Keeping the Lawn Fertilized and Watered Properly

The basis of any great looking lawn is healthy soil. Keeping your lawn healthy doesn't require a lot of chemicals that can create environmental problems. You can take an organic approach by cutting your grass high and letting the clippings fall onto the lawn. As they decompose, the clippings provide a rich source of nitrogen for your grass, and food for earthworms that in turn aerate the soil, reduce or even prevent thatch build-up, and leave behind their castings for even more nutrients for your lawn. Leaving the clippings on the lawn will provide about half of its annual nitrogen needs. Grass clippings also lighten clay soils to make them more porous, and help sandy soil to retain moisture better.

Apply an organic fertilizer in early spring, about a month before the grass starts to grow, and again in late fall to help your lawn stay healthy through the winter. Corn gluten meal adds nitrogen to your lawn with the added benefit of being a natural seed killer. Don't apply corn gluten meal to recently reseeded areas, but it will help keep weed seeds from germinating in your lawn.

Keeping the grass cut high helps to shade the soil, so water evaporates more slowly and weed seeds can't get the sunlight they need. Water deeply once or twice per week, depending on how hot and windy the weather is and the type of soil under your lawn. Deep, infrequent watering encourages grass roots to grow deeper. This makes your lawn stronger and better able to withstand disease and insect pests.