Your lawn can be the talk of the neighborhood, but if the proper techniques for a lush, thick, green lawn is not taken seriously on an annual basis, you might be in for a big surprise come next spring. There are many factors to having a healthy, weed free yard that many people may not be considering or might not be addressing correctly.

In the Louisville area one of the most common mistakes is the correct height to cut your lawn. We recommend cutting between 3”- 4.5” inches on a weekly basis. Allowing the grass to grow longer provides more coverage over bear spots restricting light and air, which discourages the process of weed germination. Also, this helps your current turf by building & growing deep root systems by providing a strong defense for scorching summer months. Another critical factor for ensuring healthy turf success is proper irrigation. For the Louisville area your lawn should receive a 1”- 1.5” inches of water from rain/irrigation a week. When setting your irrigation system or movable sprinkler head, remember a deep soil watering is a lot more effective than a quick watering.

The third major factor to improve & maintain a healthy yard is to aerate & overseed yearly. Kentucky is one of a few states where soil compaction is a major problem that if not addressed can cause major concerns for your turf. We recommend using a machine that can pull core plugs between 2”- 3”, broadcast seeding the areas and applying a starter fertilizer, followed by a normal fertilizer 6-8 weeks later. The reason aeration is so critical is because it loosens the soil conditions immediately. The plugs created from the machine allow water, air, and nutrients to rush into the root system, which provides direct access for these components for healthy turf growth.