5 Ways To Have A Healthy Lawn In Canada

5 Ways To Have A Healthy Lawn In Canada

Canadians love themselves a beautiful lawn; for half of the year, we are looking at leaf

covered lawns or worse, snow. We sometimes countdown the days until we will start

seeing our grass again, surrounded by flower beds, shrubs and maybe even some

perennial grass. While achieving a nice green lawn is on everyone’s spring to do list, the first thing you want to do is make sure you have a healthy lawn. Here are five tips for

creating yourself a healthy lawn.

First Clean Up

The dreaded but necessary clean up. When the time comes you want to rake up any left

over leaves, pick up any debris, branches, rocks, dead pine needles if applicable. You can

use your pine needles that are now dead as an add on to your mulch for extra nutrients if

you have any plants. You do not need to rake and clean first sign of spring, in fact you will

want to leave the “mess” to give your lawn some nutrients. Once the weather starts getting

warmer it is time to clean. Doing this first clean up will make less work and maintenance.

 Aerating

Healthy grass needs oxygen, sun, water, and nutrients. After a Canada long winter, the soil

can become compacted down and reduce the amount of oxygen, sun, water, and nutrients

that will get into the grass roots. What you will want to do is aerate your lawn. Aerating

allows all the essential components to come into the soil in helping create a healthy lawn.

You can find a professional aerating company or rent the proper tools and materials for a

weekend DIY project. There are three different aerating methods.

Core Aeration which is the common most used. This is a process involves three

inches of core being pushed into the soil and pulled out every couple of inches.

Spike Aeration is a method one will use when the soil is not heavily compacted. Spikes are used to create holes by pushing down the dirt. If you are fertilizing your lawn and the soil isn’t too heavily compacted this is the method right for you. It will optimize fertilization absorption.

The third method is a liquid aerate. You spray your lawn with a solution that creates microscopic pores that act as sponges that aid in absorbing and maintaining water and nutrients. The benefit that comes from liquid aerating is allowing for full lawn coverage.

Pulling Out The Weeds

I don’t know which chore is more dreading, raking or pulling out weeds. To get a

healthy lawn though, they both need to be done. Just make sure you are using proper body

mechanics and take breaks to stretch if you have a lot of weeds you will be pulling out.

There are several types of weeds but if you take care of them early, you will give

yourself a break for the rest of the spring/summer season. You can remove the weeds by

hand you just need to make sure you are doing it properly to ensure the root is being pulled

with it. I prepare to pull my weeds out by hand, but there are weed killers that are sold in

store.

Lawn Fuel

Just like us humans, your lawn needs to eat too. At this point you have already cleaned up

the left-over debris that was giving your lawn nutrients at the beginning of the season so

now it is time to start thinking about fertilizing yourself. First, do a soil test to know if your

soil is more acidic or alkaline. You must test your soil by digging up samples and sending

it to a lab. Once you know the type of soil you will know to get either a limestone product or

sulfur product. Feeding your lawn is done mid spring and if you have not fertilized the

previous fall you may want to consider doing another feed late summer/early fall. Make sure

you have the proper ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) and then you will decide if you want organic fertilizer or conventional.

Organic soil:

• Made up of natural and/or animal products
• Slow release
• Environmentally friendly
• NPK ratios are hard to determine
• You will need assistance from microorganisms to breakdown

Conventional Soil:

• NPK ratios are easily determined
• Quick release
• Made from non-renewable sources
• Can lead to toxic buildup
• Inexpensive

Both organic and conventional soil will improve the overall structure of your soil for long term health and vitality.

Mowing & Watering

If you aren’t paying a professional to cut your grass you need to know the proper way to

keep your lawn healthy. It is recommended to only cut off 1/3 of the top off your grass. This

allows for the energy to be spent on the roots growing deeper and stronger. Taller grass

blades can help keep those weeds away which is a plus as well as keep shade to the soil

which will protect it. Check your lawn mowers blade often to make sure it is sharp, a dull blade will rip the grass and make it uneven and discoloured. You want to keep your grass intact to help protect it from disease, insects, and harsh weather.

The best thing anyone can do for their lawn to keep it healthy is supply it with water. If you

are not getting rain twice a week, you will want to make sure you water manually. Healthy

lawns require 1-1.5 inches of water every seven days; you can manually supply that amount

by watering for 15 minutes and then check your soil. You will want to make sure you don’t

over water as this can lead to fungus growth, suffocate grass and roots, and cause excess

run off. Water your grass in the morning with a sprinkler or get yourself an irrigation

system. Having an irrigation system installed will handle all your watering needs. Your

system will learn your lawn and water the right amount of water and at the right time. You

can have an automated timer for those times you’re away camping with your family, or

having a week-long getaway at the cottage with your friends.

If you follow those five steps you can have that healthy looking lawn all season long.

Cleaning up, aerating, weeding, feeding, mowing, and watering; five steps to a healthy

lawn all summer long.