How to Make Your Lawn Thick & Weedless
- 1). Dethatch your lawn each spring. Thatch is a layer of decayed and living grass. While a thin layer is good for the lawn, a layer over an inch thick should be removed. Rent a dethatcher if you don't own one and adjust the blades on a hard surface so they rest an inch above the surface. Run the dethatcher over the lawn a few times until all of the thatch is removed.
- 2). Mow your lawn at least once a week, using a mower with sharp blades. Cut only one-third of the height of the grass blade.
- 3). Water infrequently, but deeply. One way to tell if your lawn needs water is to walk across it. If the indentations from your footprints remain for 10 minutes or more, it's time to water. Lawns generally require an inch of water a week. To determine how long to run the sprinklers, set four or five empty tuna cans around the lawn, run the sprinklers and time how long it takes them to fill up. This is how long you should water each week.
- 4). Fertilize the lawn only after performing a soil analysis to determine the lawn's needs. Cooperative extension offices offer free or low-cost tests. The right fertilizer, applied at the right time, will help make your lawn thick.
- 5). Hand-pull any weeds that appear. A thick lawn usually does not have weed problems, but now and then one may take root. Get the roots when you pull the weed.
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