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We’re going to take that a step further and give you the top three ways to make your lawn better:

1. Fertilize!

Fertilizing your lawn is a good way to green up your yard in a hurry. Grass is naturally nitrogen hungry, so the little boost of nutrients will give your yard that nice green glow everyone wants. Be careful, though because too much fertilizer or applications at the wrong time of year could do more harm than good.

2. Length Matters!

Mowing lawns too short is a common mistake but is the easiest to remedy. All you have to do is … just let it grow. A good height for grass is in the 2.5 to 3-inch height range. The longer roots that grow as the result of a longer blade will allow your lawn to stay greener later into the dry season.

3. Timing is Everything!

Sometimes, it’s just easiest to water when you have time, but it’s always best to do it at the right time — and that’s very early in the morning. That way, water can get to the roots before it evaporates in the heat of the day. Also, it’s better for the health of the plant because when the sun does come out, the excess moisture on the green part of the plant dries off faster keeping away those nasty fungal diseases that can get costly to remedy.

Through years of experience, we’ve found the best time to seed is early fall after the last weed germination season which is typically in August. Seeds do best when the air is cooler and the soil is still warm. The second best time is spring when the ground is thawed and the air is still somewhat cool. Keep your soil moist and hydrated after seeding to encourage growth.

In Central Minnesota, most of our grasses are known as cool-season grasses. Cool-season grasses grow strongest during the cool seasons which occur three times a year; early summer, mid-summer and early fall. Spring and early fall are the best times to give the grass some food. The best looking lawns are fed every 4-6 weeks.

What time of day should fertilizer be applied? Avoid applying granular fertilizers when there is still dew on the grass because if the fertilizer dissolves in the small amount of water on the lawn it can cause some really nasty burns that take weeks for the grass to grow out of.