Written by: Tom Andrews
The first question every DIY’er asks is how to get that deep green lawn their neighbor is dominating them with. The easiest and quickest answer: mow frequently and water appropriately.
Mowing Basics
Surprised I didn’t say “fertilize?” Fertilizing isn’t always the answer. If you can, get out there and mow 1-3 times per week during the growing seasons, and try never to mow more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time. Your lawn will quickly have a greater advantage and be better off than your neighbor “Bob,” who mows once every week to two weeks. This is especially true if Bob always breaks that “1/3rd rule” when mowing.
There are some critical items brought up there that need highlighting first.
- Mowing frequently, even if you only cut the tip off the blades, helps promote lateral growth (for certain grass varieties) and a strong root system.
- When you break the 1/3rd rule, you risk cutting into the plant’s crown, causing potential damage, inviting disease, and even killing the grass.
- Scalping is when you cut the grass below the plant’s crown or down to the soil.
While the general rule for cool season lawns is never to break the 1/3rd rule or scalping, there are rare occasions where breaking those rules is acceptable. If you are away on vacation and don’t have a neighbor to cover you while you’re away, breaking the rule to bring you back to your usual cut height is OK. You will want to minimize the harm done to the grass by raising the mower deck as high as possible, then gradually lowering it over the next 2-3 mows to bring it back to your preferred height.
Don’t forget the soil test!
Now, back to the topic: do you need fertilizers, and what kind? The best advice I would start with for any “newbie” is to get a soil test. To get a soil test, outside of a quick Google search, I would reach out to your county/regional extension office. They are the best resource for this topic and just general natural resources in your immediate area.
I recommend pulling samples, sending them off, and awaiting the results before you do any fertilizer or soil changes. These tests will provide you with current nutrient areas that are low, high, and appropriate levels for your soil and turf type. Again, your extension office can also be a great resource in interpreting these results. Once you get your results and see areas needing addressing, you can best plan your lawn program for the year.
It would help if you also considered the peak growing times throughout the year. Remember, we are discussing cool-season lawns (Kentucky Blue Grass, Fescue, and Rye) which have peak growing times of spring and fall. They generally go dormant (not actively growing) in the winter, and their growth habits either go dormant or slow during the summer. You can prevent it from going dormant in the summer by maintaining appropriate watering and mowing.
Below I will provide rough ideas I have found on how I tackle each season when it comes to fertilizing, mowing, and watering. But keep in mind that these are “lawncare 101” recommendations. Later we can dig deeper into the math behind how to apply, specific types of fertilizers (greens grade vs. box store/homeowner grade), and more.
See our spring, summer, and autumn fertilizing guides for more info on what to do seasonally.
In Conclusion
Do you have to fertilize? No. A strong and appropriate mowing and watering program for your turf/grass type will bring you quick and easy success. To get that added edge over your neighbors, get a good soil test and use your local extension office to provide recommendations off those test(s) to build a smart lawn feeding program.
Once you get one year under your belt with your program, year two and beyond, your lawn will excel far better than all your neighbors—even some of those managed by well-known lawn management companies you see driving around your neighborhood.
Grab that cup of coffee or favorite beverage and sit back and enjoy your work. Your neighbors will be in envy!
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