Your Garden Today

Rake to clean the lawn removing leaf litter, garden debris, and moss meanwhile increasing air circulation.
Keep your mower blades sharp! After every 8 or 10 hours of mowing, they will need to be re-sharpened. Sharpen or have blades sharpened at a 35 to 45 degree angle.
Use a mulching mower; clippings are a great natural source of nitrogen. Only bag clippings if you notice a fungal disease develop.
Mow, removing no more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time. A healthy cutting height of 2 ½-3 inches will crowd out weeds, keeps moisture in the soil and supports deeper, healthier roots. For summer mow on the highest setting as possible.
Mow in a different direction or pattern each outing
Do not mow your lawn when it is wet.
Delay mowing at least 24 to 48 hours after fertilizer applications.
Aerate to reduce thatch, increases air, nutrient and water intake into the soil
Best time to sow grass seed is September in NE Ohio, 2nd best time is April. Over-seed established lawns to thicken. Patch small areas either time to prevent future weeds.
Start fertilizing when temperatures are consistently in the 40’s. Grass actively grows at 42 degrees.
Use slow-release, granular lawn foods for continuous feeding and no run-off
Check your soil pH annually; the ideal range for lawns is 6.2 to 7.0. Apply lime to raise the pH if needed, 50 pounds per 1,000 sq. ft.
Try a four step fertilizer program to keep your lawn healthy year round (save approximately $20-$50 each time you do it yourself).
A lawn care maintenance schedule is easy when you go by the spring and summer holidays: apply 1st step around Easter, 2nd step around Memorial Day, 3rd step around Independence Day, and 4th step around Labor Day