How to Make Your Grass Greener
**Secret Revealed**
Look outside. Every lawn on your street is a different shade of green. That’s because everybody cuts, waters and fertilizes differently, not to mention the half dozen varieties of common grasses that they may have.
I’ve never been that guy with the greenest lawn, so I asked my lawn specialist friend Mike how to make my lawn greener.
He told me the most important factor was how short I cut it. He said, “the longer you leave it, the better. Set your mower on its highest setting.” I was hesitant because I always cut my grass short and I liked the way that looked.
But, longer grass traps more moisture and reduces the sunlight that gets to the roots, which can burn the grass and dry it out.
Grass reacts to the sun like your skin does. Too much sun without protection will burn it. When you have/had a full head of hair, you don’t put sunscreen on top of your head because your hair protects your skin. The same goes for long grass, it provides shade for the roots and soil.
Long grass also develops a deeper root system which makes the grass more fit for dry and less fertile soil.
I followed Mike’s advice and my grass still looks neatly trimmed, it’s also the greenest grass I’ve ever had. But, there are other reasons why your grass turns brown or yellow.
Water is an important element in healthy grass. Lawns typically need a minimum of one inch of water per week to stay green, although you will need more when it’s hot, sunny, dry and/or windy. You’ll need less when it’s cool, damp and cloudy.
Soil and other environmental factors, such as pets, can also steal the green from your lawn. If you cut your grass long and water frequently, but still have yellow lawn, you should have your soil tested for nutrient deficiencies and fertilize accordingly.
Otherwise, regular fertilizing in early and late spring along with early and late fall are often a good way to maintain a healthy lawn.
If you do nothing else, try setting your mower on its highest setting. I bet it will make as big a difference for you as it has for me and it might even save some water since you can water a bit less.
Chad Upton is the editor-in-chief of Broken Secrets and an official Yahoo Answers contributor.
Thanks for reading,
Sources: All About Lawns (watering, cutting), Scott’s (Fertilizing)
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Do what I did: rip out all that green stuff and put in more responsible, environmentally-friendly plants.
I don’t mow, fertilize, weed, trim . . . and I water very little because the plants are drought-tolerant.
And it’s the best-looking front yard in my neighborhood.
Scotts lawn fertilizer 30 0 04 is the best for keeping your lawn green.
We moved into a family home where the lawn, annuals, and perennials were completely neglected. My neighbor who is a post-farmer, carpenter, best planter in the neighborhood. He gave us advice to pick the weeds, use weed and seed Miracle Grow at least every day, than every other week. WE DID NOT CUT! We did water some but to his advice it was just too hot. It finally rained, and rained a little more. My Husband and I (again) over-seeded, with some water, and the lack of cutting made our lawn exceptional.
Our lawn is back to it’s greatness, and something to be proud of. Better than the neighbors patches (no disrespect.) Our lawn took a lot of love and worry!
Our neighborhood is upper-class an African-American neighborhood, with more white folks moving in than the modern welfare system. Also, EVERYONE waves hello when then drive by as a common courtesy.
No offense, just Blacks get credit in the wrong places. There are honest, hardworking, and decent people out there to the contrary of normal prejudice.
We have great grass!
I am a real estate broker and 3L law student, and my Husband is a hard working police officer. We are not exception, but the norm.
Hi Denys,
Your yard sounds nice. You should post a photo of your front yard somewhere online. I can really dig a non-grassy yard especially since I’m disabled and can’t mow. I actually live in the woods where nothing grows anymore (except my elephant ears and wildflowers) and I no longer have grass but it has become overwhelming with the growth of new sweetgum and hickory trees in the back.
On the bright side, when I let everything go, moss began to cover the entire front yard which is nice because I don’t have the problem with mud nor do I have to worry about overgrowth an mowing in the front. My only worries now are the gigantic amount of leaves that fall in Autumn that I have to let stay where they fall because I have no help. If I could sell my leaves, I’d be rich!! LOL!
Again, I’d love to see what you planted in your front yard.
Tammy
You’re still wasting water by dumping it on your lawn? That’s so 1960s.
There are 40 shades of green. !!!!
Green spray paint usually works best
Thanks Denys! That’s what I was going to say too! Grass has it’s own time schedule. It dies back in the summer heat. Put in low growing native plants to decrease water usage and time that you have to spend on it. Or better yet, put in a vegetable garden and enjoy the fruits of your exercise. It’s also a great educational tool for children to learn about gardening, soil, bugs, worms, and food production.
I agree with Denys, take out that grass and plant a useable edible environmentally friendly garden.
IRON, iron,iron, and not the kind you use on your clothes. Most Good fertilizers have it. and you can tell who’s using it from the rust stains on their side walk
Who cares if your grass isn’t the greenest? Just cut it when it gets long and be done with it. I live in the hot south and my grass turns brown during summer. I’m not going to waste my time trying to turn it green when I have so many other things to do.
LOL! I spilled alcohol on my yard from the top of the deck and it turned so green…I couldn’t believe it. I was so tempted to go out and buy a case just for the lawn!!
My grass (acres of it!) is a lovely shade of … DEAD.
OK, not ‘dead’, but definitely ‘dormant’ … ie: BROWN.
We don’t treat with chemicals or fertilize, we don’t water, and we KNOW that the ‘dormant’ stage is normal. Happens every summer. The grass will green up as the temps cool and when/IF we get enough rain.
Everyone fussing over their yards should just leave them alone. Grass is pretty hardy stuff, and will grow in thicker and healthier than ever if we just LET IT.
The two other tricks when mowing is cut in the late afternoon and give it a light watering after cutting. The grass then has the cool of the evening to recover and has a bit of water to help. I find it a relaxing way to wind down on a Sunday afternoon.
how would you know yahoo? your grass is a large field that’s now a server farm..
so there.
last time i seen a ‘server farm’ there was no grass… just dead brush (fire hazard) and dry soil…. (another biological hazard)
INSTRUCTIONS
1
Water your lawn every week when it is actively growing. Most lawns only need about 1 ½ inches of water each week. Over-watering wastes water and doesn’t benefit your lawn.
2
Rake the lawn to dethatch it if there is a buildup of old lawn clippings, debris and roots on the surface of the yard. Work a grass rake vigorously to get all the dead matter out, but not so much that you damage the lawn. You don’t want to pull out any of the growing grass, only dead and compacted matter. Dethatching cuts through the thatch and helps the grass get air, water and nutrients.
Fertilize your lawn with a good, all-purpose fertilizer. Use a lawn spreader set to the fertilizer manufacturer’s recommended distribution level to apply a 11-2-2 or 16-4-8 fertilizer blend. Cover the entire lawn area with fertilizer and water as per the manufacturer’s directions.
4
Seed any thin areas of your lawn with either the same type of grass you currently have, or with a type that is compatible with your lawn. Spread the seed with the lawn spreader, covering all thin or dead areas. Set the spreader to the level indicated on the seed package for distribution. If you have a lot of trees, use a type of seed that grows well in shade for best results.
5
Mow your lawn on a regular basis. Don’t let it grow too long between cuttings, as it can take necessary nutrients from the lawn if you cut off too much of it at once. Leave it about 2 to 3 inches long when you do mow.
I guess He didn’ttell you about using Ironite,putting nutrients safely back into your lawn.And it doesn’t burn it either.
Scott’s 30 0 4? Wouldn’t that depend on what region you live in?
I knew about raising the blade. Also, keep it sharpened or replace it if you see jagged or yellowed cut marks. The trouble I have is the cuts looking like mohawks in spots while other places look buzzed! I can’t figure it out, and the ‘brown patch’ is usually from over-watering, which is not the situation now that we are in a drought.
listen to “the outlaws” the song Green Grass and Hight Tides on your front lawn …..
no-ones mentioned Salt, during winters, certain snow plows place salt on roads, and plow upon ones yard or flower garden, hidden by depth of snow banking on negligence, anyways, too much salt can kill or stunt growth of plants, where then one requires potassium / potash to neutralize balance ,
soils and topsoils, you do want some type of soil with nutrients, enough so that water and sunlight / moonlight feed the plants and seeds, and with sunlight in mind, you want photosynthesis, carbon dioxide and oxygen, talk to your plants and grass, wherein, you breathe out and they breathe in, coincidently, gas powered lawn mowers may also be breathing out nutrients of carbon monoxide onto dioxide form,
you do want to check soil for dampness, too much with out sun, and you get moss and mildew, not enough in sun, and you have beach sand, and cutting high enough that amount of sun at surmise and sundown does not cause dry out of soil, the angle of sun from one grass tip to above next grass root, assists in keeping soil moderate and sustain dampness below for growth, so height of grass per type of weather or season can vary, longer is better, provided conditions are average,
the type of grass seed(s) can help make difference to growth, you’ll note that Golf courses have prime green turf where needed, and short as green can be, that is because it is special grass, and specially maintained,
you may be best to figure out what nature provides, and can sustain by itself, and add that to attribute to lawn or grounds, dry is dry, with out water or moisture, fall is the season, too much water, and swamp is the seasonal, not enough shade, add some shrubs or trees and hedges,
view Scotts Turf for soil and seed examples:
http://www.scotts.com/
The Weather Network for rainfall and dry spells,
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/
And from there, talk to your plants more often, grass and trees included, and pets,
I used to work for Brian Minter (Minter Gardens). If you want bushy plants and greener grass, you will want to fertilize them with a fertilizer high in Nitrogen- like fish fertilizer! Nitrogen really helps in making plants really bushy and green! If you’re trying to make flowers bloom or fruits and vegetables produce well use potash (high in potassium) and bone meal.
just keep watering it
That advice is spot on yet I don’t know why so many people don’t follow it. People with bad grass think it looks better if they cut it down to stumps.
It’s very simple: cut and water heavily once a week, remove weeds right away and fertilize 3x/year. That’s it! Well, for repair, a bag or two of lawn soil and some seed works wonders on those bare spots.
you should took care of your field or garden….
wash your eyes(mind).
Pee is a good ingredient for your lawn. I know it sounds disgusting but it works. Its the chemicals wot does it
I read it all… but i just realized… I live in an apartment
):
wOW !
this is stupid, yahoo answers needs to remember theyre an international site, australia has water restrictions, we are not allowed to water lawns!
water everyday and let the sun shine on it almost everyday, it will be greener
Actually longer grass attracts fleas. Especially if you have pets and live out in the countryside like me. Keeping your grass reasonably short keeps away nasty parasites
This article did not mention what kind of grass is the dominant strain in the lawn. This is the most important factor in what you do to the lawn in order to keep it green. There are hundreds of different strains and combinations of grass, and which one makes up most of the lawn must be considered. Some need more watering, some less. Some need more fertilizer, some don’t. Try to find out what your dominant strain is by taking a sample to a good nursery, or to a good grounds keeper at a golf course. Then you can truly learn how to take the best care of your lawn.
In Army basic training, when they were teaching us how to use the bayonet, the Drill Sergeants said, “Blood, blood, blood makes the grass grow greener hooah!”
What is this… grass, you speak of. I live in a country where everything is dead. My school oval was like cement. One kid broke his leg when he fell on it.
I agree with the guy that suggests planting more vegetation and not cut the grass at all. By creating “cover”, you will increase the habitat for a variety of wild animals. Not to mention that most plants will produce some sort of fruits or seeds, which are food for birds and other critters.
Nevermind the lawn that looks like a golf course. If you really want to have something interesting out your back door, create more habitat for the wild things.
If you want to keep your lawn green, why cut it so short in the first place? It costs more time, money & fertilizers, pesticides and a slew of things that can be made null by just avoiding that practice. Green Grass results from it being healthy and non-stressed, and cutting it short just stresses it. The more you cut it, the more stress you place upon the grass.
Also, pouring crap tons of fertilizer (no pun intended) can burn the lawn.
A good of thumb is to never cut it shorter 1/3rd the blade of the grass.
Another good rule is green grass looks better than brown.
You get a nitrogen heavy grass fertilizer.
The best way to see greener grass is to look on the other side of the fence……..
I strongly disagree with the original article saying “to get the greenest lawn possible….set your mower up high”.
All you have to do is look at golf courses (good ones) to know this comment is incorrect.
Golf course “greens” (where you putt your ball into the hole, for those less familiar) and even the “approaches” to the greens are manicured/cut down to fractions of an inch in height…..and they are green, green, GREEN, GREEN, GREEN!!!
Not ‘scalping’ a residential lawn is important, sure, but MUCH more important is fertilizing and watering.
You MUST have a well watered and well fed lawn in order for it to have a hope of being lush and green and “outshining” the neighbors’!
The least expensive fertilizer will do the trick if you apply it regularly and water it in thoroughly. Try a basic 10-10-10 and apply it every three…..or even two…months. Try to apply just before a big rainfall if you can. You’ll see the difference almost immediately.
now how do you make your lawn stop growing?
Get some green spray paint.
Or get some Scott’s fertilizer and spray away.
Also, buy seed…ask your local gardenign supply center customer service dude which strain of grass is the greenest.
And water, water, water!
keep watering
Just paint it green
just buy green paint!
Water it as much as possible.
Leave the grass alone. Like many others I’m all for letting natural habitat take over and help save the earth from the greenhouse effect.
you’re also saving water.
spray paint
What seems to have been missed out above is the water retentivity of the soil. No use if it is so dusty, any surface water just evaporates or runs away and never gets any deeper.
Grass needs good aeration and drainage, breaking up compaction, and also requires a good dressing of organic matter to retain the water and nutrients.
Just considering fertiliser and not soil structure is like feeding your children a diet of nothing but sugar and junk food – a quick high, but no good for long term health. The soil needs to be looked after, and then the soil will look after the grass.
Indeed lots of nitrogen favours the hungry, ranker grasses (most of them the commercial high chemical input varieties), whereas a lot of the finer and less commercial grasses can live perfectly well on poorer soil. You also don’t need to mow so often, and you can encourage interesting wild flowers, rather than just dandelions.
The biggest threat to lawns is ignorance, especially when contracted out by property managers, who simply don’t care as long as they and their corporate sponsors get well renumerated.
Interesting Chad.
you should consider putting some nitrogen.You should be able to get it where you get your other lawn fertilizer..
Beautiful.
I spend 1 hour daily studing about growing trees, watering and lawn management.
I also tend to 63 trees shrubs and tend to 20,000 sq feet lawn too. Seva for Radha Satsang (RSSB Nepal), Own a lot to Yanwersblog.com.
Thank you.
Much oblidged.
Sunny Harjani
Sunny.harjani57.gmail.com
Kathmandu\Nepal.