Briana – posted 09 April 2004 12:29
Well.. Maybe not THAT bad, but it’s close. Here’s what’s going on; My backyard is very dry and has little grass on it. Most of the grass is light green and yellowish and it is very thin. We’ve tried seeding it when it was a bit wetter but all of the seeds got washed away. Another thing, in our yard there’s a secret. The people we bought the house from buried LOGS under the soil. To make the yard…I don’t know, level or something. So we have several trees under our soil, horizontal like. The grass close to the house thrives and is great, but the farther you go into the yard, the worse it gets. What can I do to make my yard beautiful? And how do I make the grass in my front yard lush and green instead of eh.. Just grass?
Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 12 April 2004 23:49
1. Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an hour in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds.
2. Mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. Bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses are the most dense when mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. Dense grass shades out weeds and uses less water when tall. Dense grass feeds the deep roots you’re developing in 1 above.
3. Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 4 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above.