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Show How to Have Green Lawns Most homeowners like to live in nice surroundings with well landscaped yards. That usually includes growing a nice healthy lawn. It doesn't just happen, it takes proper care. Lawn care begins now. If you haven't raked your lawn, it is a good practice to rake it early in the spring. Any debris, leaves, lawn grass or excessive thatch buildup should be removed. Whether to power rake or dethatch a lawn depends on the amount of thatch buildup. If there is too much thatch at one time, the grass blades will not properly break down (decompose) to do the soil any good. De-thatching may be necessary. Lawnmower blades should be set no lower than one and one-half to two inches. If the grass isn't that high, set the mower at the one and one-half to two Inches and let the grass grow up to it. Cutting lawn grass that is lower than one and one-half inches punishes the lawn and encourages weed growth. Early fertilizing of lawns encourages the grass to thicken up during early spring. Established lawns need mostly nitrogen. However, phosphate should be applied every three years. Lawns need about one to one and one-half pounds of available nitrogen. This a-mounts to three to five pounds of ammonia nitrate, five to seven pounds of ammonia sulphate, or six to ten pounds of 16-16-8, a mixed fertilizer. Good lawn management will keep out most weeds, where as weak, thin, stands of grass are open to weed invasion. However, a few weeds are persistant and may need to be controlled with chemicals. Some of the most persistant weeds in lawns in this area are dandelion and filaree (storksbill). These can be controlled with a broad leaf weed killer. A lawn requires about one to two inches of water per week during the summer. The soil should be wet to a depth of one to two feet with each watering, except on shallow soils. Water enough to keep the lawn from burning about every five to 10 days, depending on the weather and how much water the soil will hold. For more information about lawns, ask for extension publication 86, "Home Lawns for Utah", at the Sanpete County Extension Office. |