Lawn Care 101: How to Maintain a Healthy Lawn
A well-maintained lawn is more than a great visual—it’s essential for creating a complete, healthy home. But between all of the different options for caring for it, there are a lot of considerations. Whether you just got your first home and are looking for lawn care tips for beginners, or simply want some refreshers on how to have a healthy lawn, we have you covered below.
Learn About Your Soil
Lawn care maintenance starts with soil, since it determines how maintenance should occur overall. Soil testing is crucial to fully understand:
- Your soil type: Some of the most common types include clay, sandy, silt, loamy or a mix of two of these (e.g., you could have sandy clay soil).
- Its pH level and nutrient makeup.
- How fertile your lawn is.
- Any underlying issues (e.g., too much acidity or alkalinity limiting nutrient intake).
While self-testing is an option, as part of a free lawn analysis with Barefoot Lawn Care, you can fully understand how to get your lawn as lush and green as possible.
Learn About Your Grass
Your grass type is also a factor for lawn maintenance needs. Typically, North Carolina lawns are warm season varieties, but there are a few cool season ones that are also common:
| Warm Season | Cool Season |
|---|---|
| Centipede | Tall Fescue |
| Bermuda | Fine Fescues |
| TifTuf Bermuda | Kentucky Bluegrass |
| St. Augustine | Perennial Ryegrass |
| Zoysia | Bentgrass |
For the most valuable insights about your lawn’s variety, schedule a free lawn analysis.
Start Your Lawn Maintenance Schedule
With valuable information about your soil and grass, you’re ready to get started. The following list of maintenance steps goes in the order they can take place—but depending on your unique lawn considerations, your schedule will differ. For ultimate help, Barefoot Lawn Care offers comprehensive maintenance plans to ensure yards get everything they need to thrive.
Watering Your Lawn
Watering Frequency And Amount
Generally, you’ll want to water three times a week in ~20-minute intervals. You’ll want this to equal out to about 1 to 1.5 inches of water in total. Depending on your climate and if it has rained recently, you can adjust this amount.
Water Timing
Watering should happen in the early morning–-generally from 6 to 10 A.M.—when there’s the right amount of sunlight. Watering too late in the day can lead to excess evaporation. Watering at night can keep leaf blades wet for too long, creating ideal conditions for lawn disease and mold development (this is especially true for fescue turf types).
Optimizing an Irrigation System
If you have an automatic irrigation system, it is extremely helpful to install a rain sensor. After the low upfront cost, you’ll save long-term by cutting back on unnecessary watering expenses and preventing unhealthy overwatering. Our irrigation services can make sure your system is operating correctly if you have any concerns.
Mowing Your Lawn
Mowing Frequency
You generally always want to be mowing your grass while it’s actively growing, 1-2 times a week.
Mowing Height
You’ll want to use your mower to take off about 1/3rd of your grass’s length. When grass is either too tall or too short, it creates problems.
- Too short: This worsens the photosynthesis process, which affects overall grass growth and leads to other issues.
- Too tall: This makes your lawn more susceptible to disease. Plus, any grass clippings may be too large to properly decompose and block the soil’s access to nutrients.
For more in-depth info, read our mowing guide.
Aerating Your Lawn
What Is Core Aeration?
Using an aerator, thousands of small plugs or cores of soil—measuring 1″ to 3″ in length—are removed. These holes allow for greater nutrient absorption, with turf roots naturally growing toward them and thickening in the process. Over time, the soil plugs also dissolve back into the lawn and support it with additional nutrients.
Core Aeration Benefits
- Controls thatch, or matted layers of organic matter.
- Improves soil structure.
- Creates growth pockets.
- Opens up new/better ways for nutrients to enter the root zone.
- Relieves soil compaction.
Core Aeration Timing
- Warm season grasses should be aerated in early spring.
- Cool season grasses should be aerated in the early fall.
For the best results, opt for an aeration specialist with high-end equipment and the expertise to use it.
Controlling Weeds
Weed controls are broken down into two different categories: pre-emergents and post-emergents. Pre-emergents help prevent weeds in the first place, while post-emergents deal with them once they’ve started growing. Finding the right combination of these two product types can offer the best results.
Pre-Emergent Weed Control
- Warm season lawns: Apply pre-emergent in both the fall and late winter/early spring.
- Cool season lawns: Apply pre-emergent only in the late winter/early spring. If a cool season lawn gets pre-emergent applications in the fall, they will target overseeding that’s been done, potentially killing the new grass seeds.
Post-Emergent Weed Control
Post-emergent weed controls are best applied in early to late spring. You can apply them at other times as needed too (as long as you haven’t seeded or aren’t planning to that season).
Fertilizing Your Lawn
Fertilizer Timing
Generally, you want to start fertilizing your lawn at the beginning of its growing season.
- For warm season lawns: Fertilize from March through August.
- For cool season lawns: Fertilize once between September and November (before the first frost) and another time between February and March.
Fertilizer Type
Your soil will help determine which fertilizer type you should go with (e.g., what split of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium your lawn needs).
Request Your Free Lawn Analysis from Barefoot Lawn Care Today!
Whether you encounter a setback or just want the peace of mind of working with professionals, Barefoot Lawn Care is your best bet. Based on your needs, we can provide help for a specific challenge or complete lawn care coverage. Get started with a free lawn analysis and learn essential information about your lawn in the process.