If you've ever seen a lawn nearly destroyed by disease, you know how devastating these unfriendly parasites can be to a beautiful lawn. And since treatment of grass diseases themselves is both difficult and fairly costly, prevention of fungus disease is very important. Keeping your lawn as healthy as possible is the best way to protect it from lawn disease-causing agents (or pathogens) that are all around. So, when we find something that works well to keep your lawn strong we want to make sure you know about it.
Eat Right, Breathe Right for Better Lawn Health
There's a kind of give-and-take to your lawn’s health. The right kind of lawn fertilization at the right time gives your grass the nutrients it needs, while lawn aeration takes, or removes, compacted soil and thatch to give water, air and nutrients an easy way to reach your turf's roots so they can breathe. Together, regular core aeration and the right kind of fertilizing lawn care are the two most important things we can do for your lawn to help it fight off grass diseases.
Lawn Fertilization: Keeping The Lawn Off Of Junk Food
Just like grandparents love to give kids a special candy treat, a lot of folks like to give their lawn junk food fertilizers of fast-release nitrogen for a super quick green. This kind of lawn fertilizing seems to make the grass happy, but can really bring on all kinds of lawn diseases and other problems. The Spring Green program provides balanced fertilizing lawn care, a meat and potatoes diet, instead of just dessert. Your turf is better able to outgrow disease, develop stronger roots and directly fight disease. Your grass keeps growing at a strong, steady rate, without the kind of quick growth that can invite lawn diseases. But it’s not enough to provide these elements, if they can’t reach their destination.
Lawn Aeration: A Breakthrough in Disease Prevention
Watering, walking across our lawns, and rainfall help pack down the top layers of soil. This compacted soil makes it hard for water and other nourishment to get through to the roots. Thatch, the spongy layer of partially decomposed material between your grass and the soil, can also block water and fertilizer if it becomes thicker than a 1/2". Thick thatch and compacted soil contribute significantly to the development of lawn diseases. Core aeration helps both reduce thatch and break up soil. By pulling out thousands of plugs of soil and thatch from your lawn, lawn aeration creates room for air, water and fertilizer to reach the roots. A single lawn aeration will remove about 10% of the thatch from a lawn. Most lawns should be aerated at least once a year, when roots are actively growing in fall or spring. At Spring Green we want to keep your lawn healthy through good preventive medicine.
Contact your neighborhood Spring Green professional with any questions you may have.