Watch the Grass Grow

Having a lush green lawn is not that hard. Unfortunately, it requires a lot of water. Some types of lawn take less water, some more, but as a rule, if you want a thick green lawn, water it a lot.

Many people took out their lawns in the 70's during the drought, and some people even hired others to water their lawns with water trucks that got water out of the delta to get around water rationing and big water bills. I have removed some lawns, but mostly cut them down to size. It is not that difficult to do. It also makes less work when you have to mow it, and less water.

If you have a pathetic looking lawn, there are a few things you can do.

One is to aerate your lawn. Aerating your lawn helps it breath, gets nutrients down to the roots, helps the water drain and also loosens up the soil. If you have a large lawn you can rent a machine to do this. I bought these shoes once with spikes on the bottom that said it was easy to aerate your lawn while you mow. It was not easy. Also, if you step on your own foot while one foot is stuck, then trip over your own feet while mowing, well, it can be a bit painful and embarrassing. So I would forget the spiked shoes. I water the lawn first then use a pitch fork. You just want holes everywhere, and have them go down about 2 to 3 inches to the roots.

Then once you have it aerated, broadcast sand all over your lawn. It will get down in the holes and help drainage. Also sand is a great thing to have in your soil. In fact, sand is the main component of silt, probably the best soil for growing plants there is.

Another component of silt is composted organic material. Broadcast a good amount of compost all over your lawn. Now there is sand and nutrients down at the roots.

Also, you can now reseed your lawn. Decide what kind of grass seed you want, then spread it all over and allow the seed to get down into the holes a bit.

Then spread potting soil all over the lawn covering all the seed and water the heck out of it. When you reseed, if the seeds begin the germination process and dry out, even for a few minutes, they will not sprout. Obviously if it is hot you will have to water more. Just keep the soil wet all the time, and in about 7 to 10 days you should notice grass sprouting up everywhere. Try not to get the seed in places where you do not want lawn, because basically grass is a weed when it is not where you want it.

Then we come back to keeping your lawn watered. The more you water it, or can afford to water it, the better. Not a good thing in our area, but that is a fact about having a lush lawn. Golf courses, well the green ones, use a lot of water. We are lucky to have a well here on our property. If you want to conserve or are on city water, you can let your lawn dry a bit in the summer, and let it green up again, depending on what type of grass you have, in the winter. Some go dormant in the winter and other grass like rye take over. And once again, we go back to the option of reducing the size of your lawn.

I made the lawn in the photo smaller to have more room to garden. I used round up weed spray to shape it, just by spraying the lawn I didn't want, leaving this shape. You can also shape your lawn by removing sections about 3 inches down and putting it where you want. I did this to this lawn, much like you would use sod.

( If you use weed spray, follow the directions carefully and also read the warnings. Round up was thought to be safe until just a few months ago when a new study found it might not be all that safe. So be careful. )

Another way to shape a lawn is to use a water hose that has been in the sun and lay it down in the shape of the lawn you want. A couple of days in the sun on the lawn and the hose will leave a mark you can follow to shape your lawn. Or you can use a can of red marker spray, or even chalk. If you have a watering system, just keep in mind where the sprinkler heads are and pipes. You might want to mark where they are so you don't hit them when you dig or cut the lawn.

You could go on and on about lawn care. Books have been written about it, and lawn and garden supplies are a multi billion dollar a year industry. I found a healthy lawn snuffs out weeds and takes care of itself with these few simple steps. Also do not cut it too short. After reseeding a lawn, let it grow out a good 6 inches before the first mow. Working at a golf course for the summer years ago taught me a lot, but mostly that lawns take a lot of water. And if you have ever played golf very early in the morning and got caught in a mass of sprinklers going off all of the sudden you will know grass takes a lot of water.