass plants.

Even with a healthy dose of compost each year, lawns still may need some fertilizer. Nitrogen fertilizer is particularly essential for lush, green growth. However, don't be seduced by quick-fix chemical fertilizers.

Quick-release lawn fertilizers are so highly soluble that much of the nitrogen leaches through to the soil without the grass ever having a chance to use it. They may also cause problems by leaching into groundwater and nearby streams and lakes. It's best to use a slow-release fertilizer that feeds the grass over time as needed.

If you see a few weeds here and there, don't panic. It's better to relax your standards somewhat than to immediately reach for the herbicides. Prevent weeds from spreading by mowing regularly and hand-removing individual tenacious weeds, such as dandelions. Leave perfection to the greens-keepers and their putting greens.

If you have a healthy, well-maintained lawn, insects and diseases will naturally be discouraged. Some insects that can cause problems are sod webworms, grubs and chinch bugs. Sod webworm damage shows up in late spring as small dead patches in an otherwise healthy lawn. Check at night for a light brown caterpillar about an inch long. Bacillus thuringiensis, an insecticide, is a safe remedy.

Grubs are larvae of beetles. When they have done their damage, you can roll entire patches of lawn back like a carpet. One sign of grubs in a lawn is the presence of a lot of 1-inch holes where birds, skunks or raccoons have been digging for a meal of grubs. Milky spore, a natual insecticide, is a safe remedy.

Chinch bugs are fond of St. Augustine grass, but will attack bluegrass and bentgrasses, too. Damage shows up as large, distinct patches. Insecticidal soap is a safe remedy.

There is an effective, safe control product available for almost every lawn pest. These products make sense not only from an environmental point of view, but from a personal one as well. Just imagine the number of times kids fall facedown in the grass during an active game of volleyball or football, or just how close toddlers and pets are to the lawn as they run around, and the choice of pest remedies becomes clear cut.

For more tips and garden information visit www.garden.org

A former floral designer and interior plantscaper, Kathie Bond-Borie has spent 20 years as a garden writer/editor, including her current role as Horticultural Editor for the National Gardening Association. She loves designing with plants, and spends more time playing in the garden - planting and trying new combinations - than sitting and appreciating it.

Courtesy of Family Features