The lawn is undoubtedly the most integral component of your backyard because it adds a tinge of allure to your home. To get the perfect yard, many people spend a significant amount of money, time and effort ensuring it’s constantly at its best. The last thing that every homeowner wants to experience is a landscape ravished by browning grass. The following are 5 things that might be killing your lawn.
1. Poor Irrigation Practices
Watering your lawn alone isn’t enough. You must ensure that it is uniformly watered to promote even growth. Common and harmful mistakes pertaining to irrigation include both over-watering and under-watering. It goes without saying that grass and other lawn plants need water to survive. However, over-watering leads to wet thatch, which encourages lawn diseases besides attracting harmful insects that cause lawn diseases. On the other hand, under-watering causes parts of the lawn to dry up and begin to brown.
2. Incorrect Mowing
Cutting your grass so that your lawn resembles a golf course may appear to be a good idea. Nonetheless, this is a wrong move since it overexposes your lawn, making it unable to survive the summer. Most experts suggest mowing your lawn no more than once per week if you can help it and cutting less than a-third of the height of the grass. You should similarly ensure that the machine’s blades are sharp, as blunt blades can pull grass instead of cutting it.
3. Improper Fertilization
Fertilizer is undoubtedly one of the most significant inputs needed to guarantee the health of your lawn. However, you need to ensure that it is applied appropriately since it can damage your plants. Fertilizer adds nutrients to the soil and with some blends, balances the soil’s natural acidity. Over application upsets this balance, thus killing your grass or leaving it looking partially burnt. Avoid fertilizing your lawn in the summer. Instead, fertilize it in early fall or spring.
4. Overexposure and Underexposure to Sunlight
Sunlight plays a significant role in the well-being of your lawn there are many blends of grass seed, developed for both sun and shade. If you notice your lawn browning when exposed to excess sunshine, step up watering to keep the lawn lush and hydrated. If the lawn is underexposed due to the presence of trees, try pruning some branches so that sunlight reaches your lawn.
In addition, grass in the underexposed area should be watered less frequently than other parts of the lawn. When mowing, grass on the underexposed area should be left slightly longer. Consider growing grass varieties that are adaptable to low sunshine levels, including fescue and rye.
5. Excessive Use
Excess foot traffic wears out your lawn, causing grass to thin out and eventually wither. Try to give your lawn a break by redirecting the traffic elsewhere. When hosting a party, for instance, consider spreading out objects such as lawn furniture and grills to prevent excess tramping at a single spot.
