Utah lawn care 101

Nothing compares to a lush, green lawn. It’s the best space or outdoor games, it keeps the area cooler, and it has a major impact on your home’s curb appeal. However, keeping a nice healthy lawn in Utah isn’t always an easy thing. Our arid mountain desert favors prickly brown grasses, scorching green grass in the summer and freezing it in the winter.

 

However, with some specialized care, you can maintain a beautiful lawn for your home and your family. Read on to learn how to make your front yard the envy of the neighborhood.

 

Water in the morning

During the warmer months, which is when you’re going to be putting the most effort into your lawn care, don’t make the mistake of watering your lawn during midday, when it is hottest outside. This might seem like a good time, since the heat is obviously having an effect on the grass, but the reality is that a lot of the water that you put on your lawn is going to evaporate during the times of day when the sun and temperature are the highest, which just wastes your sprinkler water. For this reason, set your sprinkler system to work early in the morning, so that the water has time to seep in the soil for your grass to absorb it.

 

Reseed winter damage

When the snow melts and you’re waiting for spring to kick in, you’re going to notice that your beautiful lawn from last year isn’t so beautiful anymore. As a matter of fact, it almost certainly has several brownish-yellow spots that looks dead/diseased. These damaged spots are simply what happens after the snow covers your grass for a long period of time. To restore those spots, do some reseeding in the area and get rid of any obstructions that may have covered the grass when it snowed.

 

Fertilize during midsummer

At some point in the summer, you’re going to want to fertilize your lawn to give it a boost as the days get longer and there is more sunlight to absorb. Ideally, most lawn experts in Utah recommend that you fertilize your lawn around the middle of June or the beginning of July. There are even specific types of fertilizer that lawn experts recommend using, as fertilizer with a high supply of iron is going to have the best results in the middle of summer. During the fall, before winter comes, you’ll also want to add a little extra fertilizer, to keep it healthier during the cold months.

 

Weed early in the summer

When you first start hitting your lawn care, hardcore, after the winter, then you’re going to probably have a variety of different weeds that are growing throughout your lawn. Those weeds are competing with your grass for nutrients and water, so they’ll have to go if you want maximum lawn results. For this reason, weed your lawn as early as you can, so that you can focus on several of the other factors that are going to make your grass strong.

 

Keep it cut

Mowing your lawn isn’t just something that you should do for the aesthetic of it, even if that is something that you want. Mowing your grass actually helps it stay healthier and greener, since the roots continue to grow deeper, even as the top of the grass stays the same height. In addition, it takes less water to effectively water shorter grass. For this reason, mow your lawn about once a week, to get maximum results. The ideal range is between 2 to 3 inches of growth from the ground up.

 

Aeration is important

The soil in Utah isn’t necessarily great for growing grass, among other types of plants. However, you can negate some of this geographic hinderance by hiring a professional landscaper to come and aerate your lawn. Aeration helps the soil in your yard breathe, and enables water and nutrients to seap throughout the soil and into the roots of your lawn.