“This entire neighborhood struggles with growing grass,” Amy said. “I don’t know if it’s because of the droughts we went through, or if there’s something just basically wrong with the soil here, but grass just doesn’t seem to grow. But I want to have a nice lawn. Is there anything I can do? How do I get a lawn started?”
Step One: Understand Your Landscape
Grass is a plant that needs certain growing conditions in order to do well. Step one to understanding why grass isn’t currently growing in your yard is to consider your landscape. For example, does the lawn area receive a lot of sunlight throughout the day, or is it shady? Are there any trees in your lawn and what kind of trees are they? When you touch the soil, what does it feel like – loose and crumbly or hard as concrete? Are there a lot of weeds in the yard? What about insects, grubs, moles, and other pests?
Step Two: Address the Issues
Once you know what’s going on with your lawn, you can identify the barriers to grass growth. For example, let’s say you have a lot of shade. While all plants need some amount of sunlight, your local lawn service can help you plant the best grass variety for shady lawns. Concrete hard soil is addressed with a service called lawn aeration, where a special machine loosens the soil. The presence of trees, weeds, insects and pests can reveal a lot about the soil nutrition and condition. Your local lawn service can recommend the treatments appropriate to your individual situation.
Step Three: Power Seeding to Jump Start Your New Lawn
Now that the growing conditions in your lawn are more favorable, have your local lawn service power seed the area you want the lawn to be. Power seeding involves using machinery to deposit specially coated grass seed just below the soil’s surface. This maximizes seed to soil contact and results in very fast grass growth.
