As a homeowner, you have certain hopes and dreams for your property. You want your home to look its best. This of course includes your lawn, flower gardens, and other landscaping. But if you’re one of the lucky people who happened to be born without a green thumb, it can seem like an impossible task.
There is good news! You can have a wonderful lawn, with vibrant healthy grass no matter what color your thumbs are. Grass doesn’t just grow automatically. It has certain specific requirements, and your local lawn service is there to help you meet those needs.
What Does Grass Need to Grow?
To understand grass, it’s important to understand the structure of the plant. Grass is more than the green blade you see above ground. There’s an extensive root system underground. Keeping the roots healthy and flourishing is the main task to focus on. If the roots can do their job, you will have great grass.
Here are what roots need to grow: good soil, space to spread out, and plenty of oxygen, sunlight and nutrition. Let’s consider each of these factors in turn:
Good Soil for Grass
Throughout Massachusetts, there are a variety of soil types. Not all of these types are particularly suited for grass growth. In areas where there’s heavy, compacted soil, lawn aeration may be required to loosen up the soil enough for grass roots to spread out and do their job. In soil where there’s minimal nutrition for the grass, soil amendments and fertilizer will be needed to allow for healthy grass growth.
Room for Roots to Spread Out
Grass roots are designed to stretch out through the soil in search of water, oxygen, and nutrition. When the soil is hard packed and concrete solid, it’s impossible for this to happen. That’s when grass withers and dies. Having your local lawn service aerate the ground is the most effective way to get your roots the room they need to grow. Lawn aeration gives your grass roots improved access to rainwater, oxygen, and nutrition.
Nutrition
Grass needs nutrition just like you do. While we eat burgers and salads to stay strong, grass needs a different kind of nutrition. What plants crave is fertilizer, full of the specific minerals and nutrients that are lacking in the environment.
For best results, you’ll want to have your local lawn service fertilize the lawn three times. The first time is in early spring, to get the growing season off to a good start. The second is in the middle of the summer, to help your grass withstand the scorching sun. The third is just before winter arrives, to keep the grass strong through the cold winter months.
