Many common lawncare practices create extra work for you and can actually damage your lawn and harm the environment. Here are three common lawncare myths debunked to help you grow a greener lawn with less effort. The truth could set your Saturdays free.
Annual Dethatching
Almost everything you’ve heard about thatch is wrong, but the truth means less work for you. There is no need to dethatch your lawn every spring nor to rake up all the leaves and grass clippings from your lawn to keep it healthy. Thatch consists mainly of dead rhizomes, stolons, stems, and roots and is a natural part of a healthy lawn. It only becomes a problem when the thatch layer is thicker than 1/3-inch in cool-season grasses or ½-inch in warm-season grasses. A healthy, well-maintained lawn may never need dethatching.
Factors that contribute to thatch build-up are:
- Over-fertilization and overwatering
- Leaving very long grass clippings on the ground
- Unhealthy, compacted soil
A thick layer of lawn clippings or deep piles of leaves can smother grass and contribute to thatch. But leaving short lawn clippings or a layer of fallen leaves (especially if you run the mower over them) on the ground contributes to soil health and helps prevent thatch buildup.
Daily Watering
Daily watering isn’t good for the grass and wastes water. Lawns that are watered daily put more energy into top growth, resulting in weak, shallow root systems. This leaves them vulnerable to stress.
In some climates, lawns can survive and remain healthy without any supplemental water at all by going dormant during the driest part of the year. However, many people aren’t willing to tolerate a brown lawn for part of the summer, and in drier climates, water may be necessary for lawns to survive.
When irrigation is necessary, deep, infrequent watering enables plants to develop strong root systems. A lawn that is watered once or twice a week is more efficient at extracting water from the soil, and its more extensive network of roots helps break up compaction. Established lawns should be watered just as the plants start to wilt.
Cutting Grass Short
It might work for haircuts but cutting grass short so that you can wait longer between mowings is a good way to stress your lawn. Cutting your lawn too short causes the grass to lose moisture more quickly and encourages weeds and diseases. Cutting more than one-third of the length of your grass stems at a time can shock the plant and discourages root growth. (Also, see thatch above.) The ideal height of a lawn varies by species, but a good rule of thumb is to set your lawn mower to three inches and mow when the grass reaches four inches high. This keeps grass at a healthy height and creates clippings the perfect length for grasscycling.
Feature image by bluebudgie from Pixabay. This article was originally published on June 14, 2018.