You’ve been staring at your neighbor’s lawn again, haven’t you?
Don’t worry, we’re not judging. But you are, right?
We get it. A little friendly competition in the lawn department is kind of human nature.
Whose lawn is greener? Healthier? Has fewer weeds?
If it’s not yours, shouldn’t it be?
Check out these great tips on how to grow the perfect lawn.
Well, maybe not perfect. But better than your neighbor’s. (Insert sinister laugh here.)
1. Don’t Skip the Crabgrass Pre-Emergent
You want the best lawn in the neighborhood? Well, timing is crucial. You want to target those weed seeds as they germinate and take root in the soil so they don’t become more seed-producing plants. 
2. A Key to a a Great Lawn: Get Rid of Grubs
If you have grubs, spring is the best time to take action. The key to controlling grubs is to prevent them before they hatch and begin to cause damage to your lawn.
You’ll get Bee-Safe Grub Guard right away in the spring during our first visit.
Then, you’re all set. This material lasts throughout the entire growing season. Grub control will help you achieve the ideal lawn your looking for.
3. Mow High
Taller grass helps a lawn grow thicker and stay greener. Mow too short, and the soil heats up, helping pesky weed seeds to germinate. That will not help you grow the perfect lawn.
As summer progresses, you should keep raising your mower blade. Shoot for 3 inches in June, 3.5 to 4 inches in July and August.
4. How to Make Grass Greener? Go for Granular Fertilizer
Always opt for granular lawn fertilizer, which is more expensive than the more common liquid stuff, but it breaks down slowly, giving you consistent benefits from fertilization.
It also contains organic nutrients, which give your lawn that beautiful, deep green color.
You get premium professional-grade formulations of granular fertilizer from RainMaster. Not every lawn fertilizer service offers this.
5. Don’t Skip Fall Fertilizer
To get the best lawn, you'll need fall fertilizer. Those turf roots are still hungry. Fertilize in the fall and you give those roots nutrients to grow nice and deep now, with some left over for a healthy start next spring.
6. Lawn Aeration is Crucial to Getting The Perfect Lawn
When your soil becomes compacted, your lawn can't breathe. Its roots can't take in water or nutrients, which weakens your turf and opens the door for disease and weeds.
Lawn aeration uses a machine to pull out plugs of soil, creating spaces so that air and water can penetrate, which leads to healthier roots.
Healthier roots make for a healthier, thicker lawn, better able to resist pests and diseases and tolerate summer’s heat and drought.
Lawn aeration also helps break down thatch, that layer of dead grass and stems that sits between the grass blades and the soil.
Aeration is often followed by overseeding, as the holes created by aeration are perfect new homes for the grass seed.
7. Test Your Lawn Soil pH
No matter how much fertilizer you give your lawn, if your grass doesn’t have the proper, balanced soil pH, it won’t do much good.
Important nutrients for grass are available in soil when the pH is at the right level — not too acidic, not too alkaline.
If your pH is off, your grass won’t get the nutrients it needs, no matter how much you fertilize. That's not going to get you the best lawn in the neighborhood.
The right pH unlocks your lawn’s ability to take in nutrients and thrive. If your soil’s pH level is out of whack, we can add the right soil amendments to bring it to the right level.
8. How to Grow a Lawn With Fewer Weeds
If weeds have been driving you crazy, join the club. They’re a huge challenge in your quest to have a better lawn than your neighbors.
But guess what? Unless they’ve turned weed control over to the professionals, weeds are driving them crazy, too.
The DIY weed control products you and your neighbors keep buying just don’t do the job against really tenacious weeds. They never will.
Many weeds need a professional-grade, specialty weed killer multiple times throughout the year to combat them. It’s a continuous process, requiring products only available to professionals.
If you follow all the lawn care tips you read here, your healthy lawn will do its best to keep the weeds at bay. But a key to a great lawn really is professional weed control.
9. A Key to a Great Lawn: Water Wisely
Wrap up your watering as close to sunrise as possible. If sunrise is at 6 a.m., you should be done watering at 6.
Why? A few reasons:
- Wind typically picks up as the day goes on. You don’t want your precious water droplets to blow away.
- The sun will cause your water to evaporate before it can soak into your soil.
- When water droplets land on your grass, they act like tiny magnifying glasses and can cause the sun to burn your grass.
10. Ditch the Daily Lawn Watering
If you have an established lawn, don’t water it every day.
You want to let the soil dry out between waterings, which means water longer and less frequently.
Why?
You want your grass to have to search for water, sending its roots deeper into the soil. That encourages the roots to grow longer and deeper, which means your grass will be healthier.
Water too often, and those roots can just hang out near the surface and get all the water they need. Shallow roots can’t handle the stress of a sudden drought or a summer lawn disease as well as deeper roots.
But this isn’t true for new grass. It should stay wet, so it needs several waterings a day.
11. How to Get the Perfect Lawn: Invest in a Quality Lawn Care Program
By now you might be thinking this friendly competition stuff is a lot of work.
No argument here.
Why devote your hard-earned weekends to back-breaking lawn care when you could be in a lounge chair surveying your green healthy lawn and gloating?
Looking for lawn care services in Eau Claire, WI or Minneapolis? Let us do the work.
You choose from three different levels of lawn care programs, based on the results you’d like, how fast you want to see results, and your budget.
- Luscious Lawn is a high-end, proactive program that will promote amazing lawn care results. This is the program to choose for the quickest and best results, particularly if your lawn needs a lot of help.
- Terrific Turf, a mid-level option, is our most popular program to grow a thick, green lawn and deal with most challenges.
- Healthy Habitat is a basic plan that includes the elements you need for a better lawn.
Another Key to a Great Lawn? Trust RainMaster in Eau Claire, WI & Minneapolis
A perfect lawn is a pretty tall order.
Weeds are tenacious. Bare patches creep in. Weather can turn against you. Grubs are hungry.
Get close to perfect with RainMaster.
Want to have the best lawn on the block? Request a quote today! We’ll review your lawn care options together so you can make a great choice. Then, you can finally enjoy your lawn and stop worrying about it.
Image Sources: Grub
