First Entry
Here's a question: Why do Americans spend so much time and energy on lawn care? This blog is about great lawns which require very little care and are actually "green" in every sense. If you are a slave to your lawn (and don't want to be) this is the place for you.
I read this all twice...it sounds just like what we need - along with added advice for "dog spots" BUT - will it work in for us in Kansas??
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Cathy;
Yes it will. In fact, you'll have very good luck with everything suggested. I'm not sure how large your lawn is, but I'll have more suggestions for large areas of lawn in future episodes of the blog.
First, the easiest thing you can do, even if you do nothing else, is letting your lawn grow a bit longer (say 3"). This will cause the grass to grow more slowly, which in turn will require you to mow less often. You'll still be cutting off the top 1/2" of lawn as you do now, but the taller you let your grass grow, the less frequently you'll need to cut the 1/2" off. Doesn't seem to make sense, but it's a fact. Obviously, spring and fall (cool seasons) will yield quicker growth than say a dry mid summer period, but over the course of a year, you'll still save a bunch of time on your lawn. Who wouldn't want that?
The next most effective thing you could do would be to aerate your lawn with a core aerater. This does a bunch of cool stuff including allowing more water to penetrate into the top few inches of soil. If you have a compacted lawn (which most people do, including me) the water has a tough time penetrating into the soil. It has more time to be absorbed into the thatch layer (which acts more like a sponge) where it simply evaporates before it can reach the grass roots. Aerating also loosens up the soil, which encourages the roots to grow more deeply into the soil.
John
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