5 Little Known Factors that could be Affecting your Lawn

Posted August 3, 2015 by Jacks Small Engines

Your lawn doesn’t look as lively as it once did. You water it, it gets sun, you cut it regularly, what is going on?

There are some little things that go on with your lawn that you may have never even thought of!

Here are 5 factors that you may not have realized could have such a profound effect on your lawns health:

1. Nutrients

Your grass requires a few different nutrients to keep it healthy.  If it has a deficiency in any of those nutrients, you may be able to visibly see the effects. If your lawn is showing any signs of a nutrient deficiency you can use fertilizer to help add some of those nutrients back.

Each nutrient has a different sign that there is a deficiency; here are some things to look for to determine your lawn’s needs:

Nitrogen:

• Old blades will turn yellow and eventually die.
• Slowed growth rate
• Lower blade density

Potassium:

• Old leaves turning yellow
• Tips of blades turning yellow and dying or looking burnt
• Slowed Growth
• Increased tendency of showing wear injury and wilting

Phosphorus:

• Grass will have a reddish color to it, or a very dark green that appears almost black
• Very thin crown of the blade
• Growth is slowed
• Turfgrass density decreased
• Slow to turn green in spring

Calcium:

• Tips of the roots will turn brown and die
• New growths clump together or tear as they are growing
• Blades curl up and turn brown and then die

Magnesium:

• Blades lose color usually turning from normal to light green to a cherry red color

Sulphur:

• Similar to nitrogen-Blades will turn yellow or pale-green

 

These are only some of the nutrients that your lawn will need, but generally the most common.

If you notice these signs you should do a soil test to ultimately determine what nutrients your lawn needs. There can be a nutrient excess as well, so you really need to do the tests, and study your fertilizer options to achieve a lush green lawn!

2. Insects

Is your grass dying even though you water it and it gets sun? Maybe you even fertilize, but it just doesn’t look quite as good as it should.

Insects could be the answer.

If you have been scratching your head trying to figure out what is wrong with you lawn and why it has dead patches or not-so-appealing blades, insects could be the culprit!

Grubs are especially common with this kind of damage, to check for grubs you can get a shovel full of dirt from your yard and break it up over a piece of cardboard or paper to inspect for any bugs that may be living in the soil.

If you notice the blades of the grass are looking a bit decrepit, run your hand over the grass and see if you notice any movement of insects on top of your lawn. Different varieties of beetles and other insects can eat the blades of grass and cause them to have this appearance.

If you find insects, you are going to need to get rid of them.

There are both natural ways and chemical ways to remove the insects, however, the treatment varies by type of insect.

If you are unsure of how to treat your yard for the insects that you find, or you are unable to identify them, going to the internet or a local garden center will probably be your best bet in learning about the insect and about how to get rid of them.

3. Cutting the Grass too Short

Yup, that’s right! You CAN cut your grass too short.

It is recommended that you only remove 1/3 the length of the blade each time you mow to reduce the amount of stress on the grass.

Cutting more than 1/3 of the blade of grass can lead to dead edges of the grass, and it could end up killing the whole lawn. If the blade is not long enough there is not enough of the blade to absorb the nutrients it needs from the sun.

Cutting down to the soil is called scalping, and this often time uproots the grass, this will lead to your lawn needing to be re-seeded.

If you notice that your lawn is turning brown after recently giving it a buzz cut, water it regularly and you should start to see it coming back to life, but keep an eye out for any diseases your lawn may have picked up from being left vulnerable by a short cut!

4. Too Much Water

There is such a thing as over watering your lawn, and it is a very bad thing! Too much water can leave your lawn soggy and vulnerable to disease.  These diseases are usually fungal. If the lawn is over saturated, water may sit in the thatch in shady areas of the yard. When this happens, water does not evaporate and fungal growth can happen.

If you have a shady lawn, you do not have to water as often as if you had a lawn that received a lot of sun light.

Over watering can also lead to excessive weed growth, and nobody wants that!

In order to tell if you are over watering your lawn:

• you will notice that it is soggy even hours after you watered the lawn
• Fungus will start growing
• Runoff will occur, if you notice that there is water in your driveway or in the road…..you are watering too much
• If you have been watering regularly but your lawn is wilted, you are over watering, however, if you have not been watering your lawn and it is wilted, it is due to a lack of water.

As we discussed before- insects. If you have a soggy lawn you are providing ideal living conditions for many types of lawn-destroying bugs!

Over watering your lawn is not only harmful to the grass, but a waste of electricity and water as well, so it is very helpful to you, your grass and your wallet if you properly water your lawn.

If any of these soggy-yard symptoms seem to apply to you, it’s time to cut back on the watering.

5. Sun Exposure – or Lack of

There are different types of grass. All of which have specific requirements. Too much or too little sun could be bad for your specific type of lawn.

If you are moving in to a house, or choosing a new kind of grass, be sure you know the type and the optimum growing conditions for it.

Some grasses are meant to have more shade, and others are meant to have more sunlight.

If you have a grass meant to be in the shade in a sunny area you could end up scorching your grass, the ends will get brown and it may be hard to help your grass recover from this.

Be sure you know how to properly care for your grass if you want to have a perfect lawn!

 

Lawns are delicate and balanced systems that require care if you want to keep them looking nice. Be sure that you are aware of all of these factors and how they may be affecting your yard. If any of these things aren’t quite right in your yard, take action right away! Letting any of these problems go for long amounts of times could leave you with a bare lawn!

 

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