With better weather upon many parts of the US, it may feel as though your lawn is becoming a second home to your pets. It's adorable to see your dog run around doing joyful zoomies outdoors, begging to play just one more game of fetch or paddling in a pet pool to fend off the summer heat.

But what isn't so great is discovering that your lawn is suffering from enthusiastic digging sessions, lawn damage from dog urine, and goodness knows what else. There's only so much strategically placing your furniture for hosting over these spots can do, especially if you have multiple dogs wreaking havoc!

If your dogs have given a bit too much love to your lawn and you're left scratching your head over how to remedy the damage, you're in the right place. I asked experts in lawn care and dog behavior for their top tips on both how to fix a lawn that has been damaged by dogs, as well as how to prevent damage from happening in the first place. You really can have the best of both worlds – a dog-friendly landscape your pups are still free to roam that stays looking fresh – just implement a few of these handy tricks.

Common Types of Lawn Damage From Dogs

The most common problems your lawn may be facing due to your beloved dogs are pee spots, digging damage, and paw traffic.

The salt that naturally occurs in the urine of a dog will scald your lawn, especially when paired with sunny weather. Dogs often tend to pee in the same spot while marking their territory, so over time repeatedly exposing the grass to urine will result in brown patches in your grass. These patches will eventually die and require reseeding.

A dog mid-dig is having the time of their life, but their owner watching on as their lawn is covered in holes won't be feeling quite as happy. This can be particularly frustrating if you just managed to get your lawn how you like it and now its progress has become undone.

In the trio of problems here, paw traffic is a less considered factor when it comes to lawn damage, but it can have more of an impact on your grass than you may first think.

Dogs repeatedly running on a lawn will compact the soil underneath their feet, potentially stunting the growth of grass blades. This can lead to thinning grass that struggles to absorb water as easily and, over time, patches of grass in your yard may look fuller than others.

How to Fix & Prevent Pee Spots

If your lawn has brown pee scald patches due to dog urine, the best thing to do is to treat the area before trying any preventative measures. The easiest way to do this is to plant new grass seed and/or apply a lawn regrowth product, such as this pet patch repair treatment from Walmart, to anywhere that has been impacted.

Allison Koenig, a lawn and garden expert at Tractor Supply, explains, "For existing damage, the best solution is to reseed or overseed the affected areas, which can help regenerate the grass.

"Using lawn repair products specifically formulated for pet urine damage can also be helpful, because they are often made with a mix of grass seed and soil conditioners to promote healthy regrowth. But always consult with your veterinarian if you have any concerns before you use them in your lawn."

In terms of preventative measures Ali Smith, a dog trainer and behavior consultant at Rebarkable has a great trick. Don't aim to stop your dogs from peeing on the lawn, aim to make the pee unable to scald the grass.

She explains, "The urea in the pee scalds the grass, so if you use a sprinkler (or a watering can!) directly after your dog has gone to the toilet it will help dilute the pee."

How to Fix & Prevent Digging Damage

If your dogs have dug up the lawn, begin by filling in any holes in your yard from pets with soil and reseeding the area. But if it's a problem that keeps reoccurring, it's important to consider why your dogs might be digging so much in the first place.

Allison explains, "It's important to address the root causes of why your dogs may be digging so much, like boredom or excess energy. Make sure your dogs gets plenty of exercise, playtime, and mental stimulation to reduce the urge to dig.

"If they are still digging, you can designate a specific digging area with toys or treats that can help redirect their behavior away from your entire lawn. If your dogs dig for attention, reinforce positive behavior by rewarding them when they’re not digging."

If this doesn't seem to be doing the trick, Allison also recommends turning to natural forms of deterrent such as diluted vinegar or citrus peels to keep your dogs away from damage-prone areas of the yard.

How to Fix & Prevent Paw Traffic

Craig Elworthy, founder of Lawnbright, explained to me that "constant paw traffic can lead to worn-out paths and compaction, creating bare patches over time."

Bare patches or tracks are best being reseeded so new growth can fill them in. But if your lawn has become compacted, using a lawn aerator, like this one from Amazon, is a great way to let it breathe again. It works by loosening up the soil, enabling water to better penetrate into the ground and reach the roots of your grass.

Regularly aerating your lawn going forward will help to prevent major compaction from developing in the future. Putting barriers such as a pet-friendly fence or garden furniture in the way of areas that you don't want to gain additional wear and tear is a good move, too.

If you have a local park that allows dogs, opting to take your dog there a couple of times a week to give your lawn a break from paw traffic can help a lot as well.

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Lawns are both thirsty and needy - and that means big water bills and intensive maintenance for homeowners. Even those who love the golf-course look of green expanses of turf grass are considering switching them out for something easier and more ecological.

Rockeries have both charm and low-maintenance appeal. Creating a modern, water-wise rock garden that includes hardy ornamental grasses solves so many turfgrass problems while offering a delightful and dramatic landscape. These river rocks from Amazon are a great base to build around.

The (Many) Problems with Turfgrass

I live by a golf course and often walk my dog there early in the morning, before the golfers arrive. But though there are no golfers, I am never alone. Maintenance people seem to be on duty every morning, turning on sprinklers, applying fertilizer, cutting the grass, filling holes with soil and grass seed, and raking.

This is awaiting any homeowner who buys a home with a lawn or decides to install one. Lawns need water to stay lush and green – and what’s the use of having a lawn if it isn’t lush and green? Lawns need fertilizer and pesticides. Lawns need regular haircuts. Lawns take up all the space and these monocultures are ecologically barren, neither providing food or native habitats for local pollinators, birds, or insects.

The (Many) Benefits of a Rockery

A rockery or rock garden is a form of xeriscaping, an increasingly popular landscaping method that dramatically reduces the need for supplemental irrigation. Using drought-tolerant plants and moisture-retaining mulch, it can lower outdoor water use by 50 percent or more while requiring significantly less maintenance.

If you create a water-wise rockery and install hardy ornamental grasses, your landscape will suddenly be the talk of the neighborhood. Instead of the square plot of green carpet, you’ll boast a low maintenance landscape with incredible visual appeal. The architectural shapes of the stones contrast with the soft, flowing foliage to add texture, fluidity, and visual drama.

How to Transition a Patch of Lawn into a Rock Garden

1. Check for and Obtain Any Necessary Permits

Does your city or water agency require you to apply for permission to begin digging up your yard? That depends on where you live. Call your city government and find out what you need. It’s important to have it in hand before you pick up the shovel. While you have the phone in hand, ask about possible rebates. In California, many city water companies offer impressive rebates to those who swap out their lawns

2. Remove the Turfgrass

You will need to get rid of the existing turfgrass before putting in a rock garden. Otherwise it will sprout through and into your rockery. The easiest way to remove a lawn is to smother it. All you need is ample amounts of cardboard or newspaper to get started.

Spread it around covering the turfgrass, then wet it down thoroughly. Cover the wet paper with soil, then leave it alone for two months. The turf grass will die. At that point, remove the soil and the cardboard or newspaper, and use a sod cutter or a spade to completely remove the dead grass.

3. Outline the Borders

You will have figured out the size and shape of your rock garden before you started the project. Now is the time to create a clean border. This will outline the rock garden and keep the rocks where they belong.

Here’s how to proceed: dig a trench around the perimeter. It doesn’t have to be huge, just large enough to install rigid landscape edging. You could use metal edging, plastic edging or stone edging.

4. Select and Plant the Ornamental Grasses

Choose two or three different types of ornamental grasses. Pick those suited for rock gardens, like blue fescue (Festuca glauca), Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra), or blue oat grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens). Other possibilities include feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) or little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) that thrive in rocky, well-draining soil.

Buy plants at the garden store, then dig holes twice as deep and wide as the nursery pot. Place the plants in the holes and backfill with soil.

5. Place the Rocks

You’ll need some large boulders and many smaller rocks. The largest are also your "feature rocks," and you’ll want to place them first. Bury the bottom third of each feature rock into the ground. That makes the area look natural.

6. Add Irrigation

Your best bet is to install low-flow drip irrigation. This is how you will provide the minimal irrigation required by your ornamental grasses.

7. Cover the Soil with Landscape Fabric

Unroll heavy-duty, commercial-grade landscaping fabric over the bare soil. This will keep down all weed growth. Cut X shapes into the fabric where grasses are installed, then fold by the fabric around the base of the grasses. Spread a layer of decorative gravel or crushed stone across the fabric.

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It's a chore many of us have to do, whether we delay it or we love making our yard look pristine with mowed lines in the grass. I'm personally not the biggest fan of mowing my lawn and tend to put off the task in comparison to other work I need to do in the yard – so if you're like this, you're not alone!

But thinking about this had me wondering, how often does a person truly need to mow their lawn for it to look good and be healthy? Is it something that varies based on area, climate, or season?

I decided to ask an assortment of lawn care and landscaping pros about it so you will know exactly how often to mow your lawn. In fact, you may actually be cutting the grass too much! Here's what the pros have to say.

How Often Should You Mow Your Lawn?

In an ideal world, there would be a simple answer to this question, but everyone's lawn is different. However, the answer the pros gave me is still an easy enough piece of advice to follow.

Gene Caballero, co-founder of GreenPal and long-time landscaper, explained to me that the frequency a person mows their lawn should follow the growth rate of their grass, which tends to be impacted by changing seasons.

He said, "The correct mowing schedule depends on the actual growth rate and not on the calendar. For instance during the peak season, homeowners often mow about once a week. Then in the slower season, some may need to shift to every two weeks."

This is good advice to follow. Though, if you know your grass tends to grow more slowly, consider altering your weekly mow to every other week instead. Also, modify how high you cut the grass depending on the season.

What Does Mowing Too Much or Too Little Do?

If you mow your lawn too much when it's already short, you're more likely to have dry grass that develops yellow patches in the warm weather.

Don Chouinard, a former contractor and lawn care expert, as well as a leader at Irrigreen explains, "Frequent short mowing encourages shallow roots. The grass keeps its energy near the surface instead of pushing roots down, and shallow-rooted turf dries out fast in heat and recovers poorly from drought."

A lawn that is constantly being cut also requires more care and water and can grow more slowly, because it needs to use up all its energy resources to heal from the constant chopping.

If you mow your lawn too little you're also more likely to cause damage to the grass – and your lawn mower. Long grass being suddenly pulled out of the ground is a shock to the lawn, and it may result in blades being tugged out by the root instead of cleanly chopped.

Common Signs It's Time to Mow

Investing in a measuring stick, like this grass gauge from Amazon, tells you how tall your grass is. Knowing that is a simple way to know when it's time to mow. You can try to eyeball it and just look at the grass itself. But a tool like this provides a specific measurement, which is a better accountability partner to encourage you to mow when needed.

Brian Feldman of TruGreen also recommends following what's known as the "one-third rule," which he defines this way, "Your mowing frequency should guide you to cut no more than one-third of the grass blade in a single session."

This will ensure that your summer lawn won't be damaged by a large cut. If your lawn is already on the shorter side, you'll be able to gauge more quickly if there's even a third of the lawn's blades that need mowing.

If you're hosting lots of barbecues and making the most out of the sunny weather in your area, it's important to remember that the weight of garden furniture and increased foot traffic can impact your lawn as well. The grass in high-traffic areas might not grow in the same way as in areas of your yard that are more left alone, making it harder to know when or where to mow.

You can remedy this by hosting in different parts of your yard, aerating your lawn, or considering installing a foot path that leads to areas you often visit so the grass won't be repeatedly walked on.

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July is when a lawn stops coasting. Through spring the grass more or less runs itself, growing fast and green. Heat changes that. Rainfall turns unreliable and the days run long. The lawn that looked effortless in May starts thinning at the edges and going pale in patches. What it needs now is nothing like what it wanted in spring.

None of it is complicated, though. Good July lawn care is a few habits that hold moisture in and keep grass from cooking, plus the one mistake that undoes them. Get those right and the lawn rides out the worst of summer. The mistake is cutting the lawn too short right when it needs protection the most.

1. Raise the Mowing Height

Cutting the grass too short is the classic July mistake, usually with good intentions – mow low now, skip a mow later. The trouble shows up at the soil line. Bare ground takes full sun and heats fast, the root zone loses what moisture it had, and weed seeds get their opening. Taller grass does the reverse: the blades shade their own roots, and the soil beneath stays cooler and damper.

For cool-season grasses in summer, 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10cm) is the height to hold, and cutting more than a third of the blade at once tips the plant into shock. Several light mows beat one hard cut. A clean edge matters as much. A dull blade shreds the tips instead of slicing them, and frayed tips brown and invite disease, so a handheld tool like this Smith's mower blade sharpener from Amazon earns a place in the shed for a mid-season pass.

2. Water Deep, Water Early

An established lawn wants about an inch of water a week (2.5cm) in heat, though how it goes down counts for as much as the amount. A light sprinkle every evening barely helps. It wets the top half-inch and no more, drawing roots up into the layer of soil that dries out first each afternoon. One or two deep soakings a week pull them back down. That's the point of watering the lawn less often, not more.

What time you water the lawn is the other half. Earlier is better – water put down at dawn sinks in instead of steaming off the blades, and the lawn has all day to dry rather than sitting wet overnight. That overnight damp is the opening a lot of turf fungus needs. Whether you've hit that inch is hard to judge by eye, so an AcuRite glass rain gauge from Home Depot does the job, reading rainfall and sprinkler output.

3. Leave the Clippings Where They Land

Grass clippings get blamed for thatch, and that reputation sends a lot of them to the curb. It's misplaced. Clippings off a routine mow are thin and green, breaking down in a week or two – too fast to pile up into anything. What they leave is a modest dose of nitrogen and a fine layer that slows the soil drying out.

The catch is that the clippings stay short. Let the grass go long and shaggy first, and the clumps that fall smother what's below – which loops back to mowing often and never scalping. Cut on schedule, drop the clippings, and the lawn feeds itself.

4. Ease Off the Fertilizer

When a lawn looks stressed, the instinct is to feed it. In peak summer that backfires, at least for cool-season grasses. A heavy dose of nitrogen forces tender new growth right when the plant is trying to conserve energy and ride out the heat, and that soft growth scorches, pulling water the roots can't spare.

It depends on the grass. Cool-season types like fescue and ryegrass are better left alone until early fall, when a feeding helps them recover. Warm-season grasses such as Bermuda and zoysia are the exception – they grow through the heat and can take a light summer feeding. For a struggling cool-season lawn, the July answer is patience, not fertilizer. Feeding it now does more harm than good.

5. Scout for Summer Pests

A brown patch that keeps widening no matter how much you water usually points to something other than drought. Two pests cause this kind of damage in summer, and they come at the lawn from opposite ends. Above ground, chinch bugs (Blissus leucopterus) tap the stems and siphon them dry; the yellowing turns brown and spreads fastest in the driest spells. Below it, the larvae of Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) – the common white grub – chew through roots until the turf loses its grip and peels back like carpet.

A quick check settles it: tug at a brown patch, and if it lifts with pale grubs curled beneath, there's the answer. Grubs are simplest to control with a granular treatment – a product like Scotts GrubEx from Walmart, applied to a dry lawn and watered in, covers both over a good stretch. Catch them before the patches join up and it's a spot treatment, not reseeding in fall.

Every summer, I find myself looking at my lawn and asking the same question: why am I working so hard to keep it green? Surely there has to be a pretty lawn alternative that can do the hard work for me?

Confession time: my lawn is far from a pristine patch of emerald perfection. There’s a well-worn path where the dog charges back and forth, dry patches that appear after every spell of hot weather, and we’re gradually expanding our flower beds to reduce our overreliance on grass. Because, in very hot weather, lawn care is a nightmare to keep on top of.

We all know that traditional lawns are very demanding. And all of that mowing, watering, fertilizing and more feels like a lot of effort for something that offers relatively little back to wildlife compared with a more diverse planting scheme. Especially if it’s all going to go sad, brown, and crispy the moment temperatures climb.

That being said, sometimes you still want a green space for children to play, to spread out a picnic blanket on a summer evening, or just to make your neighbors green with envy over. So, yes, I started avidly researching which lush lawn alternatives that could offer the best of both worlds.

This Pretty Lawn Alternative Laughs Off Heatwaves

If you want the very best lawn alternative out there, microclover is the one that’s caught my attention, and not just because it has the verdant appearance of a traditional lawn. Not, it’s because it is better suited to warmer conditions and requires less maintenance once established.

That’s right; this pretty lawn alternative creates a natural-looking carpet, needs less mowing, helps improve soil health and produces small flowers that are useful for pollinators when allowed to bloom. All of which means, if you’re not ready to dig up your entire lawn (or simply want to make a tired patch more resilient) microclover could be one of the easiest ways to create a greener garden.

Microclover is exactly what it sounds like: a smaller-leaved version of white clover that's been bred to create a lawn-like carpet. Unlike standard clover, it blends seamlessly into a landscape, giving you a lush green finish without looking wild or untidy. And, while many traditional cool-season grasses can turn brown during dry spells, microclover often keeps its rich green color for much longer thanks to its deep roots and impressive drought tolerance.

It also grows much more slowly than a typical lawn, which means you'll spend less time pushing a mower around and more time actually enjoying your yard. Like other clovers, too, it captures nitrogen from the air and returns it to the soil, naturally fertilizing itself and even helping nearby grasses if you choose to grow a mixed lawn.

All of which means, yes, less fertilizer and fewer chemicals. Sounds a dream come true, right?

If allowed to flower, microclover produces delicate white blooms that become a valuable food source for bees and other pollinators. But, if you prefer the look of a classic lawn, just give it a quick mow before flowering.

Like any living groundcover, it is worth noting that this lawn alternative will appreciate occasional watering during prolonged drought and may not stand up to constant heavy foot traffic quite so well as some turf grasses do. (If your yard doubles as a soccer field every weekend, basically, you may prefer mixing microclover with grass rather than replacing it entirely).

For most family gardens, though, it’s an attractive compromise between a thirsty traditional lawn and a completely natural meadow. And if you aren’t sold? Don’t worry, as I have three more options for you to choose from...

Three More Lawn Alternatives

As our summers continue to warm, I have a strong suspicion that we’re going to see more gardeners questioning whether a traditional lawn is really worth the effort. And sure, microclover won’t be the right fit for every yard, but for anyone hoping to spend less time mowing and more time enjoying their garden?

Well, it’s a pretty compelling alternative!

Remember the very first time you used your lawn mower? Remember how easily it cut, and how great your grass looked afterwards? Do you feel like it's just not quite the same these days?

That's because it isn't! Lawn mower blades, just like any cutting tool, get dull with use, and after a season or more of mowing yours are probably well past due for a sharpening.

Dull lawn mower blades don't cleanly slice the grass. Instead they pull and tear at it, leaving behind jagged edges that make your lawn vulnerable to disease and messy looking. So it's obvious that you need to sharpen your lawn mower blades. But how best to do it?

VEVOR Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener

Say hello to the VEVOR Lawn Mower Blade Sharpener (Model KH-DM04). A fully integrated, standalone electric bench grinder station, it brings commercial-grade blade restoration directly to your workshop. It's a little pricier than hand-held options, so let's take a look at what makes it worth the extra spend.

Power

At the heart of this blade sharpener is a robust 2/3 Horsepower (500-watt) motor. It runs at a steady and optimized speed, which gives you a high-torque rotational force that can grind away nicks, rust, and dullness in minutes.

A lot of shop grinders run at over 3400 RPM, which can easily overheat. But the VEVOR sharpener is precision-tuned for blade metalwork. It removes tough material quickly without overheating, and your blades get sharpened without turning blue – a tell-tale sign of ruined heat temper.

High Efficiency

Instead of traditional aluminum oxide wheels that wear down quickly, this sharpener boasts a massive 7-inch, 60-grit ceramic grinding wheel.

Ceramic abrasives are much harder, cooler-running, and more heat-resistant than standard materials. The 60-grit composition strikes the perfect balance between aggressive grinding and a clean, smooth finish. Because the 7-inch wheel offers a large contact surface area, it requires fewer passes. This ensures symmetrical grinding, minimal metal loss, and a much longer lifespan for your blades.

Vibration-Free Construction

The VEVOR blade sharpener is a heavy-duty machine. Weighing in at a substantial 33.3 lbs (15 kg) with a footprint of roughly 17 x 12.6 inches, it has an integrated Q195 steel structure and a solid base. This heavy, rigid design is intentional. It anchors the machine firmly to your workbench, completely eliminating the vibration and wobbling that plagues lighter grinders. The result is a smooth, safe, and hassle-free operation that makes it ideal for handling large batches of commercial blades.

Built-In Blade Balancer

Sharpening is only half the battle; balancing is the other. If you grind more metal off one side of a mower blade than the other, it creates an unbalanced blade. Spin this at high speeds on your lawn mower, and you can destroy spindle bearings, crack mower decks, and cause costly engine crankshaft damage. Not to mention give yourself a very bumpy mowing experience.

VEVOR addresses this critical maintenance step by including a blade balancer. Right after grinding, just drop the blade center onto the balancer to instantly check its weight distribution. This ensures a smoother ride, quieter mowing, and maximum longevity for your mower's engine.

The Final Verdict

A lawn mower is only as good as its blades, so it's essential to take good care of them. You could always get a mount for your drill, or a handheld sharpener, but at the end of the day these aren't going to guarantee the balance and precision that your lawn mower really needs. So go ahead and get the VEVOR sharpener – your lawn will thank you.

Keeping a lawn green through a hot summer can feel like a losing battle. You water most evenings and run the sprinkler when it gets bad, then a few hard days later brown, dry patches start spreading across it anyway. The frustrating part is that a lot of that water never reaches the roots – it beads up and runs off, leaving the soil underneath bone dry.

That run-off is the clue. Once soil bakes dry in the heat, it can start repelling water instead of soaking it in, and that's half the reason a heat-stressed lawn stays patchy no matter how much you put down. A lawn wetting agent is the little-known fix – a product that helps water break through and soak in evenly, so more of it ends up where the grass can reach it.

What Is a Lawn Wetting Agent?

A wetting agent is a soil surfactant, the same class of compound behind soaps and detergents. Most lawn versions are nonionic surfactants – some synthetic, others plant-derived from coconut or yucca extract – and in plain terms they lower the surface tension of water so it spreads and sinks in rather than sitting on top in beads. That matters because dry soil isn't always simply dry. As organic matter and thatch break down, they can leave a waxy, water-repellent film on soil particles, and ground baked hard in a heatwave often starts to repel water in patches, a condition greenkeepers call dry patch.

Water hydrophobic soil and most of it rolls straight off or runs down a few cracks, leaving the bulk of the root zone untouched. A surfactant breaks that barrier so the water spreads in evenly and gets to the roots. Some products go further, holding moisture in the root zone for longer rather than just hurrying it through. Either way, the agent doesn't add a single drop – it stops the soil from wasting what you already put down.

Why It Helps in a Heatwave

In the middle of a hot, dry spell, that even soak-in is just what a lawn needs. Water reaches more of the root zone, so the patchwork of green and brown evens out and even the stubborn bone-dry spots finally take up moisture. Less run-off means less waste, as well, which counts for plenty when there's a hosepipe ban on or you're paying for every gallon through a meter.

It takes some of the guesswork out of summer lawn watering, too. Since the water sinks in rather than sheeting off, you can usually stretch the time between sessions, and what does soak down tends to reach the deeper roots where it counts. Over a season that adds up to a stronger, more drought-ready lawn. Most lawn wetting agents like this from Amazon come as a hose-end concentrate you just spray on, and one bottle generally covers a good-sized lawn for the summer.

How and When to Apply It

Application is straightforward. With a hose-end bottle you clip it onto the hose and spray evenly across the grass; granular versions get spread with a broadcaster and watered in. Either way, the step that matters is watering it in afterwards, since the agent has to move down into the soil to do its job – left sitting on the surface, it does nothing. Spreading a liquid evenly is easier with a hose spray attachment from The Home Depot than thumbing the end of the hose.

Timing trips a lot of people up. Put it down in the cool of early morning or evening rather than under a midday sun, and water it in well so nothing scorches. It works best as a preventative, applied before the soil dries out hard – not as an emergency rescue once the lawn has already gone crisp. A repeat every four weeks or so through the hot stretch keeps the effect topped up, though it's always worth a glance at the label, since concentrations differ.

Where Wetting Agents Fall Short

For all that, a wetting agent isn't a miracle, and it helps to be clear about what it can't do. It can't conjure water from nothing – in a real drought, with no rain and no irrigation, no surfactant on earth keeps grass green. What it does is make the most of the water that's already there. It's also less use on heavy clay soil that holds water well to begin with, where the trouble is usually drainage, not repellency.

And it won't fix bad habits. Mow too short, or water in shallow daily sprinkles, and a wetting agent only papers over the cracks – it works with good lawn care, not in place of it. Bear in mind, too: cool-season grass that browns off in a heatwave is often just going dormant, not dying, and it greens back up once cooler, damper weather returns. Half the time the lawn is fine on its own and better left alone.

Other Ways to Get a Lawn through the Summer

A few habits do as much as any product. Raise the mower height in summer – leaving the grass around 3 inches (7-8cm) long shades the soil and grows deeper roots, both of which help it ride out the heat. Mow less often too, and never take off more than the top third at once. When you do water, water deeply and less frequently, ideally first thing in the morning. A longer, less frequent soak does more good than a daily flick of the hose, and an oscillating lawn sprinkler from Walmart makes that easy to dial in.

Leave the clippings where they fall, as well – a light scatter works like a thin mulch, returning moisture and nutrients to the soil as it breaks down. A sharp mower blade helps too; a clean cut browns far less at the tips than a torn one. Feeding calls for restraint in a heatwave: a fast hit of nitrogen forces soft growth right when the grass is under strain, so reach for a specialized lawn fertilizer for stress like this blend from Amazon.

A lawn mower has one setting most owners use: however it came from the factory. That works until the weather turns and then it really doesn't. Cut too short in the heat of summer and the grass scorches or leave it shaggy through a wet spring and it mats down and invites disease. The right mowing height isn't a single number. It changes with the season.

But there's more to knowing how to mow a lawn than picking the right mowing height and forgetting about it. Knowing when to change the mowing height is important, too. A lawn races ahead with growth in spring, then crawls as the summer heat sets in. So a height that suits it in May does your lawn no favors by August.

Change your mowing you'll be paid off with a lush lawn with gorgeous green color and fewer weeds. Here’s how to get it right.

Always Follow the One-Third Rule

Before prescribing any season-specific number, one rule governs all of them: never take off more than a third of the grass blade in a single cut.

Go shorter and it loses too much leaf at once. Roots stall while your grass recovers. The crown sits exposed as well and a few mowings on the turf looks thin and stressed, browning in patches for weeks.

This is also why height changes should come gradually across a few mowings, instead of one drastic drop. It helps to know your current height before adjusting anything. Set the mower on a flat, hard surface and measure from the ground up to the blade edge.

Measuring is easiest with a mower height gauge from Amazon, though a plain tape measure does the job fine. Eyeballing it may end up with a shorter height and short is the direction that causes trouble.

Spring: Start Low, Then Ease Up

Spring is the one time you can cut a touch shorter. That first mow of the season can come in a touch lower than usual to clear the dead, matted growth winter left behind. This lets sunlight and air down to the crown to wake up your lawn faster. For cool-season grasses like fescue and bluegrass, that means starting around 2.5 inches (6 cm).

Once your lawn growing in earnest, raise the deck back up. For most cool-season lawns, around 3 inches (7.5 cm) is the spring sweet spot. It's tall enough to shade the soil and crowd out weed seedlings, but short enough that the grass won't flop.

Warm-season types of grass should be cut lower, around 1-2.5 inches (2.5-6.4 cm) high. Bermuda, zoysia, the southern grasses all do well under that height. But the logic still holds. Take the winter-killed growth down at green-up, then let the height creep up as it grows through the season.

Summer: Let It Grow Tall

Summer is the season that mowing height is the most important. Let the grass grow a bit long and it shades its own soil, cooling the roots and slowing how fast water burns off up top.

In a brutal July, when the heat won't quit and rain is hit or miss, that shade is key to keeping your lawn green. Cool-season lawns would prefer a high cut here, up around 3.5 to 4 inches (9-10 cm).

Longer blades grow deeper roots, too, which reach water further down when the surface dries out. Resist the urge to scalp your lawn in order to mow less often. That backfires fast in July, leaving your grass heat-stressed and making your lawn turn brown.

Warm-season grasses take the heat better and can hold closer to their usual height, though even those appreciate a slightly higher cut through a bad drought.

Fall: Bring It Back Down

When temperatures finally back off, cool-season grass gets its second wind, growing strong again like in spring. The deck comes back down with it to that same 2.5 to 3 inches (6-7.5 cm) from spring.

Fall is recovery time. The lawn is rebuilding after the summer beating and sending growth down into the roots. A middling height gives it room without sitting so tall it's exposed.

The last cut of the year is the one to get right. Dropping it a notch lower for that final mow, down toward 2 inches (5 cm) high, keeps long blades from matting under snow and heads off snow mold over the winter.

Fall is leaf season as well and a mulching blade from Amazon chops fallen leaves finely enough to drop back into the lawn as free fertilizer instead of bagging them. Just don't let a thick layer sit long enough to smother the grass.

Winter: Dormancy

Once growth stops, mowing should stop as well. Dormant grass – brown and still in the cold or just not pushing new top growth – gains nothing from being cut. Rolling a heavy mower over frozen or frosted turf does real harm, snapping the brittle blades and compacting the soil underneath. In most regions the mower goes away for the season and stays there.

The only exception is mild southern lawns. Where grass keeps creeping along through winter or where a warm-season lawn has been overseeded with ryegrass for off-season color, an occasional cut keeps things tidy. Mow at the higher end of the range and only when the grass is dry and actively growing. Otherwise, winter lawn care comes down to staying off the grass and letting it rest.

How to Change the Mowing Height

Changing the cutting height on a lawn mower takes a minute once you find the lever, but it's pretty much the same on every machine.

On a walk-behind push mower, like this Troy-Bilt mower we reviewed, it's a spring-loaded lever by each wheel or on some models one central lever for the whole deck. Squeeze it and run it through the notches, each one a set height.

Riding mowers, like this battery-powered lawn tractor we reviewed, use a lever or dial by the seat. Check the manual for which notch is which.

Here's the part that gets overlooked: the height means little if the blade is dull. A blade that's cuts all season goes blunt and a blunt edge rips the grass instead of slicing it cleanly, leaving frayed brown tips no height setting can save.

A blade sharpener from Amazon keeps it touched up at home or a hardware store will grind one for a few bucks. Skip it and you can dial in a perfect height and still wind up with a ragged, browning lawn.

For years now, I’ve thought of robot lawn mowers as the equivalent of owning a private jet; truly life-changing but expensive and very much not in my budget. The earliest models were quite finicky and often required burying a wire perimeter around your entire lawn. Plus, it cut grass in random patterns that looked like it had been drinking – not ideal.

But now we’re in the year 2026, and all of that has well and truly changed. Wire-free navigation using RTK GPS and LiDAR has replaced the trench-digging setup. AI obstacle avoidance means it won't mow over your dog's favourite ball or, worse, your dog. Systematic mowing patterns mean actual clean lines rather than chaotic random passes. And Amazon Prime Day has finally pushed those outrageous prices into a territory that’s actually affordable.

The One That Finally Convinced Me

The ECOVACS Goat O1000 RTK Care Kit is the robot mower that finally made sense to me, and the fact that it's Amazon's current best seller in the category tells you I'm not alone.

Now, out of all of the Prime lawn care deals available right now, you’re probably asking what really makes this worth it to you. Well, first of all, the setup takes five minutes, which means no wire, no digging, and no RTK beacon installation headaches that plague the cheaper models. Basically, it means you have more time to kick back with a beer while your robot mows the lawn; now that’s a win!

The automated mapping system drives itself around your yard once and creates a precise boundary map with 0.8-inch positioning accuracy, receiving signals from up to 45 satellites. That number matters: it means it keeps working reliably even when you're mowing under trees or near fences where cheaper GPS mowers completely lose the plot.

The AIVI 3D obstacle avoidance is the feature that genuinely impressed reviewers. It detects and navigates around over 300 types of objects, including garden hoses, furniture, children's toys, pets, and even small wildlife like hedgehogs.

The TruEdge zero-edge cutting means it mows right up to the boundary of your grass rather than leaving a ragged perimeter strip you have to go back and trim (which is awful if it’s a hot day). The ultra-slim 1.31-foot body lets it squeeze through narrow garden passages as tight as 2.3 feet. It handles slopes up to 45% and has an IPX6 waterproof rating, so rain won't send it back to its dock in a depressed mood.

The Care Kit version includes 36 replacement blades, an RTK extension cable for optimal antenna placement, and everything you need out of the box. Reviews are strong across the board, with many buyers specifically loving the obstacle avoidance and the clean, systematic mowing lines it makes.

One honest caveat: it's best suited to yards up to ¼ of an acre. If your lawn is close to half an acre, look further down this list (we have robot mowers for you guys, too!)

6 More Prime Day Robot Mower Deals Worth Considering

If you're looking for the best Amazon Prime Day lawn care deals, you've come to the right place. Creating a lush, healthy lawn takes more than regular mowing – from choosing the right lawn mower and spreading fertilizer to tackling weeds and overseeding bare patches, maintaining great grass can quickly become an expensive hobby.

Fortunately, Amazon Prime Day is one of the best times of year to stock up on lawn care essentials for less. Whether you're starting a lawn from seed, upgrading your toolkit, or simply looking for ways to keep your grass greener throughout the season, there are thousands of garden deals available across everything from mowers and trimmers to fertilizers and lawn treatments.

To help narrow down the options, we've rounded up the very best Amazon Prime Day lawn care deals worth shopping – all on products we'd buy ourselves. Prime Day runs from June 23 to 26, so it's the perfect opportunity to save on the products you need to grow a lawn that's the envy of the neighborhood without overspending.

Lawn Fertilizer Deals

Turf Building

Garden Sprinkler Deals

Sprinkler Controllers

Weeding Tool Deals

Cordless Lawn Mower Deals

Robotic Lawn Mower Deals

The best gas lawn mowers will make light work of even the most extensive lawns. They also have serious power and stamina, enabling them to tame lawns that lesser mowers simply can't handle. Not only that, but these types of lawn mowers don't have the range issues of battery mowers, and unlike corded mowers, there's no cable to watch out for either. Cutting the grass becomes a pleasure rather than a chore with the best mower at the best price.

In this guide, you'll find the best gas-powered lawn mower suitable for your yard. While we have used a variety of gas mowers in our time, we haven't been able to test every model in this guide in person. Instead, we have honed in on top-rated brands and used our knowledge to refine our list.

Whether you're looking for a gas mower on a budget or want the absolute peak of petrol-powered perfection to make lawn care a breeze, you'll find them here – and we've got all the key information about each one, including cutting widths, weight, stripe options, self-drive, and even how much storage space they need.

The Quick List

Below, we’ve provided an overview of the important details you need to know about each product immediately, so you can buy quickly if you're in a hurry. If something catches your eye, use the links to delve deeper into the analysis provided for each product further down the page.

The Best Gas Lawn Mowers We Recommend in 2026

Gardening Know How is on a mission to review everything we feature in our buyer's guides. Still, while we work hard to make this a reality, some of our guides still feature rankings based on our team's considerable expertise and research.

While we haven't been able to test all of the units in this guide in person, we've honed in on top-rated brands and used our knowledge of the best features to help you make the right decision for your garden, all for the best price.

The Best Gas Lawn Mower Overall

Our review of the Troy-Bilt XP 21 in. 163cc 3-in-1 RWD Self-Propelled gas lawn mower found it to be perfect for small-to-medium yards. Its no-choke start system and self-propel feature make mowing effortless. Mulching and bagging are also easy.

Setup: The lawn mower was pretty easy to set up. It arrived mostly assembled, so our reviewer just had to attach the handle and choose the discharge chute. Adjusting the handle and adding oil and gas was easy, but it was hard to adjust the back wheels because the lever mechanism was hard.

In the first test, they added the side discharge chute to the deck (and left the plug in the back) since they mulch their grass.

Design: This Troy-Bilt lawn mower features a 21-inch deck and is perfect for small to medium yards. Its rear-wheel drive gives it better traction on slopes. The 163cc Briggs & Stratton engine starts easily thanks to ReadyStart technology, so you don't need a choke. There are six-deck positions for cutting heights between 1.25 and 3.75 inches. It has an adjustable handle, and you have to hold the blade control down to start and keep it running.

The self-propelled machine has dual levers for speed, a 2.3-bushel grass bag, and a side discharge chute.

Performance: Our reviewer loved that this lawn mower starts easily and the self-propelled feature makes it manageable despite its weight. The mower handles slopes well and prevents slipping. However, the lever makes lifting it hard. They mostly used the side discharge chute or mulched the clippings, both of which worked great. They tried mulching leaves, which shrunk them well. After attaching the grass bag, it worked well.

The Best Budget Gas Lawn Mower

The PowerSmart EasyGlide 21-Inch Gas Lawn Mower is a budget-friendly mower designed to keep small lawns looking neat without unnecessary complexity. Its lightweight design and folding handle make it easy to maneuver, transport, and store, making it a practical choice for homeowners with limited storage space.

There's been a lot of positive feedback on the PowerSmart EasyGlide, with many users praising its straightforward setup, reliable pull-start engine, and ease of use. Despite its affordable price, the mower delivers dependable performance for routine lawn care, making it a popular option for homeowners with smaller yards.

When it comes to features, the EasyGlide offers more versatility than many entry-level gas mowers. It supports mulching, rear bagging, and side discharge, allowing users to choose the mowing method that best suits their lawn. It also features a six-position cutting height adjustment system with a range of 1.5 to 3.9 inches, making it easy to adapt to different grass lengths and conditions.

Performance is best suited to flat lawns up to a quarter acre. The 144cc OHV engine provides reliable cutting power, while the mower's lightweight construction helps it navigate around flowerbeds, trees, and other obstacles. Assembly is simple, and most users report being able to get the mower up and running quickly. While it lacks premium features such as self-propelled drive, it remains a capable and affordable option for routine lawn maintenance.

Based on customer reviews, the PowerSmart EasyGlide has earned a 4.4 out of 5-star rating on Amazon. Owners frequently highlight its value for money, easy starting, and maneuverability. However, some reviewers feel the build quality is less robust than that of premium brands, and a number of customers who experienced issues with their mower reported dissatisfaction with the manufacturer's customer support.

The Best Gas Lawn Mower for Large Yards

The Toro TimeMaster 21219 might be a great option if you're looking for a powerful lawn mower that saves you time and effort. With a Briggs & Stratton engine, this self-propelled mower can handle even tough lawns. With the self-propelled system and Traction Assist feature, you can tackle larger lawns more easily and comfortably.

Despite its many benefits, the Toro TimeMaster 21219 is expensive, even with special offers. It's not affordable for everyone, but if you value your time and want a well-maintained lawn, you might want it.

This mower has a Dual-Force Cutting System, Atomic blades, a two-point height-of-cut adjustment, a Quick Stow handle, a washout port, and a Spin-Stop Blade Stop System. With the Personal Pace with Traction Assist, you'll always have control, even on challenging terrain. Plus, it has a three-year warranty and a guaranteed-to-start warranty.

The Toro TimeMaster 21219 has a powerful Briggs & Stratton 223cc OHV engine that delivers great performance. The 30-inch deck allows you to cut efficiently and cover more ground, and Traction Assist and Personal Pace make it easy to maneuver. It's perfect for residential use, especially for yards ranging from half an acre to a full acre in size. If you have a larger yard or need to mow frequently, you might want to check out commercial-grade mowers.

There are many positive reviews for the Toro TimeMaster 21219, with many praising its time-saving features. Some users have complained about fuel consumption, clogging, and occasional problems. Many customers are happy with the machine's performance and features and have given it positive feedback regarding its professional cut and speed.

The Best Mid-Range Gas Lawn Mower

Despite lacking some of the fancy features of more expensive models, the Toro Recycler 21-Inch Self-Propelled Gas Lawn Mower is a reliable and affordable mower. With a 140cc Briggs & Stratton engine, it can bag, mulch, and side discharge. Thanks to its self-propelled rear-wheel-drive system, it's easy to maneuver and well suited to small- to medium-sized lawns.

Toro Recycler has earned a strong reputation for dependable performance. The 140cc Briggs & Stratton engine provides reliable power, while the self-propelled drive system helps reduce effort when mowing. The mower features a two-point height-of-cut adjustment, a durable steel deck, and a handle that folds down for easier storage. A washout port makes cleaning the deck after use straightforward.

The Toro Recycler uses a pull-start system but is designed for easy starting and dependable operation. Thanks to its reliable engine, most users report that it starts quickly and performs consistently throughout the mowing season. While some components may not feel as premium as those found on more expensive models, the mower's ease of use and practical design make it a popular choice.

Customer reviews for the Toro Recycler are generally very positive, with many owners praising its cutting performance, self-propelled drive system, and ease of use. Users frequently highlight its value for money and dependable operation, while some note that premium models offer more advanced features. Overall, it remains a popular option for homeowners looking for a capable and affordable gas lawn mower.

The Best Gas Riding Lawn Mower

It's hard to beat the Cub Cadet Ultima Z2 50 when it comes to riding lawnmowers. This bright yellow, 50-inch-deck model with two bright LED front headlights illuminates your path even in low light. The back tires are chunky, so it's easy to maneuver in a variety of weather conditions.

The Cub Cadet Ultima Z2 50 is the best gas lawn mower for those with more than two acres and a generous budget.

Featuring dual hydrostatic transmissions, this Cub Cadet model is designed to offer a smooth riding experience with 7.5 MPH forward and 3.5 MPH reverse zero-turn controlled ground speeds. With adjustable lap bars and ergonomic hand grips, you can operate this machine with ease. You can adjust the deck height with a foot-operated lift and dial knob from 1 to 4.5 inches.

Thanks to the high-back 18-inch seat with suspension, you'll be comfortable during long mowing sessions. With its minimal assembly requirements, the Cub Cadet Ultima Z2 50 comes fully crated, so you can get started right away. This model has a 3.5-gallon fuel tank, so you can mow for a long time.

The Cub Cadet Ultima Z2 50 has a 4.4-star rating on Home Depot, and 82% of verified customers would recommend it. Users have expressed their satisfaction with the machine's ability to mow larger areas, especially in taller grass, faster than smaller push mowers. There were some complaints about tires losing air too fast, but it wasn't an everyday occurrence. They also praised the smooth, comfortable ride quality.

How to Choose the Best Gas Lawn Mower for Your Yard

When choosing the best gas lawn mower, you'll need to consider several criteria:

• Engine power: Often, the engine size of a mower directly impacts the cutting power. That's the most crucial consideration for many. If you're looking for a self-propelled model to help you, you'll want one with a powerful engine. To give you an idea, anything over 160cc will get you the power you want.
• Self-propulsion: Gas lawnmowers have built-in self-propulsion technology, so you don't have to push all that hard to get your lawn mowed. You'll have a less strenuous mowing experience with self-propulsion, but you won't be able to eliminate pushing completely.
• Mulching: You can buy mowers that mulch, bag, and side discharge all at once, so you'll deal with your grass cuttings as you go. Many lawns benefit from mulching, so consider it if that's your thing.
• Blade width: Your mower's blade width tells you how many passes it takes to mow your lawn, which means the blade you need depends on your yard's size. It's cheaper to push your mower around if it has a wider blade, but if you have a small yard, it might not make much sense to size up.
• Noise level: Gas mowers aren't the quietest, but you can reduce noise by choosing a smaller engine for your backyard so you don't annoy your neighbors.
• Cutting height and positions: Low-cost models require you to manually adjust the cutting position with a screwdriver so you can get specific with how tall your grass is.

How Does a Gas Lawn Mower Work?

A gas lawn mower uses a small internal combustion engine that powers the cutting blades and drives the mower forward. The process begins when fuel, typically unleaded gasoline, is mixed with air in the engine's carburetor. In the engine, this mixture is compressed by the pistons in the cylinders. A spark plug ignites it when you start it, pushing the piston down.

This movement turns the crankshaft connected to the mower's blades. Usually, gas mowers come with a self-propulsion system, so you don't have to push them to move forward. The blades rotate at high speeds, cutting the grass across the lawn.

This is accomplished through a drive belt connected to the rear wheels, engaged when the operator pulls a lever or presses a button. Gas lawnmowers also feature various cutting height adjustments so that you can set the blades at different heights depending on the type of grass and the look of your lawn.

Depending on the mower's deck design, clippings can either go into a bag for collection or back on the lawn as mulch, which can provide nutrients to the soil. For optimal performance, you have to take care of it. Checking and changing your oil, cleaning the air filter, and ensuring your fuel is fresh can prevent engine problems. Using fuel stabilizers can keep the gasoline from going stale over time, which can cause engine damage.

How Is a Gas Lawn Mower Better Than an Electric One?

Gas mowers are generally more powerful than electric models, so they're better at handling thick grass, uneven terrain, or large lawns. They also usually cost less than high-quality battery-powered electric mowers. Unlike electric mowers, which have limited battery life or power cords, gas mowers can run as long as fuel. This means they're perfect for larger yards or long periods of time.

With proper maintenance, gas mowers can handle tougher conditions, while electric mowers rely on batteries that run out. Gas mowers also don't require charging or access to an electrical outlet, so they're better for remote areas or properties without easy access to power.

What Type of Gas Should I Use in My Gas Lawn Mower?

A gas lawn mower usually runs on regular unleaded gasoline with an octane rating of 87. This fuel works fine for most small engines. It's best to use ethanol-free gasoline or fuel with the lowest ethanol content if you want to avoid ethanol blends with more than 10% ethanol. E10 can damage your engine and degrade performance over time.

Read your lawn mower's owner's manual for specific fuel requirements. Using the wrong fuel can void your warranty and cost you a lot of money. Most lawnmowers don't benefit much from premium fuel (higher octane), so stick to regular unleaded gas unless your mower says otherwise. If available, ethanol-free gas can help minimize issues caused by ethanol, like corrosion and fuel line clogging.

Does a Gas Lawn Mower Work Well on Uneven or Hilly Ground?

Electric or manual mowers might have trouble on sloped or uneven landscapes, so gas-powered mowers are ideal for them. The rear wheels on many gas mowers designed for such conditions make them more maneuverable and stable, so they glide over bumps and dips more easily.

Especially good for hilly terrain, self-propelled gas mowers don't require much effort to push them uphill, so it's easier and less tiring to push them. The durable construction and robust engines of these mowers allow them to withstand tough terrain conditions, like rocks or uneven surfaces.

Gas mowers are also great for maintaining sloped lawns. They come with hydrostatic transmissions or other advanced features that make them more efficient and controllable on steep slopes.

However, gas mowers are usually heavier than electric models, which can make it harder to maneuver on steep inclines if self-propulsion isn't available.

How Much Does a Gas Lawn Mower Cost?

In general, entry-level gas mowers cost $200-350. They usually have smaller cutting decks (around 20 inches) and less advanced features. These mowers are ideal for small to medium-sized lawns and are designed for homeowners who don't need many extras. Troy-Bilt and Craftsman are good brands in this price range.

Mid-range gas mowers often cost between $350 and $700 and come with features like self-propulsion systems, adjustable cutting heights, and bigger cutting decks. Honda and Toro provide a variety of mowers that fall into this category and are good for medium to large lawns.

A high-end gas lawn mower can cost $700 or more. These models often have bigger cutting decks (over 22 inches), advanced features like electric start, variable speeds, and robust engine performance. Brands like Cub Cadet and STIHL are known for their premium offerings, which are designed for larger properties.

Regular maintenance can add to the overall cost of ownership, but it's essential for optimal performance and longevity of a gas lawn mower.

How Long Do Gas Lawn Mowers Last?

It's better to buy a mower from a reputable brand than one that's cheap. Typically, a well-maintained residential mower lasts 1000 to 1,500 hours, whereas a commercial mower lasts 2,000 to 2,500 hours. On the other hand, lower-end residential mowers may only last 450 to 500 hours.

Mower lifespan also depends on how much you use it. If you use a mower just a couple of times a week during the growing season, it usually lasts longer than one used often. If you use a mower for 35 cuts a year, it won't wear out as much compared to one mowed more often.

Gas lawn mowers need proper maintenance to last a long time. Changing the oil, cleaning the air filters, and making sure the spark plugs are in good shape can prevent many common problems that lead to premature failure. You can also prevent engine problems caused by stale fuel by using high-quality fuel and adding fuel stabilizers.

Store your mower in a dry, sheltered place to prevent rust and damage from the elements. At the end of the season, run it dry of fuel to prevent fuel-related issues.

When Is the Best Time To Buy a Gas Lawn Mower?

Late summer or early fall is the best time to find a lawn mower deal. Retailers often clear out inventory to make room for winter products, so lawn mowers get a lot of discounts. It's a great time to shop for high-quality models at a great price, and many stores are holding clearance sales on older models, making it a great time for budget-conscious shoppers.

During holiday sales, like Memorial Day, Labor Day, or Fourth of July, retailers often offer discounts on lawn equipment, so you'll get a good deal. Many retailers offer promotional pricing to attract customers around these holidays, so watch for advertisements and online deals.

Many manufacturers release new models in the spring, around March or April. As new models arrive, older models may see price drops, allowing you to buy a reliable mower at a great price. Buyers who don't care about having the latest features will love it.

Last but not least, if you live in a region where the growing season lasts longer, you might want to buy a mower earlier so you can take advantage of the entire season.

Both April showers and May flowers are behind us as summer rolls on in. June leads the party, and it’s the mildest of the summer months. But that doesn’t mean that the grass doesn’t need mowing!

By June, the temperature is higher, daylight hours are longer, and grass growth is stronger. That combination means that lawn care in June includes mowing but that’s not all. Lawns in June also need grub/insect control, fungicide, weed control, and water.

1. Mow, and Raise the Mow Height

Mowing isn’t just for neatniks. It’s an important habit to build a healthy lawn. It promotes healthy grass growth, keeps down weeds, and recycles nutrients back into the soil. Mowing in June is especially important since the grass is growing faster. Sharpen the blades for cleaner cuts.

Mow the grass in the early morning or late afternoon. It stresses the grass to mow in the heat of the day. Raise the mower blades in June to around 3.5 inches (9cm) in June in order to provide shade for the soil and hold in water to provide the roots with more reserves against summer weather.

Mow once or even twice a week and leave the clippings on the lawn. Never take off more than one-third of the grass in one mow.

Lawn Care Essentials

2. Water Well But Infrequently

Summer is hotter and drier than spring, so, in June, lawn irrigation practices have to change. Reduce evaporation in June by watering early in the morning.

The idea is to water deeply but infrequently to “train” the roots to grow deep into the soil. The ideal amount of water for a June lawn is 1-1.5 inches (2.5-4cm) of water every week, from rainfall and irrigation combined. Buy a rain gauge like this one from Amazon to figure out water application.

3. Add Fertilizer or Compost

As your lawn starts gearing up in June for summer growth, getting nutrients to the grass roots becomes important. Fertilizing a lawn properly can make a big difference. You want to pick a balanced slow-release fertilizer and go a little light on the application. Too much fertilizer can burn the grass, especially with summer heat coming on.

If you're growing warm-season grass, June is also a great time to apply a layer of organic compost to improve soil health and microbial activity.You want to do a smooth, even layer of compost will give your lawn all the benefits without creating clumps or bare spots. You can use a push compost spreader, a handheld compost spreader or a tow-behind spreader. Once that's done, lightly water the area. Expect to see that your lawn turns a richer, deeper color of green in a couple of weeks.

4. Fight Fungal Disease

With warmer nights and humidity, June is a month that fungal diseases appear in your lawn. Start by monitoring the grass and looking for brown patches, dollar spots or red thread.

Do everything you can to prevent fungal issues from appearing. Watering early in the morning is a good step because the grass will be dried by midday. Never water in the evening. Keep the June mowing height at the high end and the June fertilizer at the low end of the range. Be sure you mow with sharp blades.

If, despite using all of the preventative cultural practices, you note fungal issues in your lawn, you may need to apply a fungicide. Spot-treat fungal lawn diseases with eco-safe treatments.

5. Control Weeds

First, don’t overreact. A few dandelions shouldn’t send you to the garden store for pesticides. Each gardener will have to figure out their own tolerance level. Once the unwanted plants growing in your lawn reach that level, it is time to take action. It’s still not the time for pesticides. The best way to deal with weeds is by hand weeding. Use a weeding knife to take out as much of the root base as possible. If that leaves holes in the lawn, add a bit of soil and a little grass seed.

But well before that point, you can and should take deliberate actions to prevent lawn weeds. You’ll also need to avoid mistakes that increase weed growth. For example, don’t think you’ll do double duty when you are mowing your lawn but cutting grass short to take out the weeds as well. This weakens the grass blades and encourages additional weeds.

Mistakes to Avoid

1. Scarifying or overseeding - June is too hot and dry to even think about heavy scarifying. This process exposes the soil and results in loss of moisture and more weeds. Leave heavy renovation for autumn. There is more rainfall at that time and temperatures are mild.
2. Short cutting before heat - Don’t fall into the notion that you should cut grass short when you know hot days are ahead. The fact is, longer grass creates shade for the grass roots, while short grass cuts raises stress and invites brown patches.
3. Fertilizing dry soil - You should always wait to fertilize until the grass is wet. Fertilize after a moderate rain or water thoroughly before and after applying fertilizer.
4. Light, frequent watering - If you water a bit here, a bit there, you are doing it wrong. This wastes your water and doesn’t teach your grass roots to dive deeper into the soil. Instead, it trains shallow roots. Instead, you need to water deeply and infrequently. .
5. Allowing foot traffic patterns - If you, your kids or your pets regularly use a particular part of the lawn, it will get worn down, the soil will be compacted, and the grass will become sparse. Move activity so that the worn area has a chance to heal.

Summer is almost here, and many of us are on the hunt for a new lawn mower to prepare our lawns for warmer weather. As you browse the best lawnmowers on the market, you’ll notice many of these machines look similar.

But the Black + Decker BEMW472BH stands out thanks to an innovative steering assembly that promises easier control. On this mower, you steer with upright handles that make navigating awkward areas, such as nearby trees or plant pots, easier.

I was excited to find out how well it measures up against its advertised claims of "precision handling" and "cutting-edge performance." So I opted to put the mower to the test by using it to mow my lawn on multiple occasions. I used the upright handles to navigate obstacles such as plant pots and I also tested various cutting heights to assess the effect on mowing performance.

In keeping with most of the Black + Decker yard care products I've used, the BEMW472BH promises effective performance at a reasonably low price point. It’s important to note that this is a corded electric lawn mower, meaning it runs off household electricity. Let's take a look at how this lawn mower worked in my medium-sized yard.

Black + Decker BEMW472BH: key specs

Price & Availability

One key incentive to choose this Black + Decker lawn mower is price. The BEMW472BH retails for $199 in the United States, but it frequently dips lower during seasonal sales. At the time of writing, the mower is available for that price via Amazon, The Home Depot, Walmart, and the Black + Decker site.

Official replacement blades for the mower are available via Black + Decker and third parties.

Setup

The BEMW472BH arrived in perfect condition and was efficiently packaged in robust cardboard. I was pleased to note that all the materials used to pack the mower were recyclable – except for a few tiny pieces, like the cable tie around the power cable.

Some parts of the mower come flat-packed in the box, so the package is less bulky than it could have been. The mower is relatively lightweight, so two reasonably fit people (or one strong person) should be able to move the box quickly. Just take a moment to get a solid grip around the bottom of the box, as it doesn't have handles.

Setting up the BEMW472BH proved relatively straightforward – although I did encounter a few finicky tasks along the way. Putting together the two halves of the grass collector box was a challenge. Assembling components such as the cable tidies that clip onto the metal bars proved much more manageable. The parts all click together or fasten using the winged screws provided. You don’t need any tools whatsoever to complete assembly.

Overall, I completed the setup (single-handedly) in about 20 minutes, which is fast by my standards! This was thanks partly to the instruction manual, which gives good, clear directions on assembling the mower and using its features in diagram and written form.

Design

Tough, good-quality plastic is used throughout this mower, except for parts of the handle assembly and the mowing blade, which is metallic. At about 38 lbs (17 kg), it’s pretty lightweight for a mid-sized lawn mower – a big win for users who want to minimize the physical strain of lawn mowing.

This is a nicely finished, sporty-looking machine in Black + Decker’s instantly recognizable black, orange, and gray. The design looks quite elongated due to the upright handle assembly used to control the mower. You’ll notice the added length when you push the mower from behind.

The upright steering controls are by far this mower's most unusual and exciting feature. You can use the sporty-looking handle to turn the mower left or right more quickly than a standard bar-style handle.

I found that feature on this ergonomic garden tool quite helpful when steering around plant pots at the edge of the lawn and I expect it could be a bit of a game-changer if you find it challenging to maneuver lawnmowers with regular handles. Admittedly, it takes a little while to get used to this novel lawn mower steering method.

So, those upright handles could prove helpful – especially for users with potential lawn obstacles, such as trees or mid-lawn flower beds. However, the extra length it adds to the mower has one big drawback: it may impair your ease of movement when mowing in tight spaces, such as in front of overhanging tree branches.

This mower does not come with a cover and is not designed to be stored outdoors. However, the low proportion of metal parts could make it relatively rust-resistant. Still, it is always best to store your gardening tools indoors in a space such as a garage or shed.

I recommend folding the mower’s handle assembly for efficient storage. Otherwise, it will take up a needlessly large space.

Performance

Let's cut to the chase. I was pleased with the Black + Decker BEMW472BH mowing performance. Operating at 1,600W, it offered plenty of power to mow the grass efficiently (and also to cut through tough weeds like dandelions – the bane of my lawn and myself).

Given its ample cutting power, you should be able to use this mower to cut lawns up to 1⁄8 acre (or 600 ㎡) in area. The cutting width of the mower’s blade is similarly well suited to medium-sized lawns, at 15 inches (38 cm) wide.

Of course, because the mower is corded, there’s no fear of running out of power mid-mow – and the affordable price point is due in part to that corded design, too. In other respects, the presence of the power cord is a moderate inconvenience. I found that moving the cable safely around the lawn was a chore, and the need to avoid running over it was never far from my mind during testing.

That said, the BEMW472BH does more to help with cable management than some other corded mowers. The bright orange color of the power cable helped me keep it in sight, while the handle-mounted cable clips reduced the risk of entanglement.

Meanwhile, this lawn mower's 12 gallon (45 L) grass collection box gathers grass clippings pretty effectively, although I did notice some cuttings were dropped during testing. You should expect to empty the box at least a couple of times while mowing a medium-sized lawn, which is what I found anyway. Handily, there’s a status indicator that flips open when the box is getting pretty full, so you’ll know when to empty out the clippings.

The mowing height was simple to adjust using the height selection lever on the left-hand side of the mower. Switching between mowing heights created an appreciable difference in cutting, as you would hope. Shorter mowing height settings seemed to produce a more uniform cut than the highest settings did, during my hands-on testing.

Given that this is a corded electric mower (powered by household electricity), you should not use it in wet conditions due to the risk of electrocution.

In terms of noise levels, this powerful mower sits towards the noisier end of the spectrum. My sound meter gauged the noise level of the mower at somewhere between 79 and 81 dB, which is around the same level as a noisy restaurant.

Maintenance

After mowing, it’s a good idea to clean out the mowing deck using a cloth or brush to remove any leftover grass cuttings. Be careful not to touch the cutting blade while you clean.

The lawn mower blade will need to be sharpened (read about how to balance and sharpen lawn mower blades) about once per 25 hours of use to preserve optimal mowing performance. In terms of mower maintenance, that's about all this mower needs since it doesn't have batteries that require charging or gas engine components that need changing from time to time.

User Reviews

Online customer reviews of Black + Decker's lawn mower are generally good, especially considering its reasonable price.

Black + Decker customers in the United States gave the BEMW472BH an average rating of 3.5 stars, with some buyers remarking upon the mower's easy handling and lightweight build.

Meanwhile, Amazon customers in the US had overwhelmingly positive views of the mower, with ratings averaging out at 4.1 stars from over 3,000 users. Like me, many buyers highlighted the mower's light build and maneuverability.

Would I Buy the Black + Decker BEMW472BH?

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How Does the Black + Decker BEMW472BH Compare?

While Black + Decker's mower is well worth your consideration, there are plenty of other mowers out there that we can recommend, too.

How I Tested the Black + Decker BEMW472BH

• I tested the Black + Decker BEMW472BH by using it to mow my lawn on several occasions during spring 2024, including that difficult first cut of the year.
• Used rigorously for several springtime mows.
• Because the mower is advertised as easy to steer, I tested it in awkward areas around the edge of the lawn, including near plant pots and the bases of tree trunks.

A glorious green grass is a prominent feature of the home, but lawn diseases can ruin that picture-perfect expanse of emerald. Common grass diseases often cause bald patches, discolored blades, rings, and other anomalies.

Lawn disease control should start in early spring just before new growth emerges with a second application in fall that will further protect your turfgrass. Lawn diseases may be viral, bacterial, or fungal, although viral disease is rare in turfgrass. These problems can stem from improper lawn care, environmental conditions, or different pathogens. There are specific treatments for each, but the first step is identifying which issue is impacting your lawn.

I’ll walk you through the most common lawn diseases that plague home landscapes. Then I’ll share my top tips on how to prevent and treat these problems.

Common Lawn Diseases

Sometimes improper lawn care is responsible for unsightly lawns, but often it is caused by a large number of pathogens. Recognizing the disease is key to lawn disease control.

Lawn disease treatment is relatively specific to the type of pathogen, like using different fungicides for different fungal lawn diseases. Similarly, bactericides work on most but not all bacterial diseases.

Here are the most common lawn diseases and how to identify which one is impacting your yard.

1. Brown Patch

Brown patch may resemble the damage done by dogs, but the irregular, rounded dead patch is composed of blades with tan lesions that have darker edges. Over time, the rounded patches can extend out into larger areas.

In the morning dew, you can observe spider web-like purple to gray growth over the blades of grass. This is the fungus that is causing the disease. It is most prevalent in humid weather on cool-season grasses. The development of the fungus can almost fully encompass the lawn site if left untreated.

2. Dollar Spot

Dollar spot appears as small, rounded patches of bleached grass. They are the size of a silver dollar, which leads to the common name of this disease. As the disease progresses, the spots begin to blend together.

This disease is also caused by a fungus, which shows in the early morning as silver-white threads atop the grass blades. The fungus favors warm, humid conditions and is easily spread by walking on your lawn or with mechanical equipment. Large areas of the grass can die when left untreated.

3. Fairy Ring

Although the name is rather cute, a fairy ring is a severe disease that results in uneven areas that are bordered by darker green. When conditions are very wet, mushrooms can also appear in the darker green border.

The disease symptoms show in early spring when cool, damp weather fuels fungi. The fungus begins at a central point and radiates outward, leaving weak grass at the center that can become susceptible to other diseases.

4. Melting Out

Melting out is a disease that occurs when the weather is wet and cool. It can cause very large patches of yellow grass with sparse blade growth and loose plant material. If you take a rake to the thatch buildup that sometimes causes this disease, large clumps will easily come out. Although cool-season grasses are most often affected, it can also occur in warm-season grass varieties.

5. Leaf Spot

Several viruses and bacteria can cause leaf spot, but it can also be fungal. The blades of grass will develop small elongated brown spots with reddish or purple borders. The overall appearance of the turf may be dying out on the site. Leaf spot is most prevalent in the summer and can cause entire sections of the lawn to die out.

6. Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is a fungus that affects many types of plants. It is very recognizable due to the white powdery residue on the leaf blades. The fungus feeds on plant tissue and causes damage, killing the leaf over time.

In significant occurrences of powdery mildew, the leaves are stunted, the area patchy, and overall turf health is weakened. Powdery mildew prefers warm, humid conditions.

7. Red Thread

Also known as pink patch, red thread is a fungal disease that causes thread-like growth on the tips of the leaf blades in red and coral hues. It can be complicated to control and can show up overnight. The leaf blades will dwindle in numbers and the lawn will become patchy.

8. Slime Mold

As unappetizing in appearance as in name, slime mold is a moist, slick mold that covers leaf blades in a variety of colors. It can also fruit and develop tiny balls of growth on the leaves of the grass.

Slime mold is not harmful to the grass itself, but lends an unattractive appearance to the lawn. It occurs when there is too much organic matter in the soil and conditions are warm and wet.

9. Rust

Rust is a fungal disease that causes orange and brown lesions on the leaf blades. The leaves die and the resulting lawn becomes patchy and sparse. It is most common in late summer into fall when there is plentiful moisture and warmth. The fungus lives in the thatch and appears when the right conditions occur. The spores can be transported to other areas of the lawn on shoes and tools.

How to Prevent Lawn Diseases

The way you water, fertilize, and mow your lawn can affect the health of your grass beneficially or negatively. Timing of these activities is also important. Most of the common diseases of lawns are caused by fungi.

Fungi require moisture to thrive. Some prefer cool, moist locations, while others need the temperatures warmer. If you water your lawn when the grass blades cannot dry in a timely manner, fungi can take hold. Early morning is the best time to irrigate.

Too much fertilizer creates a nutrient-dense environment where fungi can thrive. Sod that's grown in too much shade is prone to fungal disease and so are lawns with thick thatch. The height at which you mow can also contribute to disease. Remove just a third of the blade length each time you mow.

How to Control Lawn Diseases

• Water your lawn in the morning.
• Dethatch your lawn when the thatch is more than 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) to prevent excess moisture buildup, lack of oxygen, and nutrient density that fosters pathogens. If thatch is a common problem for you, consider a dethatcher like this one from Amazon so you can solve this issue yourself.
• Aerate your lawn if the soil is compacted to encourage water percolation, nutrient movement, air introduction, and create a healthy lawn resistant to disease. You can hire professionals to aerate or do it yourself with a home lawn aerator like this one from Amazon.
• Control weeds which can steal water and nutrients from the lawn and lead to grass that is more susceptible to disease.
• Only mow a third of the height off your grass each time to avoid damaging the sod and keep the blades tall enough to conserve moisture. This will help prevent the need for overwatering.
• Perform a soil test to determine nutrient amounts in soil for more accurate feeding of the lawn. Many soil tests can also determine soil pH, like this one from Amazon. Overly acidic soils favor many fungi while alkaline soil promotes other diseases. Aim for a pH of 6.0-7.0.

When to Bring in a Professional

If you simply don’t have the time or resources to do regular yard maintenance then it is time to call a landscaping professional. But with a maintenance regimen and schedule of tasks, most disease in the lawn is easy to prevent with the simple tips above. If your lawn is new to you or has been poorly managed for some time, bring in professionals to get the turfgrass healthy again and then take it from there.

Shop Lawn Care Essentials

Frequently Asked Questions

Keeping your lawn mowed and maintained is hard work, and yet it shouldn’t be difficult. When I was asked to review the Troy-Bilt XP 21 in. 163 cc Briggs and Stratton ReadyStart Engine 3-in-1 Gas RWD Self-Propelled Lawn Mower, I said yes immediately. I’m no stranger to Troy-Bilt yard products or lawn mowers. It’s a quality brand and I soon learned that this particular lawn mower fit right into Troy-Bilt's stellar offerings.

Over the course of a few weeks, I discovered how easy it was to start this lawn mower and use it to mulch and bag the clippings in my yard. Best yet, with a self-propel feature, I could effortlessly move the mower up and down the slopes in my yard. The drawbacks of this lawn mower were so few, especially compared to the pros.

As someone who has half an acre yard, I can confidently say that this 21-inch (53.3 cm) deck mower is one of the best gas types of lawn mowers suited for small to medium yards.

Key Specs

Price & Availability

The Troy-Bilt TB310B lawnmower is priced at $519 on the Troy-Bilt website. The price tag makes sense, especially since the lawn mower has self-propel capabilities and can mulch and bag clippings. Even the fact that the user doesn't have to choke the engine to start it up adds to the quality of the product.

Setup

If you’re new to cutting the grass and lawnmowers, you’ll be glad to hear that setting up this particular one isn’t difficult, though it does take about 5-10 minutes to complete. The lawn mower arrived in a large box on a wood pallet. After moving the box off the pallet, I cut the sides of the box so that they fell flat, allowing me to roll the lawn mower out.

The lawn mower itself comes nearly assembled. I only had to lift the handle and add the side discharge chute or the bag, if I wanted.

The handle was folded down against the lawn mower. When storing the lawn mower away, you can fold the handle again. To lift the handle, I had to remove the T-bolts near the back wheels and then lift the handle until the holes aligned before I could screw the T-bolts back in.

There are also T-bolts in the middle part of the handle. I also adjusted those so the handle was at the height I needed. Truthfully, these T-bolts are a bit of a hassle, especially considering that Troy-Bilt offers lawnmowers with EZ-fold handle release levers, making adjusting the handle quicker and easier.

From there, I cut the zip tie from the side of the handle to pull the starter rope and place it in the rope guide.

I grabbed the oil pouch in the packaging and added the entire thing to the oil container. Next, I added fresh gas and then adjusted the wheel height. While the front wheels are very easy to change, I had a lot of trouble adjusting the back wheels.

To adjust the wheels, I had to pull a lever on the wheels out, move it to the left or the right, and fit it on another spoke. Pulling the lever out was a struggle. While it was easier to move the lever to the left, it was almost impossible to move that lever to the right, thus lifting the wheels higher.

For the first testing session, I added the side discharge chute to the deck (and left the plug in the back) as I prefer to mulch my grass clippings and let them discharge out the side.

Design

This Troy-Bilt lawn mower is a gas-powered push lawn mower with a 21-inch (53.3 cm) deck, making it better equipped to handle small-to-medium yards. It’s designed with rear-wheel drive rather than front-wheel drive, which results in improved wheel traction, especially when cutting grass on a hill.

The 163cc Briggs & Stratton engine is easy to start thanks to Troy-Bilt’s ReadyStart technology. In the past, many gas lawnmowers required choke starting – or pressing a plastic button a few times so that it filled with gas. With this lawn mower, there is no choke. You only need to pull the recoil starter rope once or twice for the lawn mower to start.

There are six deck positions, which means the cutting height ranges from 1.25 to 3.75 inches (3.2-9.5 cm). When the lever is placed on the spokes toward the front of the mower, the deck is closer to the ground. Alternatively, when the lever is placed on the spokes in the direction of the back of the mower, the deck lifts.

If you need to adjust the handle for your height, you can do so by unscrewing the T-bolts and arranging it to your liking before screwing the bolts back in.

Above the handle is the blade control. When you start the lawn mower, it must be held down toward the handle, or the mower won’t start. It’s also what keeps the mower running. Let go of it and the mower stops.

To manage the self-propulsion speed, you pull on the dual levers below the handle. The more you squeeze them, the faster the mower goes. The maximum speed of the self-propulsion feature is 3.7 mph.

In addition to an integrated mulch plug, the lawn mower comes with a 2.3-bushel grass bag and a side discharge chute, both of which can be used or removed.

Performance

One of my favorite aspects of this lawn mower is that it doesn’t require a choke to start the engine. It only took me one or two pulls of the coil rope for the engine to start every time.

My hands felt comfortable gripping the blade control and the self-propel levers throughout the mowing process. I was so thankful for the self-propel feature, especially since I have quite a large yard.

At 86.5 lbs (39.2 kg), this Troy-Bilt mower is not the heaviest 21-inch (53.3 cm) push lawn mower on the market, but it’s not something you want to push around for an hour on your own.

Granted, a maximum speed of 3.7 mph isn’t the fastest among self-propelled mowers, but it’s average. When set at max speed, I walked briskly without the lawn mower getting away from me.

As someone with many slopes in their yard, including one ditch, the self-propel feature was a game changer. I can’t quickly push 86.5 lbs (39.2 kg) of metal up my hills without struggling (or hurting myself). But I didn’t have to do that thanks to the self-propel feature. Instead, the self-propel feature propelled the lawn mower up the slopes with little effort on my part.

Some of the slopes in my yard require me to mow stripes up and down, while others require back-and-forth mowing. When I mowed the slopes back and forth, I noticed the rear-wheel drive, as it prevented the lawn mower from slipping down the slope.

Some areas of my yard had higher, thicker grass, and it would have been nice to have been able to lift the lawn mower slightly. However, since I had a lot of difficulty raising the deck of the lawn mower, especially on the back wheels, I decided to power through the grass despite how difficult it was. The lever design is my biggest issue with the lawn mower.

Most of the time, I used the side discharge chute or nothing, as I don’t mind the mulched grass clippings in my yard. I tested the mower's mulching capabilities on a pile of leaves that I removed from my flower beds, and it quickly shredded them.

I did use the grass bag once, just to make sure it worked. It took me a few minutes to attach it, but once I did, it caught the clippings, which were easy to deposit in the trash.

All in all, I had no real issues with this lawn mower and it performed remarkably well in mowing my lawn.

Maintenance

If you invest in this Troy-Bilt lawn mower, you must know it will require maintenance. It’s no more maintenance than other gas lawnmowers, but it’s more than you’d have to do for a battery-powered mower.

First, you'll need to keep the deck clean of grass clippings. Use a blower to remove clippings around the engine and the top of the deck. You can screw a lawn hose to the deck wash adaptor and wash the bottom of the deck with water. If you don’t do this, the grass will get stuck on the underside of the deck and need to be removed with a scraper.

You will have to sharpen your mower blade or replace it occasionally. You should also check the oil intermittently throughout the cutting season to see if you need to add more. Spark plugs and the air filter must also be replaced once a year.

Before storing tools in the winter, run the lawn mower until it’s empty of gas. Also, remember to give the lawn mower a thorough cleaning.

User Reviews

This Troy-Bilt lawn mower has about 50 reviews, which average around a four-star rating out of five stars (some of the reviews on one site were also found on other sites).

Reviewers rave over how easy this lawn mower is to start. Many others appreciate its mulching capability and the self-propel features. A few were disappointed that some parts around the wheels were made of plastic and were not durable.

Would I Buy the Troy-Bilt TB310B?

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How Does the Troy-Bilt TB310B Compare?

How I Tested the Troy-Bilt TB310B

After mowing my half-acre yard a few times, I got a good sense of this lawn mower and its features, from the pull start to its mulching capabilities and everything in between.

Because my yard is full of slopes, large spaces, obstacles, and different varieties of grass, I was able to provide some great insights into the features of this lawn mower and, ultimately, which the mower will best suit your grass cutting needs.

You’ve heard the old expression that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Have you ever wished that the greener grass belonged to you? It can, if you are willing to put in the effort to offer your lawn tip-top lawn care.

Many things in life depend on luck: the color of your eyes, your nationality, your mature height… but the state of your lawn is a matter of effort. If you are willing to put in the time on landscape design and lawn care, your lawn might become the point of positive reference in the neighborhood.

Grass Types: Weigh Your Options

The world of lawn grasses can be split into two main hemispheres: the cool season hemisphere and the warm season hemisphere. Cool season grasses grow fast and furious in cooler weather, while warm-season grasses shoot up when the temperature rises. Each type of grass goes dormant when the weather is not to its liking.

Warm Season Grasses

Generally, southern homeowners install warm-season grasses, since they thrive in high heat and dry conditions. They go dormant and turn brown when the weather turns cool. These types of grass may die in very cold winters. Some common warm-season grasses include Bermuda grass, bahia grass, buffalo grass, centipede grass, and St. Augustine grass.

Shop Warm Season Grass Seed

Cool Season Grasses

Cool-season grasses are top choices in northern climes. These types of grass go dormant in the summer but grow well in spring and fall. Popular choices include tall fescue, fine fescue, creeping red fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, creeping bentgrass, and zoysia grass.

Shop Cool Season Grass Seed

Transition Grasses

In addition to warm season and cool season grasses, there are grasses that work in the transition-zone, doing better in cold weather than warm-season grasses and better in summers than most cool-season grasses. If you live somewhere with cold winters and hot-as-hell summers, the middle ground might be the best choice.

There are no grass species that are exclusively transition grasses. Generally, transition grasses include adaptable cool-season grasses like tall fescue or zoysia.

How to Mow a Lawn

Mowing the lawn is the landscape equivalent of getting a haircut. It makes things look better and neater. Plus, mowing the lawn properly makes the grass healthier.

Lawn care tools must be maintained. Be sure that the blades on your lawnmower are sharp before you begin to cut. Take it into a shop for sharpening if you don’t want to do it yourself.

The height at which you cut the grass is important. You don’t want to cut it too short because it makes for thinner grass and allows weeds to grow.

Type of Grass Formula

The first formula for how high to cut the lawn involves is based on the type of grass seed you planted. Some grasses can be cut shorter than others, but there is generally a range of height for each type. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, opt for the higher height in a range of height since this helps to prevent weeds.

• Mow these grasses at 1.5 to 2.5 inches high:
  • Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, and St.
• Mow these grasses a little shorter at 1 to 2 inches high:
  • Common Bermuda grass, centipede grass, and zoysia grass

Current Height of Grass Formula

If your lawn is very overgrown, the better rule is the one-third rule. If the lawn is currently 6 inches tall, don’t cut it below 4 inches high. Mowing regularly allows you to cut according to the type of grass formula.

Here are a few tips to help with mowing:

• Never mow when the grass is wet. The grass won’t cut evenly.
• Don’t regularly remove lawn clippings as they feed the soil.
• Do rake and remove clumps of cut grass. These will create dead spots on the lawn.
• Mow less when there is a drought.

How to Water Grass

To get your lawn to be the greener grass on the other side of the fence, you need to irrigate regularly. Grass may look like a green carpet, but it’s actually made up of many individual plants, each of which requires water to survive. Water your lawn with an inch (2.5 cm) of water every week throughout the growing season.

Deep watering helps create deep roots, but don’t overwater. Too much water brings in the bugs. Overwatering a lawn can also wash nutrients out of the soil.

How to Fertilize the Lawn

When it comes to fertilizing a lawn, the first question is whether to do it at all. That is, do you want to use organic products that enrich your lawn? Or do you prefer to purchase chemical fertilizer? Both are options.

Organic Lawn Fertilizer

There are free, organic products that you can use to enrich the soil under your lawn. Many experts believe that these practices are all that is needed to create a healthy lawn.

The first possibility involves grass clippings. If you cut your grass and leave the clippings in place, they filter down through the growing grass blades to decompose in the soil. This step recycles the nutrients in the cut grass back into the roots of the grass.

Another option is top-dressing with a thin lawyer of manure-rich organic compost. Layer on about ¼ of an inch every month during the growing season. The high nitrogen and phosphorus in the manure will make for a healthy lawn and also improve the soil drainage.

Chemical Lawn Fertilizer

Maybe you don’t want to go the organic route and would prefer to use fertilizer. The type of lawn fertilizer that you choose depends upon when you're adding it. It's best to fertilize several times over the growing season, first in spring and later in summer.

Early Spring

Do you get a boost from that first cup of coffee in the morning? Using a quick-release fertilizer in late March or early April is the coffee equivalent for your lawn. It gives a boost to the grass that helps the lawn recover quickly as winter slides into spring.

Late Spring

As an alternative to a quick-release fertilizer in early spring, consider a slow-release fertilizer in May or June. By this point, the energy reserves in the grass roots may be depleted and a slow-release fertilizer will restore them. Either way is fine. Your lawn will appreciate a light application of a complete fertilizer in springtime. Just don’t overdo it!

Late Summer or Fall

The heat of summer stresses grass, even warm-season grasses. By August or September, it’s time to help the roots of your grass to recover from that stress to keep the grass healthy over the winter. Consider fertilizer a part of your fall lawn care, especially for cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, and fine-leaf fescue.

What type of fertilizer to apply? This is the time to add high-nitrogen fertilizer to the lawn. Add about 1 pound of nitrogen for every 1,000 square feet of lawn.

How to Seed a Lawn

Lawn seeding is the process of planting grass seeds to establish a new lawn or expand an existing one. It’s how you start a new lawn or add to your existing lawn. Seeding should be done in spring for warm-season grasses and in fall for cool-season grasses.

The first step in seeding is preparing the soil. This involves testing the pH of the soil. Grass grows best in soil with a pH between 6.0 and 7.5. so do the test then amend the soil if necessary before seeding. Next, clear out stones, weeds, and roots. If removing these leaves holes, add topsoil. Get rid of clumps with a rotary tiller.

Add an inch (2.5 cm) of sand and work it in with the tiller, then do the same with compost. Then apply starter fertilizer to the area with a broadcast spreader. Rake the area, then spread your selected grass seed evenly with the broadcast spreader. Work the seeds into the top of the soil with the back of a leaf rake. Put a layer of straw over the entire area to keep birds out. Then water lightly with a sprinkler. Keep watering daily for the next seven days.

How to Overseed a Lawn

Overseeding is done when your lawn is looking thin. It is the process of adding grass seed to a lawn without plowing up the topsoil. It can be a one-time thing or a part of annual lawn maintenance. Overseed if you have bare spots on the lawn or lots of weeds crowding into sparse grass. The idea of overseeding is to grow additional grass, choking out weeds and creating a lush lawn.

When to overseed? Late spring is a great time if you dethatch or aerate your lawn at that time. These processes open up the lawn so that the grass seed used in overseeding will reach the soil. You can also overseed in August or September in mild climates. This is the best time to seed or overseed a cool-season turfgrass.

To overseed, first mow and rake the grass to make it easier for the new seed to get down to the soil below. Then test the soil and amend the soil if you need to regulate the pH.

Finally, load your chosen grass seed into a seed spreader. Regulate the spreader to distribute 16 seeds per square inch of soil. If your existing lawn is very lush, you might regulate it to release less seeds. Alternatively, spread grass seed by hand if you don’t have a spreader. Apply fertilizer, then water the lawn. Continue watering each day for about seven days.

Lawn Weed Control

The best way to protect your lawn from an invasion of weeds is to create a lush, healthy lawn through appropriate lawn maintenance. Weeds only take root if they can find space, and a thick lawn shoulders out weeds.

If you do the regular maintenance a lawn requires like mowing appropriately, aerating, and keeping the pH of the soil at a healthy level, the result will be dense, thriving turfgrass. This type of lawn naturally eliminates weed growth.

If weeds do appear in the lawn, identify the types of weeds so that you can choose the best removal method. The three common types of weeds are broadleaf weeds (like dandelions) with deep tap roots, grassy weeds like crabgrass, and sedge weeds like sedeed. You can hand pull any of these lawn weeds, or use an herbicide specific to the type of weed.

Lawn Pest Control

Part of lawn maintenance is getting rid of pests. Insects can hurt the grass and also your garden. You’ll need to use a combination of techniques to cover all pests.

Your best bet is to use the holistic approach called Integrated Pest Management. It reserves chemical use for a last alternative if all else fails. Essentially, under IPM, you need to monitor your lawn for pests and only take action when it is necessary.

Top IPM approaches when it comes to lawn pests include introducing natural predators to take out nuisance pests, using substances like beneficial nematodes against pests that live in the soil, and using sprays like Neem oil to smother insects.

Chemical treatments for lawn pests include insecticides, usually pest specific, and targeted grub control that prevents grubs from destroying grass roots.

How to Dethatch Grass Lawns

When gardeners talk about thatch, they mean the dead grass and organic matter on the grass. This can result from too much nitrogen fertilizer, shallow irrigation, or chemical fertilizers that kill off the earthworms. Controlling thatch in your lawn involves removing that layer when it gets too thick. A little thatch can act like a mulch, but anything above ½ inch can be bad for the lawn. Thick thatch creates an impermeable layer on top of the grass that can prevent water and nutrients from getting to the grass roots. It can also invite disease and pests.

How to tell if you need to dethatch? Try to poke your finger into the grass. If it feels spongy, or if it is difficult to poke through to the soil, the thatch is a problem.

It's best to dethatch during the peak growth seasons: late spring for warm-season grasses and early fall for cool-season grasses. Don’t rush to dethatch in early spring because it can injure fragile baby grass.

If your lawn is small, use a dethatching rake (available from the garden store) to pull out the dead grass. The idea is to push the rake tines deep into the grass - that’s where the thatch layer is located - to extract the dead grass. Alternatively, you can buy or rent an electric dethatcher. This pulls out the thatch quickly.

More Lawn Care Essentials

How to Aerate a Lawn

Sometimes dethatching is not enough to rejuvenate the lawn. This can result from the prior construction if the fertile topsoil was removed and the subsoil is compacted. Excess traffic on the lawn can increase the problem. If the soil under your grass seems hard even after dethatching, you may need to aerate the lawn. The proper time to do this is fall.

What is aeration? It is a process of taking out small plugs of soil and thatch from the grass. Like dethatching, the purpose of lawn aeration is to allow water and nutrients to get to the grass roots. If the roots can’t grow, the grass won’t be healthy.

The easiest way to aerate your lawn is to hire a professional to handle it. If you want to DIY, you can rent an aerator from your local garden center, or buy a small dethatching tool yourself. Aeration can really help your lawn by opening up the soil to let oxygen and water reach the grass root system. It also speeds up thatch breakdown.

By May, the weather is warm enough for your grass to be growing and looking green as green can be. So, if your lawn is less than lush this spring, there’s a problem! But don’t fret if you have brown grass or even patches of dead grass: there’s still time to work out what it needs, and fix the issue to enjoy a verdant green lawn all summer. Wait until June’s heat arrives before you take action, however, and you’ll be fighting a losing battle.

Your first task is to turn detective and work out what your lawn is lacking, then it’s a simple step to give the grass what it needs, and nature will sort the rest. At this time of the year, it’s very unlikely that your grass is suffering from lack of moisture so you can rule that cause out unless the weather has been mighty dry in your area. Your lacklustre grass is far more likely to be caused by one of seven common problems, which are all easy to fix with the right lawn care in May.

I've included some links to a certain national retailer, just so you can see the exact type of product you need to get the best results – but do support your local businesses too.

Right, let's get this problem sorted! Which of these issues are behind your patchy brown lawn?

1. You’ve Been Mowing Your Lawn Too Short

Fetch a ruler and go measure how tall your grass is. Done? If it's less than 1½ inches high and you recently mowed, this is the likely cause. In spring, grass wakes up from its winter dormancy and starts growing. The plants are full of nitrogen at this time of the year, which fuels strong foliage growth. But if you’re continually cutting those blades too short, your grass plants are using up more energy than they’re able to make.

Think of all those grass blades as solar panels. In spring, while the plants are in full growth, it’s best to leave the blades a little longer so those solar panels can generate more energy. That means the plants have enough energy to fuel not just foliage growth but root growth.

In spring, it’s best not to mow your lawn any shorter than 1½ inches above the ground. Sure, you can gradually reduce the height to around 1 inch as summer approaches but for now, keep your mower a little higher. There's an added benefit of raising your mower height in spring because there’s a direct correlation between the grass' height and its root depth. Encourage your grass to grow its root system a little deeper now and, come summer, it'll be better able to seek out moisture. So, allowing that extra half-inch of grass height won't just help your lawn green up now, but help it stay greener for longer in the summer heat.

2. Your Lawnmower Blades Are Blunt

Take a closer look at your grass: is it just the tips that have turned brown? Cutting a blade of grass with a blunt mower blade is rather like trying to slice a tomato with a less-than-sharp knife: you’ll just squash and bruise it. And the thousands of raggedy, torn edges you create when you mow with a blunt blade will be slow to heal and likely turn brown.

It’s a quick and easy job to sharpen mower blades, and experts suggest you resharpen after every eight hours of mowing – yes, you read that right, not eight months or years! You’ll need a dual-grit sharpening file such as this from Amazon or you can use blade-sharpening bits such as these from Amazon that fit any standard power drill.

All you need do is repeatedly run the sharpener along the blade at an angle to create a fine edge. An angle of around 30° is about right but simply aim to match the factory-set bevel, which may be up to 45°. To do a good job, all you need is to understand that a blunt blade edge is wide, whereas a sharp blade edge is far narrower. So, if you’re using a manual sharpening file, first use the coarser side to remove any notches from the blade, then the finer side to get that super-narrow edge.

If you’re worried about getting the angle right, then a sharpening tool such as this Sharpal Multi-Blade Sharpener, available from Amazon, is foolproof.

Before you start, make sure your lawnmower is disconnected from its power source – and that includes removing the battery from a cordless mower as well as unplugging an electric mower. With most mower designs, it’s easiest to remove the blade from the chassis by undoing the mounting nut, and do wear heavy-duty gloves such as these from Amazon.

3. The Soil Beneath Your Lawn is Compacted

If your grass is brown in patches, and you noticed any standing water after heavy rain over the winter, then chances are the soil is compacted. It’s a common problem with lawns as they’re usually heavy-traffic areas, especially if you have kids. And when soil becomes compacted, it’s difficult for water, air and nutrients to filter down into it, and grass roots start to struggle.

Thankfully, it’s an easy issue to fix by creating a myriad small holes all over your lawn. If your lawn is small then it’s easy to do by pushing the tines of a garden fork into the soil. For a bigger lawn, you’ll want to make life easier with a rolling aerator such as this from Amazon, or a pair of spiked soles such as these, also from Amazon.

Switch up the pattern that you mow in, too, as a regular route could be contributing to soil compaction. Adopt a different approach every time you cut the grass, switching between straight and diagonal lines, cross-hatching and spiralling out from the centre.

4. Your Grass is Hungry For a Spring Feed

Does your grass look pale, or have any yellowing blades, and is growth patchy or sparse? These are signs that your lawn needs feeding. It’s a smart move to feed your lawn every spring, even if it's already beautifully green, and it’s easy to do.

If you have a mulching mode on your mower, use that to chop the grass clippings into a fine mulch which will slowly break down to feed the lawn. For a faster result, use a granular lawn fertilizer that prompts root as well as shoot growth, and releases nutrients over a long time period, such as this from Amazon. Follow the instructions on the packet and don’t be tempted to over-fertilize as that causes just as many problems as under-fertilizing. Mixing the lawn feed with a few handfuls of sand helps you see the areas you’ve treated, but do always wear gloves when handling fertilizers.

5. You've Over-Fertilized Your Lawn

If you recently fertilized your lawn and it's now looking decidedly brown, you've likely used too high a concentration of feed and damaged the grass. You'll need to act quickly to save the grass, flooding it with water every day for at least the next week to dilute the excess salts.

Your grass will hopefully recover but if not, treat your lawn as if it's full of moss, below.

6. Your Lawn is Full of Moss

Moss loves to make itself at home in a lawn, gradually building up among the grass. Which is fine while the weather is cool and damp enough for the moss to stay green but, as soon as we hit May and temperatures rise, it quickly dehydrates and turns brown.

There’s another problem with excess moss in your lawn, too, as it can choke healthy grass growth. Evict it and you won’t just have a greener lawn but room to grow a denser sward that looks far plusher and stays lush for longer.

With a springtine rake such as this from Amazon, rake the grass to pull the moss out. You’ll also drag any dead grass, or thatch, out. If you’ve got a big lawn, then an electric scarifier like this from Amazon speeds up the job.

Afterwards, there will likely be a few bare patches that need reseeding, and a bare spot lawn repair mix such as this from Amazon will give quick results. However, if you pulled so much moss from your lawn that the grass looks a little sparse all over, then now’s a great time to overseed. Because you’ve already scratched the soil surface with your raking, grass seed will germinate quickly and find it easy to send roots down into the ground – just be sure to treat your baby grass plants as you would any freshly-sown garden additions, and keep them well-watered to start with. Choose grass seed that’s suitable for your lawn conditions, for best results.

7. The Grass Has Been Burnt By Dog Pee

No prizes for guessing how to work out if this is the cause of your brown lawn patches! Dog urine contains high levels of nitrogen which can chemically burn the patches of grass it first hits; the surrounding area is likely to grow a darker green because of that extra nitrogen, too.

Your best bet is to use a product that neutralizes the acidity of urine-damaged soil and allows the grass to regrow, such as this from Amazon. Do check the fine print when you’re looking for burn-spot lawn repair treatments, as some are dyes that simply paint your dead grass green! Going forwards, natural dog chews that balance nitrogen levels in urine will reduce the issue, like these from Amazon.

All sorted? Then you have a summer of lush green grass ahead of you!

Prevention is far easier than cure when it comes to lawns, so consider adopting an annual spring lawn care routine that sets your grass up for healthy, abundant growth all year long. Brown patches of grass can also be caused by lawn fungus or lawn grubs, but these are typically more likely in late summer through autumn.

You may not think of lawns as snoozing, but they do. As cold weather sets in, that turfgrass stops growing and goes dormant, sleeping the winter away. It sets an alarm clock for late spring to wake up from a long winter’s sleep and start to grow. That’s an exciting time for the homeowner, since a green lawn is like nature’s welcome mat around their own house.

But May’s warming weather also means garden work ahead. Along with the usual shrub and tree pruning, and planting annuals in the flower garden, it’s important to make time to focus on lawn care. By the time daytime temperatures are consistently hitting around 60–75°F (16–24°C), cool-season grasses are primed to put on fresh growth – and they respond best to a little timely help. This late spring season is the ideal moment to invest time in bringing your lawn back to vibrant health.

What tasks can you do in May that make your lawn sing again? Well, we could overwhelm you with a list of 25, or even 50, good ideas. But there are only five absolutely essential lawn jobs to tackle. Think of them as the core rituals of the season – simple, well-timed steps that do far more good than a scattergun approach. Here’s your short list.

1. Weed the Lawn

This is the favorite task of exactly nobody. Nobody I know loves weeding lawns, because the best and most effective way to do it is manually, on hands and knees. It doesn’t require special equipment, yet allows you to get out those weeds, roots and all. Persistent weeds like dandelions may not enjoy herbicide sprays, but they rarely give up without a fight. In truth, if you don’t remove that deep taproot, you’re really just giving them a light haircut – and they’ll be back before you know it.

You’ll need a bit of leverage to get those roots out intact. A forked, V-notch hand weeder – such as Fiskars' Ergo Weeder Tool – slips neatly under deep taproots, unlike rake-style heads that are better suited to shallow weeds. For bigger jobs, or if kneeling isn’t appealing, a stand-up puller with a claw tip like Grandpa's Weeder lets you extract weeds cleanly without bending.

Weeding time also provides an opportunity to inspect the lawn for damage. You’re right down there in the middle of it, so take note of circular brown patches. These often point to fungal issues, especially where air circulation is poor or moisture lingers. Also note anything else that looks like trouble, like bare patches, bumps, moss, and compaction.

Here are a few tips to think about when it comes to weeds:

• The best prevention is a thick, healthy turf – dense grass simply leaves no room for weeds to take hold.
• Broadleaf weeds can be controlled with selective broadleaf herbicides, applied while the weeds are actively growing.
• When removing weeds manually, it’s easiest the morning after a soaking rain, when the soil is soft, and roots release more cleanly.

2. Aerate Compacted Soil

You know grass roots need water, nutrients, and oxygen, too. With fall rains and winter cold, the soil in the lawn can compact. A little compaction is unavoidable, but it can become so dense that nothing much penetrates. Lawn aeration opens things up again – creating channels that let air, water, and nutrients move back down into the root zone. It involves removing plugs of soil from the turf.

You’ll need a core aerator to do this job properly, like this Misopily rolling lawn aerator from Lowe's. These machines use hollow tines to pull out small cores of soil – unlike cheaper spike aerators, which simply punch holes without removing any material. Many garden centers will rent an aerator, though for smaller areas, a manual core aerator – such as this Lawn Vigor tool – is an affordable alternative. For best results, aim to work when the soil is moist – about 1–2 in (2.5–5 cm) down – so the tines can penetrate easily without smearing the soil.

For small lawns, you might be tempted by spiked aerator shoes, like these from Amazon. They can be useful for very light surface aeration or quick touch-ups, but they won’t relieve deeper compaction in the way a core aerator does – so think of them as a supplement, not a substitute.

What to do with the plugs once they are removed? Leave them on the lawn to dry, then break them up with the back of a rake or a pass of the mower – they’ll sift back into the turf and help improve the soil structure.

3. Fertilize the Grass

When you hear fertilizer, do you think nitrogen? It makes sense – almost every lawn benefits from an annual application of slow-release nitrogen to support steady, even growth. Timing matters, too: applying lawn fertilizer right after aerating allows nutrients to move more easily down into the root zone, where they’re needed most.

But fertilization is a broader concept. It’s about supplying grass with all the nutrients it needs to grow vigorously. Nitrogen drives leafy growth and color, while phosphorus supports root development, and potassium helps with overall resilience – particularly against drought and wear. A balanced, slow-release lawn fertilizer – such as Scotts' Green Max Lawn Food – is often the most effective and low-maintenance option for home lawns.

Before applying anything, it’s worth understanding what your soil actually needs. While you can’t reliably measure nitrogen levels with a standard soil test, it will tell you how much phosphorus (phosphate) and potassium (potash) are present. Simple at-home soil test kits – like the popular MySoil test kit on Amazon – make it easy to tailor your feeding plan rather than guessing.

4. Reseed Bare Patches

May is a great time to deal with a spotty lawn, since mild weather and moist soil help grass seed germinate quickly. You can reseed any bare or thin areas in late spring – or even overseed the entire lawn – to create a thick, even sward. It’s one of the most forgiving windows in the growing season, when soil warmth and regular rainfall do much of the work for you.

If you’re overseeding the whole lawn, mow the existing grass short – around 1–1.5 in (2.5–4 cm) – and rake away the clippings before sowing. This helps the seed reach the soil surface, which is essential for successful germination.

Be sure to use an appropriate grass seed – either warm-season (like Scott's Drought Tolerant Mix) or cool-season types (like Jonathan Green's Cool-Season Fast-Grow Grass Seed), ideally matching what’s already growing in your lawn. Spread seed evenly over the area, aiming for good soil contact rather than burying it too deeply, then lightly rake it in. Covering freshly sown patches with a light netting or fleece can help deter birds while still allowing light and water through. Water the area thoroughly and keep it consistently moist while the seed establishes.

You should see new growth in about 7–30 days, depending on temperature and conditions. Hold off mowing until the new grass reaches around 3–4 in (7.5–10 cm) – roughly the width of your palm – so seedlings have time to establish strong roots.

5. Mow That Lawn – or Don’t!

Most lawns should be mowed about once a week while the grass is actively growing – though it’s best to let growth, not the calendar, be your guide. As a rule of thumb, never remove more than one-third of the grass blade in a single cut, which helps keep the lawn healthy and avoids stressing the plants.

But it’s also worth considering the “No Mow May” movement. This campaign encourages gardeners to pause mowing early in the season to support emerging pollinators – particularly bees – by allowing lawn flowers like clover and dandelions to bloom. Even leaving a portion of the lawn unmown, rather than the whole area, can provide a valuable food source without letting things get completely out of hand. Following a “No Mow” approach, even in part, can help bring more pollinators into your yard.

When my husband and I bought our first home, I was thrilled — but then I looked out at the yard. Suddenly, I had roughly a third of an acre of grass to take care of, complete with compacted clay soil and a five zone in-ground sprinkler system (along with a sixth zone for drip irrigation).

Living in the Pacific Northwest means we get a lot of rain, but our summers can still run incredibly dry. My old sprinkler control panel was about as "dumb" (and old) as it gets. I simply set an amount of time to water each zone, and it would run blindly on that schedule. Every time it rained (which is often!), I had to run to the garage to manually turn the system off so I wasn't wasting water or drowning my lawn.

I knew there had to be an easier way, so I decided to test out the ImoLaza Smart Sprinkler Controller. I am officially obsessed — it's the ultimate "set-it-and-forget-it" lawn care hack.

The 15-Minute Setup

I am not an electrician, so the thought of rewiring a control panel felt a little intimidating. To be honest, I had my husband come into the garage with me to help out because I wasn't sure I'd get the installation right. But surprisingly, the setup took us maybe 15 minutes tops, and it was so easy I could've done it all myself.

My biggest pro-tip: Before you disconnect your old panel, take a picture of the wiring so you know exactly what goes where! The ImoLaza comes with a super handy guide on where to place your screws to mount the sleek new panel to the wall. After that, you simply push the wires into their corresponding zone sections.

I did have a tiny bit of trouble getting the panel to connect to my home Wi-Fi at first, but I managed to fix it within minutes. Once it was connected, it was up and running flawlessly, and I haven't had a single issue since!

What I Liked

The amount of customization this system offers through its phone app is staggering. Instead of just guessing how long to water, the app had me input super detailed information for each of my zones — including my grass type, my compacted clay soil, and how much sunlight that specific zone gets. Using that data, the app automatically recommended exactly how often, and at what time, to water!

But the best feature by far is the built-in weather intelligence. The ImoLaza connects to your local weather station for hyper-accurate forecasting. It doesn't just skip a watering cycle when it's actively raining; it knows exactly how much rain has fallen. If it determines that the rainfall was heavy enough, it will automatically skip the next day's watering too, assuming the soil is still perfectly saturated. It sends a handy notification to my phone every time the system runs or skips, giving me total peace of mind.

It also has brilliant specialty settings. With just a tap on my phone, I can tell it we are going on vacation, put it in winterize mode, or activate a "reseeding" mode that automatically adjusts the watering amount to encourage new grass growth!

What I Didn't Like

Honestly, my only complaint is that the app's zone customization is almost too thorough! When it was asking me highly specific questions about my soil type and gradient, I admittedly didn't know the answers to all of them. At a certain point I just went with the defaults and hoped that was enough.

However, if you're a data nerd or a lawn care perfectionist, you will absolutely love this level of granular control. You can even buy a rainfall sensor, like this one, that easily plugs into the system to give you exact moisture data directly from your dirt, rather than just relying on the local weather station!

Why You Should Buy

Whether you're a total lawn care newbie like me, or you're a pro hoping to take a more hands-off approach while still guaranteeing your lawn gets exactly what it needs, this controller only helps. It completely eliminates the mental load of tracking the weather or rushing to the garage to override a scheduled watering.

Plus, they have different systems for a different number of zones, so you don't have to get the 8-zone model like I did! You can get a 4-zone or even a 12-zone system, making it a totally customizable upgrade for your spring lawn prep.

I couldn't recommend the ImoLaza Smart Sprinkler Controller more!

Gardening is a beautiful way of expressing creativity as well as connecting with the natural world. For many of us, that’s one of the things we love best about dressing up our immediate landscape. But when it comes to lawn care, we can often retreat into a mundane approach, mowing on automatic pilot and spending countless hours tugging at weeds in frustration. Traditional lawns can be demanding monocultures of emerald green grass that struggle in shade, brown in the heat, and demand a relentless cycle of seeding, irrigation, mowing, and aeration.

So why not turn that plain, thirsty lawn as a canvas? You can replace that block of green with a tapestry lawn that mixes colors and textures in an enchanting outdoor display. These lawns don’t just sit there – they evolve, bloom, exude fragrance, and invite you to wander. And best of all, these plant tapestry options can lead to easy lawn care. These perennial plants work well in different areas, from full sun to shade to high traffic areas. And they need a lot less care and feeding to look fabulous.

Starting a lawn alternative in April gives these living carpet plants an entire growing season to establish their root systems before the winter chill, ensuring a resilient mosaic that gets more beautiful with every passing year. So, are you ready for a less stressful, lower-maintenance, and highly sensory lawn switch? Try these fragrant, flowery tapestry plants for distinctive ground covers that love being walked on.

Best Plants for a Tapestry Lawn

I love the phrase “tapestry lawn” since it evokes the gardener’s sense of beauty and creativity in designing it. You may also have heard this same concept (a mixed planting of low-growing flowers and grasses) called a meadow lawn or a patchwork lawn. The basic idea is to mix and match flowering plants and grasses that are tough enough to withstand foot traffic, yet lovely enough (with mixed colors, fragrances, and textures) to create a practical arrangement that pleases all of your senses.

Blending different low-growing plants of various hues and textures duplicates the natural interlacing beauty of a field. However, a long-lasting tapestry lawn relies on preparation. Unlike grass, which relies on high nitrogen loads, these perennial heroes thrive in leaner conditions. Before planting, it is vital to clear the canvas of aggressive weeds and existing turf. Give your planting area a light tilling, followed by an amendment of organic compost. To ensure your quilt of plants can knit together properly, aim for a planting density of 4-6 plants per square foot. This creates a competitive living mulch that naturally chokes out weeds.

When choosing ground cover plants, consider your USDA hardiness zone and your yard’s unique microclimate. Some plants in this selection crave sun, while others are shade-dwellers that stabilize soil in damp corners. By grouping plants with similar moisture and light needs, you create a self-regulating ecosystem that eventually needs less water and less maintenance than a traditional turfgrass lawn. The nectar from these flowering plants will help pollinators more than grass can.

Before you plant, test your soil's pH to ensure your tapestry thrives. If you use a combined soil test meter, such as Yamron’s 4-in-1 Soil Meter from Amazon, you can also ascertain moisture and light levels ahead of planting. Now’s the time to get started on (and have-fun with) your own tapestry lawn. It will look lovely immediately and grow even lovelier with the passage of time.

1. Creeping Thyme

Lush and fragrant, creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) is often at the top of the list for tapestry plants. Topping out at about 3 inches (8cm), this gorgeous ground cover is a gorgeous, low-maintenance alternative to a traditional lawn. While turfgrass is pleasant to walk on, creeping thyme adds a sensory layer: it releases a heavenly, herbal scent every time your foot brushes the foliage. Unlike grass, it thrives on neglect and prefers sandy, poor-quality soil over rich, heavy loams. Creeping thyme loves a sunny, dry location in USDA hardiness zones 4-9.

This thyme is particularly effective because it spreads by rooting stems, creating a dense mat that acts as a natural weed suppressant. To guarantee it comes back year after year, ensure your soil has excellent drainage. This thyme produces flowers that are bright and rich in nectar, feeding the local pollinators, and creating rich color. All that, and its herbal freshness makes for a delightfully aromatic living carpet. For a striking visual, mix 'Mother of Thyme' (pink flowers) with 'Magic Carpet' (neon pink) to create a variegated floor. You can buy Creeping Thyme Seeds from Amazon for a dense mat of fragrant textures.

2. Bugleweed (Carpetweed)

Have you ever planted mint in your herb garden only to have it take over the space? Well, bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) is in the mint family, and it will work hard to fill up empty space in your tapestry planting – but you can turn this to your advantage if you are looking to fill a large space with the least amount of effort. Also known as carpetweed, this ground cover will fill tricky areas that might be too steep or too shady to support grass. This compact perennial produces a flurry of purple, blue, or pink flower spikes in spring and summer, providing a feast for hungry bees.

Just bear in mind that it is susceptible to crown rot if planted in overly crowded, humid conditions with poor airflow. To keep it healthy, avoid high-traffic walking paths, as its fleshy leaves won’t survive excessive trampling. Instead, use it as a detail filler in your lawn tapestry, surrounding stepping stones. For a unique texture, try the 'Black Scallop' or ‘Chocolate Chip’ variety, available from Burpee, which offers dark hues that contrast well with chartreuse lawn companions like creeping Jenny. This ground cover thrives in USDA hardiness zones 3-10.

3. Roman Chamomile

Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) makes a great, fragrant tapestry plant that doubles as a stress-reliever. Its low-growing, creeping foliage is a beautiful bright green, spreading by rooting stems. Its daisy-like flowers appear all summer long, providing mass appeal to bees and butterflies. Because it creates such a dense, close-knit carpet, it offers a manicured look, but with a softer feel underfoot. This ground cover grows to 4 inches (10cm) tall, and makes great weed control. It works well in full sun or partial shade, dry or sandy soils, and zones 4-11.

To maintain a soft lawn look, you can try a light mow or trim after the first flowering flush. This encourages the plant to stay low and spread horizontally rather than getting leggy. Roman chamomile is significantly more drought-tolerant than its German cousin, but it does appreciate occasional deep watering during extreme heat waves. It is a low-traffic plant, so it is best used in areas where you might sit or lounge rather than where the dog runs daily. You can buy Roman Chamomile Seeds from Eden Brothers for a classic, apple-scented lawn.

4. Creeping Jenny

Another popular tapestry plant is creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia), a low-growing ground cover that can quickly cover a lot of ground with its dense green carpet. This plant is great for trouble spots in the yard where the hose leaks or the rain collects. The foliage stays bright green and lush all year long, but summer is creeping Jenny’s heyday, when it is lit up with small, bright yellow flowers. It flourishes in part shade, wet areas, and hardiness zones 4-9.

Creeping Jenny has a reputation for being aggressive, so strategy is key. The 'Aurea' cultivar is slightly less invasive than the straight green species and offers a stunning chartreuse glow. To guarantee it comes back, don't let it dry out. It pairs beautifully with bugleweed, and the gold leaves of Jenny with the purple spikes of ajuga create a high-contrast mosaic that looks gorgeous with zero effort. Buy ‘Aurea’ Creeping Jenny plants from Nature Hills. Creeping Jenny’s vigor is a benefit when it comes to filling bare soil. It grows to 5 inches (12.5cm) in full sun or part shade areas.

5. Stonecrop

Low-growing sedum (aka stonecrop) is a fabulous and textured ground cover, so it’s a lovely choice for a tapestry lawn. Once established, stonecrops do not require irrigation, fertilizer, or pruning. They are the ultimate drought-warriors, storing water in their fleshy stems and succulent leaves for texture all year long. Summer brings gorgeous clusters of star-shaped flowers, beloved by pollinators. Low-growing varieties spread along the ground, rarely exceeding 2 inches (5cm) in height, making them perfect for stitching together the sunnier edges of your tapestry lawn. They just need a sunny or partial sunny location in hardiness zones 3-10.

For a tapestry lawn, look for carpet-forming sedums like S. album or S. spurium. Stonecrops are excellent as weed control, because they form such a tight seal over the soil. To ensure longevity, never over-fertilize. Too much food makes sedums leggy and weak. They thrive in the cracks between pavers or on the sun-baked edges of your property, thriving in shallow soil where other plants might not make it. You can buy a range of exquisite sedums from Nature Hills for a succulent effect in colors ranging from bright gold to rich plum.

6. Corsican Mint

Corsican mint (Mentha requienii) is the smallest of the mints, forming a tight, moss-like rug of green with a fresh, zingy fragrance. It is one of the few tapestry plants that releases more fragrance the more it is stepped on. Its tiny purple flowers in midsummer are a delight, but its primary value is the vibrant, peppermint-scented crush it provides in a walking garden. Plant this one in partial shade and moist soil, as well as walkways, and it will thrive in zones 7-9.

Unlike its invasive cousins, Corsican mint is well-behaved, though it does require consistent moisture. Plant this in the joints of flagstone paths. If it gets too dry, it may go dormant, but it often self-seeds to fill back in when the rains return. It doesn't want too much sun or too much shade, making it perfect for the dappled light under a specimen tree. While Corsican mint tolerates light foot traffic, use a tougher plant for high traffic areas. You can buy Outsidepride Corsican Mint Seeds from Walmart.

7. Common Yarrow

Finally, let’s add something a little taller for structural interest. Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) works well for a tapestry lawn, since it is nearly indestructible. While the flower stalks can reach 3 feet (90cm), the feathery basal foliage stays in a lacy, fern-like rosette that is very soft to walk on. It spreads via creeping rhizomes, making it the perfect option for knitting together other elements of your tapestry. Yarrow needs full sun and high traffic areas, but accepts all soil types in zones 3-9.

Yarrow is a pioneer plant, and it will thrive in poor soil. To keep it as a lawn alternative, you can mow it on a high setting (4 inches/10cm) after flowers fade. This keeps it compact and encourages the feathery foliage to spread. Yarrow is also a dynamic accumulator, meaning its deep roots pull nutrients up from the subsoil, improving the earth for the plants around it. While you won’t need to water this drought tolerant plant, it pays to prune back yarrow regularly if you want regular flowers. Buy White Yarrow Seeds from Amazon for a hardy, wild look.

Shop Tapestry Lawn Plants

Ready to start your living carpet? These three ground cover varieties are exceptional performers and easy to grow and care for, making them ideal for growers looking to transition away from traditional turf towards a more evocative and eco-friendly lawn replacement. Try these curated picks and let your tapestry lawn journey begin!

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Mowing grass isn’t a difficult task, but have you ever stopped to wonder if you’re doing this core piece of lawn care right? Because these simple expert insights into what’s important when mowing make all the difference between a tired, patchy lawn and a velvety sweep of healthy grass with a dense, plush pile.

I’d been mowing my lawn for a decade before an elderly neighbor shared these grass-cutting gems with me one spring. I’d presumed his lawn was so luxuriantly lush because he spent hours tending to it – not so. Turns out that a few easy switches mean the grass grows thicker and greener. And now I’m a gardening editor, another decade with a far lusher lawn behind me, it's my turn to share these expert lawn care tips.

Mow a lawn this way and it doesn’t take any more time than usual, nor does it need any major investment in equipment (I've included some product links so you can see exactly what I'm talking about: if you're a regular gardener, you probably already have most of these in your shed). But you'll be surprised to see how much better your now-lush lawn looks by summer. Here are the five golden nuggets of lawn mowing expertise you need to know.

1. Longer Grass Grows Stronger Roots

An average square foot of a healthy lawn contains around 3,000 blades of grass, and each one of those blades is working as a solar panel to photosynthesize sunshine into energy for growth. And the plants aren’t just growing above ground, their roots are expanding underground. By keeping your lawnmower blades higher in spring when the weather is moist and warm enough for strong growth – 1½ inches above ground level is perfect – you’re effectively creating a far larger surface area of those thousands of solar panels, and that will generate more energy to fuel deeper roots.

Deeper roots means grass plants can access more moisture and nutrients, which leads to a thicker lawn that stays lusher through summer.

By all means gradually drop the mower blade to 1 inch above ground level for a plusher finish in summer, but until then, leave your grass a little longer so roots grow a lot stronger. If you’re happy with the look of your lawn a little longer, then keeping it at this height through summer, too, shades roots and help the plants retain moisture.

2. Sharp Mower Blades Bring Greener Grass

Cutting grass with blunt blades brings the same issues as slicing anything else with an unsharpened edge: it takes longer, and doesn’t do the job well. Dare I ask when you last sharpened the blades on your lawnmower? Because experts recommend you resharpen them after every eight hours of mowing time.

Cutting your lawn with blunt blades shreds the grass tips, and these torn edges take longer to heal and lose more moisture than clean cuts made by sharp blades. This is energy that the plants could be putting into growth. Those shredded ends often turn brown in hotter weather, too, making your lawn look far from lush.

It only takes 10 minutes to sharpen a mower blade, and you’ll easily get that time back as mowing with sharp blades is a far quicker job. It’s simple, too. First of all, disconnect your mower from its power source – and that means removing the battery from a cordless mower as well as unplugging an electric mower. Next, put on a pair of protective gloves such as these from Amazon.

With most mower designs, it’s best to remove the blade from the mower chassis, by undoing the mounting nut. A simple sharpening stone such as this from Amazon is all you need, or it’s quicker with a nifty sharpening tool like the Sharpal Multi-Blade Sharpener, also available from Amazon. If you’ve got a hand drill, eye protection and a vice, then a blade sharpener bit that fits into any standard drill, like these from Amazon makes it even easier.

If you’ve had your mower for a long time, then replacement blades are easy to fit, if you discover yours is past its best.

3. Regular Snipping Creates a Denser Sward

Just like when you prune any garden plant to encourage it to put its energy into strong new stems, every time a grass plant has its leaf tips snipped off by a mower blade, it’s stimulated to grow. With vertical growth restricted, it’ll grow laterally, putting out new shoots to the sides. This is why mowing your lawn once a week, shaving just the tops off, naturally leads to a much thicker lawn than if you wait till the grass really needs a cut and mow less regularly.

It’s also why robot mowers are so effective at creating such lush, healthy lawns. As they’ve become more widely adopted, these time-saving devices have dropped significantly in price and typically use sensors rather than boundary wires to navigate – this LawnMaster Mow Robot on Amazon cuts lawns up to 150m² and costs less than $300.

But even if you have an ancient push-along mower, I’ll wager you spend just the same amount of time in total if you mow your lawn once a week or once every two or three weeks, because it takes far less time to mow a regularly cut lawn. Another benefit of regular mowing is that you’ll interrupt the lifecycle of many weeds.

Of course, how fast grass grows is very dependent on weather conditions so, as a general rule, mow regularly enough that you never need to remove more than a third of the grass blade height – and ideally less – each time.

4. Grass Clippings Are a Natural Fertilizer

In spring, grass is full of nitrogen, which is the element included in lawn fertilizers to fuel leafy growth. So you can use your lawn to feed itself. Many modern mowers now feature a mulching mode – even cheaper models such as this well-priced Black+Decker mower on Amazon. In mulching mode, the clippings are chopped up very finely so they can be left on the lawn to slowly break down and fertilize the grass.

This is a cost-effective way to feed your lawn in spring for strong growth, as it replaces the need for a granular fertilizer. The mulch must be light so as not to suffocate your grass plants, so only do this task once you’re mowing your lawn regularly, rather than on the first cut of the season. It works best if you mulch-mow within a week of a previous cut. Choose a dry day, too, so the clippings don’t clump together.

You can mulch with grass clippings even if you don’t have a mulching mode on your mower, but it takes a little longer. Again, choose a period of dry weather, within a week of a previous cut. Then mow twice over your lawn to chop the clippings up finely, and rake out any clumps with a springtine rake such as this from Amazon.

5. Mixing Up Mowing Patterns Avoids Compacted Soil

We all have a favourite way to mow our lawns, and it’s likely that you always cut the grass following a similar route. Over time, this can lead to unsightly ruts forming, and areas of compacted soil that make it harder for grass to grow well. A good way to switch up your mowing routine is to mow around the lawn perimeter, then adopt a different pattern to fill in each time you mow: back and forth in straight lines, diagonally, cross-hatching, spiralling into the centre, or whatever you fancy!

Apply all these simple snippets of lawn-mowing know-how, and you’ll have a far lusher, greener lawn by summer. Now is the prime time to prep your lawn for year-long results, so put them into practice next time you mow as part of your spring lawn care. By summer, when the results will be speaking for themselves, perhaps you can be the one to pass these expert insights on to a friend or neighbor, and keep the lawn love going!

If you just reseeded your lawn, the obvious question is how to keep birds from eating grass seed before it has a chance to sprout. Birds are efficient foragers and freshly seeded soil is exactly the kind of easy meal they’re looking for. Exposed seed sitting on bare ground is visible from above, easy to pick up, and requires almost no effort to get.

The good news is that birds are fairly easy to outsmart because they hunt visually. Most effective protection methods work by making the seed harder to see rather than harder to reach. Attracting birds to the garden is usually valuable in most situations. But if you just seeded your lawn, then you want to keep birds away from these parts of your yard.

Luckily for your lawn, this problem is easy to solve without harming or deterring birds from your landscape permanently. Here are the most effective ways to keep birds from eating grass seed you just planted.

How to Prevent Birds From Eating Grass Seed

The simplest and most effective way to prevent birds from eating grass seed also doubles as good seeding practice: top-dressing the seeded area with a thin layer of weed-free straw, peat moss, or fine compost right after broadcasting the seed.

The target depth for top-dressing is 1/8 to 1/4 inch (3 to 6 mm). This provides enough light for germinated seedlings to push through and enough cover to break up the visual cue that tells birds there is food below. Birds are aerial hunters and scan for seed by sight. Cover seeds with a top-dressing of soil or straw and they will have no reason to land.

This method comes with a bonus that has nothing to do with birds as well. That thin organic layer acts as a moisture blanket over your grass seed. This prevents evaporation and keeps the seeds in constant contact with damp material, which helps them sprout faster.

Seeds that stay evenly damp from day one tend to germinate two to four days faster than those left exposed. So the straw or compost you spread to fool the birds also quietly gives your grass seed a better start. One easy step, two problems solved.

Best Types of Top-Dressing

Not everything that looks like straw is appropriate as a top-dressing. Hay is the main material to avoid. It’s cheap and readily available, but spreading it over your new lawn seed is essentially planting a second, unwanted crop.

A lawn mulched with hay can end up with a weed problem that outlasts the grass by years. Stick to golden wheat straw or rice straw, both of which are harvested after seed set and are clean of weed seeds. This wheat straw from Vigoro at the Home Depot is specifically made for lawn seeding, so it’s a perfect top-dressing material.

Peat moss works well as a top-dressing, too, and holds moisture slightly better than straw. However, peat moss can form a crust if it dries out. If this happens, break it up lightly with your hands or a garden fork.

The main downside of peat moss is that it is not a sustainable gardening product. It takes thousands of years for peat bogs to form and mining them releases large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

Fine compost is a solid alternative to peat moss, especially if soil quality is poor, since it feeds the grass seedlings as it breaks down. A dedicated lawn seed mix, like this one from Amazon, takes the guesswork out of top-dressing selection and is formulated for this exact purpose.

Whatever material you choose, aim for a light, even covering rather than a thick mat that blocks light once seedlings emerge.

Other Ways to Stop Birds

In areas with heavy bird pressure – especially where sparrows, starlings, or pigeons have already discovered the spot – a physical barrier gives the top-dressing method backup.

A simple frame of bird netting, which you can get on Amazon, stretched over the seeded area and staked a few inches above the soil keeps birds off while still allowing light and water through. Even a loose draping held off the ground with sticks works. The key is keeping it high enough that birds can’t reach the soil from above.

Be careful with bird netting, though. Birds and other small animals can easily get caught in it. This can seriously harm them. Keep netting at least a few inches off the ground to prevent small mammals like chipmunks getting tangled up and stuck.

Reflective items or foil strips, like this bird deterrent tape from Amazon, strung above the area can also keep birds away from grass seed. The movement and flashes make most birds uneasy about landing. This works best in open spots with some air movement.

For larger patches, a lightweight floating row cover, like this one from Amazon, laid directly on the soil allows watering through while blocking birds. Remove it as soon as the grass starts germinating so seedlings get the light they need to grow.

When to Set Up Bird Deterrents

Most bird pressure hits in the first week after seeding, before the seed roots into the soil. Once germination begins and seedlings are visible – usually 7 to 14 days, depending on grass type and soil temperature – bird interest drops sharply. Germinating grass no longer looks like easy food.

The protection only needs to last through that critical window, making straw or netting a short-term investment. Consistent gentle watering during this time also helps.

Once the seed has anchored its first root, it becomes much harder for birds to peck up. A gentle sprinkler, like this one from Amazon, set on a light cycle twice daily keeps the seed damp without washing away the top-dressing or exposing the seed.

Once the grass is up and established, the birds are welcome back. They’ll hunt for insects in the thatch – exactly what a healthy lawn needs.

Shop Bird Deterrents

For several years, especially in the suburban United States, the perfect lawn was seen as the quintessential thing to have. It featured neatly mowed grass, sharp edges, and not a dandelion in sight (lest it be obliterated by enough chemicals that you would need a hazmat suit to walk across).

However, a new trend seems to have taken hold, showing up in yards across the US. They're getting a little, shall we say, “wilder,” and this aesthetic doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Gardeners are putting away their mowers, allowing their grass to grow a bit and discovering that the results are better for animals, easier to maintain, and far more interesting to look at.

It’s now become a full-blown movement, called “rewilding” your lawn, and it’s really gaining momentum. Instead of seeing a yard as a decorative carpet of grass where not one footprint should be seen, gardeners are now treating it as a small ecosystem capable of supporting insects, pollinators, and the occasional bird. Once you notice the difference, it’s hard to go back to your plain old turf.

Why Gardeners Are Ditching the Perfect Lawn

A traditional lawn may look perfect and give you that same satisfying feeling as a neatly organized pantry on TikTok, but ecologically, it’s often a “green desert.” The few grass species that it consists of rarely offer food or shelter for insects and birds, meaning they have to look elsewhere.

Rewilding flips that whole idea upside down. It allows a mix of plants, especially native ones, to grow freely, and the lawn becomes a living habitat. Wildflowers attract pollinators like bees and butterflies, birds eat seeds and insects, and the health of your soil improves as the plant diversity widens.

There are practical benefits for you as an owner as well. No more mowing, watering, and fertilizing. Rewilded gardens often use less water, fewer chemicals, and require way less maintenance in the long run.

In a nutshell, letting go of expecting your lawn to always look perfect can make gardening way easier and take a whole lot of stress away from you, too.

What a Rewilded Lawn Really Looks Like

You’re probably shaking your head, thinking I’m telling you your yard will need to look like an abandoned house full of waist-high weeds, with years of neglect. But, rewilding doesn’t mean that at all. It’s a design approach that encourages biodiversity while still creating a beautiful garden.

In many cases, the results look more like a mini meadow than a wild jungle. You may see patches of daisies, clover, native grasses, and flowering plants all layered together, creating a burst of color and seasonal texture.

Note: Many gardeners still keep a small area of grass mowed for walking paths or seating areas.

How to Start Rewilding Your Lawn

My favorite part of this trend is that you don’t need to suddenly overhaul your whole front yard in one day. Even a few small changes can make a huge difference, especially for wildlife.

1. Begin With a Small Patch

Choose a certain section of your lawn, like a corner or the edge, and allow it to grow longer. To get this, simply mow less or stop mowing that area altogether for a whole growing season. As I said before, even small changes help. Just by doing this, you will already encourage flowers like clover, daisies, and buttercups to sprout up.

If you want to give your yard a little more encouragement, plant a lawn alternative mix to get started.

2. Add Native Plants

To have the biggest impact on your yard, start with plants that naturally grow in your area. These are already adapted to the local conditions and provide the best food sources for pollinators and birds.

Look for wildflowers, native grasses, or flowering perennials that bloom at different times of the year. This will ensure insects have nectar throughout the season.

3. Create Layers

A healthy ecosystem will have multiple layers of plants rather than just a bunch of grass at different heights. Mix in various colors, textures, and heights with:

• Low groundcovers
• Flowering plants
• Taller grasses or shrubs

4. Reduce Chemicals

A truly rewilded lawn needs to be without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers to really thrive. Many insects are beneficial and can actually control pests naturally, thereby reducing the need for chemical treatments.

5. Keep it Intentional

One trick experienced gardeners use is maintaining clear edges. A mowed border or path around the wild patch can give the signal that this is purposeful, and you aren’t just neglecting your yard. To get this look without accidentally cutting off too much, try this American Lawn Mower from Walmart which only uses manual blades.

Small Gardens Can Make a Big Impact

You don’t need a massive lawn to do this, and that’s the most exciting aspect of rewilding. Pollinators often don’t want to travel long distances, which means a single, wildlife-friendly yard can give them a great habitat in a suburban neighborhood (especially one where all the other lawns are overly perfect).

And, if you get your neighbors to try this as well, you can form a network of mini habitats across your street.

Like all the plants in your garden, grass needs a little extra care in spring when the return of warmer weather kickstarts growth. None of these spring lawn care tasks are tricky or take long, but they'll support your grass to be strong, healthy and stay lush all summer. They’ll even save you time in the long run – spend an April afternoon getting your lawn set for success and there will be less bare soil for weed seeds to settle, and deeper roots will cope far better with summer heat.

Most grasses are dormant (hibernate) through winter, and only start waking up with slow growth when the soil temperature reaches 40°F, then really get growing when it’s consistently above 50°F. Warm-season grasses such as Bermuda and Zoysia aren’t active until it reaches 65°F. For many USDA zones, that happens in April, which means you have a prime window right now to give your grass all it needs for strong, healthy growth just as it wakes up.

It’s estimated that a healthy lawn has between six and 14 grass plants per square inch, so if you calculate how much time these tasks take per plant, you’re getting a great return on investment! And honestly, the year-long results make April lawn care the most satisfying gardening task of all.

I’ve included plenty of links to products, not because you need to spend lots to get a lovely lawn but so you know exactly which tools I’m talking about to get the best results. You likely already have many of them or, if any of your neighbors have a lush lawn, they definitely do, so go ask if you can borrow them!

Ready for the best lawn in town? Here's exactly what to do.

1. Sharpen Your Lawnmower Blades

Your first job is to mow your lawn, but always, always, start spring lawn care by sharpening your lawnmower blades. Sharp blades slice through grass blades, while blunt ones shred them. Torn edges take far longer to heal and lose more moisture than clean cuts, and also open the plant to disease, all of which takes valuable energy away from the growing process. It takes 10 minutes to sharpen blades with a simple sharpening stone such as this one from Amazon, and just five minutes with a blade sharpener bit that fits into a hand drill, like this from Amazon. You’ll easily get that time back as mowing with sharp blades is a far quicker job.

Sharp lawnmower blades also leave your lawn looking greener as torn grass tips often turn brown.

Do disconnect your lawnmower from a power source when you sharpen blades, and that includes removing the battery from a cordless mower as well as unplugging an electric mower.

Once blades are super-sharp, mow your lawn. Keep blades fairly high, no lower than 1½ inches above the ground, at this time of the year, as longer grass will develop deeper roots. You can gradually reduce the height to around 1 inch above the ground by summer for a more velvety finish – and by then, your grass is going to be so healthy, it’ll look luxuriously thick.

2. Lever Out Perennial Weeds

You don’t need to worry about low-growing lawn weeds like clover, daisies and wild violet. Regular mowing controls their growth and they're largely beneficial: clover takes nitrogen from the air and fixes it in the soil, which naturally fertilizes grass, and wild flowers are full of nectar to feed pollinators.

But those thug-like perennial weeds that throw long tap roots deep into the ground, such as dandelions, thistles, dock and chicory? It’s well worth getting rid of those straight away. Those deep tap roots mean they’ll easily withstand mowing and they all grow rapidly and produce abundant seeds that germinate quickly. A single dandelion flower can produce 150 seeds, each with a personal parachute that typically travels 6 feet, and one dandelion plant can grow up to 50 blooms. Let’s not bother doing the math, shall we – but do bother pulling up those perennial weeds before your lawn is full of them.

It’s vital to pull the tap root up because if you just snap it off, the plant will grow more strongly than ever. A notched tool designed for the job such as this handheld weeder from Amazon makes levering the root out of the ground easy. Or to save your back, use a long-handled claw-tip weed puller like this no-kneel tool from Amazon.

3. Rake Out Moss

Removing moss and dead grass out of your lawn is called dethatching and, once you see how much you pull out, you’ll realise why it’s such a vital lawn-care task in spring. Getting rid of it creates space for your existing grass plants to thicken up and for new grass seed to germinate, and removes competition for moisture and nutrients. It also creates a much healthier environment for strong root growth.

Use a springtine rake like this from Amazon – the sort you use for raking up fallen leaves – and the tines will easily pull out lots of moss and dead, brown grass. If your lawn is big, then an electric scarifier like this one from Amazon makes the job much quicker.

It’s best not to put the removed thatch on your compost heap unless you have a Hotbin that reaches the high temperatures needed to kill moss spores. This organic matter is great for lining hanging baskets though, as it hangs onto moisture very well.

4. Aerate the Soil

Making hundreds of tiny holes to aerate your lawn brings a number of benefits. Because we regularly trample all over our lawns, the soil often becomes compacted so it’s harder for nutrients and air to filter through to feed grass roots. It can also lead to waterlogged soil and patches of standing water on the lawn surface, suffocating roots. All this leads to weaker grass growth, which in turn means the lawn is more easily overrun with weeds.

There’s nothing difficult about aerating your lawn. You can simply push your garden fork into the ground, all over the lawn, to create the holes. If you’ve got heavy or waterlogged ground, then an aerator tool that self-cleans using springs to remove soil from the spikes like this from Amazon makes like easier. There are also push-along spiked rollers that save a lot of time if you’ve got a large lawn, like this from Amazon, and spiked soles that fit onto your boots (such as these from Amazon).

5. Overseed Your Lawn

Nearly done! You’ve removed all the competition and created optimum growing conditions for roots, so your next job is to fill all those newly vacant spots with grass plants by overseeding.

Any lawn repair product such as this from Amazon contains grass species that germinate quickly and grow fast. While these products are great for dealing with bare patches, if your grass is now looking a little sparse, you’re far better off choosing a specialist species that’s tailored to your climate conditions and level of lawn use. That way, the grass will grow better long-term with less intervention from you. You can also tailor the seed to different parts of your lawn, such as using a higher proportion of shade-tolerant seed in those tricky areas that don’t get much sun. As the weather has warmed up enough for grass growth, the seed will germinate quickly and have plenty of time to grow roots before summer heat arrives.

Follow the instructions on the packet. You’ve already loosened the soil surface when you dethatched and created lots of spots for direct soil contact by aerating, so the trick now is to keep those seeds moist while they germinate and grow roots to source their own water. April showers will help you along the way but, if it doesn’t rain, water frequently, several times a day to begin with.

6. Fuel Strong, Steady Grass Growth

Your last task is to fertilize to provide nutrients that fuel good growth. Choose a slow-release lawn fertilizer that will support strong root as well as shoot growth for months to come, such as this one from Amazon. Do double-check that your grass seed didn’t have fertilizer mixed in first though, as you don’t want to feed your lawn twice.

Don’t be tempted to exceed the packet instructions as over-fertilizing at this time of year causes rapid, weak growth that’ll mean you’re mowing way more often than you’d like. Fertilizing at the correct dosage will encourage slow and steady, robust growth that’ll result in a thicker lawn.

You’re all done, and your grass has everything it needs to grow into a lush carpet of green gorgeousness, and stay looking good for the rest of the year. Depending on the weather, which will dictate how quickly your grass grows, aim to mow your lawn every week or fortnight. Each and every time you mow, slicing off the grass tips encourages the plant to grow denser, deeper roots and more shoots, so regular mowing will thicken up your lawn a treat. Mowing once a week and only nipping off a little top-growth will bring far better results than mowing less often, and cutting off more.

You’re now in a win-win happy-lawn situation as the denser your lawn grows, the more blades it has to turn sunlight into energy, to fuel more growth. Just keep those lawnmower blades nice and high till summer, and remember to sharpen them again soon – experts recommend resharpening after eight hours of mowing time.

Feeling smug already? Just wait till summer and you’ve got the best lawn in town!

If you’ve ever stepped out onto your lawn, only to find what looks like dollops of foamy soap or spit clinging to your grass blades, chances are you’ve seen the spittlebug at work. While it might be a bit of a shock to see your pristine turf looking like it’s been through a car wash, this occurrence is a natural phenomenon. These backyard bubbles are amongst the first of nature's signs that spring has arrived. Spittlebug foam usually pops up around March or April, as the soil starts warming up.

Of course, if you want to stay on top of your lawn care, your first instinct may well be to worry. While it may look like your grass is literally throwing up, don’t worry: it doesn’t mean your lawn is sick! Rest assured, while spittlebugs aren’t exactly beneficial insects in the way ladybugs are, they are far from being garden villains. They are a fascinating marvel in our backyard biodiversity, and they represent a unique survival strategy, so it’s smart to get a handle on spittle season.

Understanding the secrets of the spittlebugs (or froghoppers, as they are also known) is a great way to connect with your outdoor space, especially if you want to protect your turf for a healthier backyard. So if your lawn is in a lather, don’t panic. Whether you wish to take steps to gently prevent or manage spittlebugs, or simply enjoy this natural oddity that shows up each spring, here’s what you need to know.

What is the Spittlebug?

Spittlebugs belong to a diverse group of insects with more than 30 species in North America alone. The insects making the foam are technically the nymphs of the froghopper, in the Cercopidae family. They are close cousins to aphids and cicadas, but they get the froghopper name from the adult's jumping ability. While there are many varieties, the meadow spittlebug (Philaenus spumarius) is the most frequent guest in the backyard, though you might also spot the diamondback or dogwood varieties, depending on your local flora.

They begin as eggs that overwinter tucked into plant stems or leaf litter, waiting for the right temperature to hatch in spring. Once they emerge as nymphs, they are soft-bodied and vulnerable, so they soon set to work building their foamy fortresses. You should take it as a compliment if you see this lawn spittle, as these bugs love areas with high humidity and lush, succulent growth. So if you’ve been diligent about watering and fertilizing your lawns, they are more likely to set up their bubble pads. They dislike dry, windy exposed areas, where their delicate bodies might desiccate.

As they grow, they molt several times over a few months. By summer, they undergo their final transformation, emerging as winged adults. Adult spittlebugs are mottled brown or gray, allowing them to blend into the thatch of your lawn or the bark of your trees, disappearing until the next spring cycle begins. Spittlebug nymphs (usually light green or yellow) are very small and don’t tend to congregate in large numbers, so you’re unlikely to see them without the spittle. If you have a magnifying glass or loupe handy, like the Jarlink Foldable Loupe Magnifier from Amazon, you may be able to get a better look at the nymph nestling in the bubbles.

What’s With The Lawn Spittle?

So where exactly does this white foam on plants come from? To understand the spit behind the spittlebug, it helps to consider a plant's plumbing. Plants have two main vascular tissues: the phloem, which carries sugars from the leaves, and the xylem, which pulls water and minerals up from the roots. Most sap-sucking insects go for the sugary phloem. However, spittlebugs prefer the xylem.

Because xylem sap is mostly water and low in nutrients, the nymph drinks a lot of it. And all that excess fluid has to go somewhere! The nymph excretes the surplus liquid, but doesn't just let it run off. It whips it with air to create a foam, and uses its tail to pull the bubbles over itself until it is submerged. This is a clever survival trick. It keeps the nymph moist in the sun, insulates it against temperature swings, and hides it from predators like birds and spiders that find the bitter bubbles unappetizing.

You’ll notice the foam is most prevalent in the morning or on humid days, when the spit is less likely to evaporate. But while it looks like it’s coming from the grass, it is entirely the work of the bug using the plant's own juice as its raw material.

Are Spittlebugs Harmful to Plants?

Spittlebugs are more of a cosmetic nuisance than a threat. Because they don't usually congregate in massive swarms, the amount of sap they steal from a plant is negligible. You might notice a slight yellowing or a minor curl in a leaf where a nymph has been feeding, but once the bug moves on, a healthy plant will usually bounce back without any intervention.

One exception to this rule is the two lined spittlebug (Prosapia bicincta). This species has a particular fondness for warm-season grasses common in the southern US, such as St. Augustine, Bermuda, and Zoysia. Unlike the meadow variety, a heavy presence of two-lined spittlebugs can cause stippling (small white spots) or even discolored patches of turf.

You might also see a little damage in your strawberry patch if you have an unusually large number of spittlebugs in your garden. Strawberries are a favorite because of their low-to-the-ground, moisture-trapping foliage. If a plant is hosting several nymphs, you might see stunted growth, slightly wilted leaves or lower fruit yield. However, again, the risks of severe damage are minimal with common spittlebugs.

How Do I Manage Spittlebugs?

In most yards, there is no real need to manage spittlebugs as such. In a balanced garden ecosystem, natural predators will eventually find them, or they will simply grow up and fly away. You can simply enjoy the frothy spittle as a welcome sign of spring and let these native insects do their thing. However, if the sight of foam on your lawn is cramping your curb appeal, spittlebug control is quite simple.

A strong blast of water from a hose is usually enough to dislodge the nymphs and break up the foam. Once exposed, these soft-bodied insects are unlikely to make it back onto the plant before they dry out or are snatched up by a passing ant or spider. It’s a chemical-free, instant fix. If you have a recurring problem every year, take a look at your lawn's thatch layer. Spittlebugs love a thick, spongy thatch because it holds moisture and provides a perfect hiding spot for eggs. Dethatching your lawn in the fall can significantly reduce the following spring’s foam party.

Insecticides are not recommended, because the foam acts as a waterproof shield, causing the spray to slide right off. If you are worried about a two lined spittlebug infestation, first spray the foam away with water and then apply an organic option like neem oil. You can buy Bonide Captain Jack’s Neem Oil Spray from Amazon. But a few bubbles here and there is not a problem in most yards. You can probably leave these fascinating little creatures to live out their lives in your beds and lawn.

Give Your Lawn Some Spring TLC

Allowing for spittlebugs, there are a few things you can do now your lawn is waking up to ensure it’s strong enough to handle bubbly visitors. Spring is the time for a proactive spot check. Start by aerating, which involves poking small holes in the garden soil to allow air, water, and nutrients to reach the roots. If your soil is compacted from winter snow or foot traffic, your grass will struggle to compete with weeds and pests, so use a lawn spray or a rotary aerator to free things up.

Once you've aerated, it’s the perfect window for overseeding and topdressing. Fill in those thinning patches with fresh seed, and a light dusting of high-quality compost or topsoil to help create a dense, lush carpet. Finally, add a balanced fertilizer. Use a slow-release formula like The Andersons Professional PGF Complete from Walmart. This will help set your lawn up nicely for even more garden visitors.

Spring Lawn Care Essentials

Effective lawn care starts here, so take steps now to get your sward in order. These lawn-care essentials are the ideal way to tidy up your yard space and optimize one of your biggest attractions for the year ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

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The standard frustration with lawn weed control is the margin for error. Spray too much, hit the wrong spot, apply in the wrong conditions – and the treatment that was supposed to save the lawn ends up damaging it. Most conventional broadleaf herbicides work by disrupting plant growth hormones, and while they’re formulated to favor grass over broadleaf weeds, the selectivity isn’t absolute. Drift happens. Grass under stress is more vulnerable.

There’s a better option for most lawn situations, and it comes down to understanding how different plants process iron. Using herbicide doesn’t have to mean accepting trade-offs between effectiveness and safety. Iron-based herbicides – specifically those using chelated iron, listed on the label as FeHEDTA – exploit a genuine biological difference between grass and broadleaf weeds. The result is a product that kills dandelions, clover, and ground ivy while leaving turf grass not just unharmed, but visibly improved.

Why Iron Affects Grass and Weeds so Differently

Broadleaf weeds absorb iron rapidly and in large quantities. It’s part of how their physiology works – they pull available iron from the soil aggressively compared to grass, which absorbs it slowly and in modest amounts. When a chelated iron herbicide hits a broadleaf weed, the plant takes up far more than it can process. That excess iron triggers oxidative stress inside the plant – essentially a runaway chemical reaction that breaks down cellular tissue from the inside out. The weed begins blackening within hours, with full dieback following shortly after on a warm sunny day. The process is fast enough to be visible while you’re still putting the sprayer away.

Grass does the opposite. It absorbs chelated iron at its normal slow rate, uses it in chlorophyll production, and responds the way any plant does to a moderate iron supplement – with deeper, richer green color. The same application that oxidizes and severely damages top growth of a dandelion is functioning as a micronutrient feed for the surrounding turf. That’s not a side effect. It’s the mechanism, and it’s why iron-based formulations have become the go-to recommendation for lawns where grass health matters as much as weed removal.

What to Look for and When to Apply It

The active ingredient to look for on the label is FeHEDTA – iron hydroxyethyl ethylenediamine triacetic acid, the chelated form that stays bioavailable in soil long enough for plants to absorb it. Products without chelation can work but are less reliable in higher pH soils where iron becomes chemically locked and unavailable. Read the label for grass species compatibility – most cool and warm season turf grasses handle it well, but bentgrass and certain fine fescues can be sensitive and are worth checking before you commit. Here are some products from Amazon to check out that work.

• Bonide Weed Beater Fe – Ready-to-use with trigger sprayer; controls dandelion, clover, chickweed, ground ivy, moss, algae; pet-safe once dry; ideal for spot treatments on home lawns.
• Fiesta Turf Weed Killer – Concentrate (26% FeHEDTA) for economy and control; covers ~10,000 sq ft per gallon at 5 oz/gal mix; same-day results; approved for parks, golf courses; pet-safe once dry. Best for recurring issues needing multiple treatments.
• Natria Lawn Weed and Disease Control – RTU hose-end; 1.5% FeHEDTA; also handles dollar spot, rust, moss, lichen; covers ~1,875 sq ft.
• Ortho Elementals Lawn Weed Killer – Another solid RTU; visible results on dandelions/clover in 24 hours; designed to minimize turf injury when used as directed.

Timing is where most people leave results on the table. Iron-based herbicides work best on young, actively growing weeds in spring – plants that are small, putting energy into new growth, and taking up nutrients rapidly. That fast uptake is exactly what makes the iron overdose so effective. Apply too late in the season on mature perennial weeds and the results are slower and less complete. The product is doing the same thing either way, but a larger established plant has more tissue to work through and more stored energy to draw on while it’s being damaged.

Stubborn Weeds and Realistic Expectations

Annual weeds like chickweed, henbit, and hairy bittercress usually die cleanly from a single application when caught young in spring. Perennial weeds with established roots are tougher – ground ivy is the classic example: one spray blackens surface growth and seems to kill it, but roots often survive and regrow within a week or two. Two applications, spaced 10–14 days apart and targeting young regrowth before reserves recover, deliver far better results than a single heavier dose.

Dandelions fall in between: young first-year plants with shallow taproots typically succumb to one treatment, while established ones with deep taproots often need a follow-up, especially if sprayed late in spring past peak growth.

The Chapin 20004 1-Gallon Pump Sprayer from Amazon is a consistently recommended choice for herbicide work – made in the USA, with a 34-inch hose, SureSpray anti-clog filter, and adjustable nozzle switching between focused stream for spot treating and wide cone for broader coverage.

For larger lawns where speed matters more than precision, the Chapin G390 Hose-End Sprayer from Amazon attaches to a garden hose, auto-mixes concentrate at the correct ratio, and covers up to 20 gallons from a 32-ounce tank. Apply in the morning on a calm day with no rain expected for at least four hours, and let the iron do what broadleaf weeds simply can’t defend against.

Living in the Pacific Northwest means my .3-acre yard sees a lot of damp, gray weather and spring rain. While all that moisture is great for the surrounding forests, it makes my lawn an absolute paradise for moss.

For a long time, the only way I knew how to get rid of moss and dead grass was to vigorously drag a heavy metal rake across the lawn. But with all of the moss in my yard, I lasted about fifteen minutes before calling it quits. It was exhausting, back-breaking work, and it barely made a dent in the problem.

That's when I discovered that my favorite yard tool brand makes a dethatcher/scarifier combo. This tool from Greenworks managed to completely clear my yard of moss in only 30 minutes. Plus, I also used it to scarify my entire lawn for reseeding!

What Is a Dethatcher?

To understand why a dethatcher works so well, you have to understand how moss grows. Moss doesn't have deep roots; instead, it forms a thick, spongy mat that weaves itself into the "thatch" (the layer of dead grass stems and roots sitting right on top of your soil).

A manual rake often just glides over the top of this spongy layer unless you use back-breaking force. A dethatcher, however, uses a spinning cylinder of metal tines to actually dig down and comb through the grass. Because moss and thatch are shallow, those rapidly spinning metal tines easily catch the spongy mats and yank them right out of the soil, while leaving your deeper-rooted, healthy grass completely intact.

Clearing My Yard Efficiently & Effectively

As my colleagues here at Gardening Know How are probably tired of hearing at this point, I absolutely swear by my Greenworks lawn tools. I have a lawn mower, leaf blower, and hedge trimmer from Greenworks already, so when I realized I needed a dethatcher, looking at Greenworks' lineup was an absolute no-brainer. However, for a job as power-intensive as ripping up compacted moss and dead grass, I actually opted for their corded electric dethatcher and scarifier.

Using this tool feels exactly like pushing a lightweight lawn mower. I started in my front yard, simply walking in straight lines, and I was absolutely shocked by how much hidden debris it pulled up. It looked like it was snowing moss and dead grass!

I quickly moved to the back yard, which receives a lot more shade and had a much worse moss problem. The Greenworks dethatcher ripped through the spongy moss mats effortlessly. It completely takes the strain off your joints, requiring a fraction of the effort of manual raking. I was able to clear both my front and back yards in just 30 minutes total. Clearing the debris out of the bag several times actually took longer than running the tool itself!

Using the Scarifier Attachment

Getting rid of the moss was only half the battle. Because the moss had choked out so much of my healthy grass, I was inevitably left with bare patches and needed to overseed both yards. And you can't just throw grass seed onto hard, compacted dirt and expect it to grow. The seeds need direct contact with loosened soil to actually germinate.

Here's where this tool becomes a massive two-for-one value: before putting down a single grass seed, I swapped in the included scarifier attachment and ran the tool over my whole lawn again. While the dethatcher combed the surface, the scarifier actually broke up the hard surface crust and created the absolute perfect channels for my new grass seed to settle into and take root.

If you're struggling with a spongy, moss-filled lawn, put down the manual rake like I did and get yourself a dethatcher.

Shop My Lawn Care Staples

As a new homeowner, I've learned a lot about what I realistically need for my lawn to thrive. Here are a few of my favorite products I've used to reseed and care for my grass.

It’s been a resoundingly bleak winter, and spring is so close we can almost smell it on the horizon. Which means, yes, many of us might be eyeing our patchy, brown, bare lawn and thinking hard about how to get it back to its verdant best.

Is it too early to overseed your lawn in March, though? Well, while it might be top of our list when it comes to beginner’s lawn care tips, you might want to withhold from overseeding right now – unless you’re sure your lawn is ready.

Yes, while this DIY lawn care method is perfect for fixing bare patches, it doesn’t work if the soil temperature is too low for proper germination. As luck would have it, though, there's a simple way to figure things out (and it involved your daffodils).

How Cold is Too Cold for Overseeding?

Is it too early to overseed your lawn? Well, the sun might be shining, but if the soil temperature is below 50°F, the biological processes required for seed metabolism simply don’t kick in. In other words, your grass seed won’t germinate – it just sits there, waiting.

This is why March overseeding can so often lead to what’s known as “dormant seeding.” Which sounds... well, it sounds harmless, but it can actually cause more problems than it solves. Think about it: seeds left sitting in cold, wet soil are going to be far more vulnerable to rot and fungal pathogens, which means you could end up wasting both time and money without seeing any real results.

That said, there are exceptions, particularly if you live in one of the warmer USDA Planting Zones, as soil temperatures may already be consistently above that 50°F threshold. In these conditions, March can actually be an ideal time to overseed, giving your lawn a head start before the heat of summer sets in.

So how do you know where your lawn stands?

The Daffodil Trick

The easiest and most reliable method is to use a soil thermometer (like this 4-in-1 Soil Moisture Meter from Amazon). Simply insert it a few inches into the ground and take a reading in the morning; if temperatures are holding steady at or above 50°F for several consecutive days, you’re good to go.

If you don’t have a thermometer to hand, though, Mother Nature herself offers a pretty handy clue: look to the daffodils.

Yes, when daffodil are blooming in full force, it’s usually a sign that soil temperatures have reached that all-important 50°F mark. These early spring flowers respond to the same environmental cues your grass seed needs, making them a surprisingly reliable indicator. If your yard (or your neighbor’s) is filled with their bright yellow blooms, it might just be time to get cracking.

Spring Lawn Care Essentials:

Of course, even if the timing is right, it might still be too early to overseed your lawn if you've failed to prepare accordingly. Before you even think about filling those patches, then, take the time to rake away debris, dead grass, and any built-up thatch. This helps ensure good seed-to-soil contact, which is essential for successful germination.

Don’t forget about moisture, either; grass seed needs consistently damp (but not waterlogged) soil to thrive. Early spring weather can be unpredictable, so keeping an eye on rainfall – and supplementing with light watering if needed – will give your seeds the best chance of success.

Ultimately, overseeding is all about timing and conditions, not just the calendar. So, while it might be tempting to tackle those patchy spots as soon as winter loosens its grip, try waiting until your soil is truly ready will pay off in the long run.

A little patience now can mean a thicker, lusher, more resilient lawn in just a few weeks’ time – one that's sure to get your neighbor feeling green with envy. And hey, isn't that the whole point of a well manicured lawn?

I tend to avoid operating machinery in the garden. As a small and not particularly strong woman, pushing the lawnmower around for even five minutes rapidly takes the breath out of me. So there is a certain dread that comes with spring lawn care, fearing the soil is suffocating under foot traffic and winter snow, while the physical barrier to fixing it feels immense. Between the costs of heavy equipment and the perceived fiddliness of the process, it's easy to see why so many of us simply... don't do it.

So when I heard about chemical lawn aeration as a spray-on alternative to using a standard lawn aerator tool, my ears instantly pricked up. The idea of a lawn aeration spray sounded almost too good to be true, promising the same lush, green results for those of us low on time or arm strength. The simplicity of the idea is intoxicating, especially when you consider the jeopardy of traditional methods: one wrong move with a mechanical spike, and you’ve punctured an expensive irrigation line or sliced through a buried cable, turning a weekend chore into a four-figure repair bill.

To learn more about liquid and chemical lawn aeration and find out if this was a genuine breakthrough, I spoke to a couple of lawn experts with years of experience and knowledge about aerating effectively. They gave me the rundown on the pros and cons of chemical aeration, as well as their verdict on whether it's worth replacing regular aeration for this nifty shortcut. Keen to save time but willing to give your lawn some TLC ahead of spring? Here’s how liquid lawn aerating treatments measure up against pro-level mechanical methods.

What is Lawn Aeration?

Aeration is a vital lawn care practice that involves poking small, deep holes into your yard's soil to help reduce soil compaction. Over time, everyday life – be that kids playing, dogs running, the weight of winter snow, or stepping on your grass – will push those soil particles together. This tighter soil consistency makes it much harder for water and nutrients to penetrate through to the roots of plants.

By aerating the soil, you're allowing the lawn to breathe again, breaking up any thatch and encouraging roots to grow deeper and stronger. Traditionally, gardeners have had three mechanical avenues to achieve this, each with learning curves:

• Spike Aeration: The simplest method. It relies on using solid tines (often on a manual tool or even lawn aerator shoes) to poke holes into the ground. While easy, it can sometimes increase compaction by pushing soil outwards as the spike enters.
• Core Aeration: Widely considered highly beneficial. It involves pulling actual plugs or cores of soil out of the earth, usually about 2-3 (5-8cm) inches deep. A manual core aerator physically creates space for the soil to expand.
• Slicing Aeration: Using rotating blades to slice through the grass and thatch into the soil. It’s less common for home use, but great for preparing a lawn for overseeding.

Aeration may sound like a win-win all round, but there are some cons with mechanical methods. As Craig Elworthy, founder of DIY lawn care company Lawnbright notes: "Mechanical aeration is very effective at easing compaction and allowing airflow, water and nutrients to penetrate the soil. However, certain lawn care products and services work out expensive. What’s more, they can disrupt irrigation lines and electrical lines."

For this reason, many gardeners (myself included) view chemical aeration as a stress-free alternative. It requires fewer tools, it’s generally cheaper, and it's quicker to execute. But how does a liquid actually aerate?

How Does Chemical Aeration Work?

Chemical lawn aeration sounds complicated but it's pretty simple to carry out. Most products on the market are wetting agents or surfactants, often containing liquid humic acid or sea kelp. Instead of physically removing soil, these chemicals break the surface tension of the water and the soil particles themselves.

You may find a liquid lawn aerator packaged as a liquid humic acid or a wetting agent. They basically help the soil to be better at absorbing water and nutrients. In this way, it achieves the same result as poking holes into the soil, minus the added effort. You can buy liquid humic acids like GS Plant Foods Organic Liquid Humic Soil Amendment and lawn wetting agents like GS Plant Foods Wetting Agent, both available from Amazon.

As Chrissie Handley, a lawn care specialist and gardening expert at Online Turf, explains: "A lawn wetting agent is a chemical that’s added to your soil to help it absorb water more easily and effectively. It’s best used in compacted or clay-like soil, to help improve the structure and make sure your grass is able to soak up the moisture it needs to thrive from the roots.”

Chrissie continues: "The best time to use a wetting agent is when you can see your soil is struggling with drainage or water retention. This will show as areas of water pooling on your lawn, or the soil appearing hydrophobic [soil and water not mixing] by not allowing water to immediately soak in, instead slowly draining through."

To use one of these liquid lawn aerators, apply it all over the area of grass you plan to water as the product instructs, then hydrate it. If you don’t have a product in a ready-to-spray bottle, you can buy a hose-end sprayer like the Chapin International G364D Hose-End Sprayer from Amazon.

Having the agent on the soil first will assist with water absorption. Product details vary, but it's generally recommended to leave a few weeks between lawn treatments to maximize effectiveness. However, it's important to manage expectations: a spray cannot physically remove a plug. It’s more about unlocking the soil you already have.

Chemical Aeration Essentials

If you want to try the liquid aeration hack, these are some of the most affordable and straightforward ways to get you started and help you tackle compacted or complex lawn soils. These liquid agents, treatments and looseners focus on breaking down surface tension and improving soil health without the heavy lifting.

Is Chemical Aeration Worth It?

If you're working with a budget or, like me, find the idea of a 200lb machine terrifying, chemical aeration is appealing. However, according to both the lawn pros I spoke with, traditional lawn aeration methods are still superior for heavy compaction. While sprays are convenient and do make a difference, nothing truly replaces the physical removal of soil to alleviate pressure in high-clay areas.

Still, what's possibly even better for crafting the perfect spring lawn? Using both methods! Craig concluded: "Chemical aeration is easy and fast, and requires no special equipment. The downside is that it’s not as effective at easing compaction as a traditional lawn aerator. Chemical aeration may allow for water to reach depths that it couldn’t previously, but it does not physically change the structure of the soil."

Chrissie adds: "In my opinion, standard aerating is key to physically provide holes in the soil for improved drainage. Once that’s done, you can apply a wetting agent, which will reach the roots better and help to improve the soil deep into the ground, not just at surface level.”

Quick Verdict:

• Chemical Aeration: Good if your lawn is small, your compaction is mild, or you physically cannot use heavy tools.
• Mechanical Aeration: Essential if your soil feels like concrete, you have heavy thatch, or you haven't aerated in years.
• Pro Move: Perform a core aeration once every two years, and use a wetting agent spray every spring and fall to maintain the lawn.

Key Lawn Care to Prep for Spring

Once you’ve decided on your aeration method, think proactively about how to ensure your lawn doesn't just survive the spring, but thrives. Check your lawn soil pH every year, using a test kit like the Rapitest Soil Kit from Amazon. Testing regularly helps you to keep track of changes and amend where necessary. Most grasses love a slightly acidic to neutral soil (around 6.5). If you’ve aerated (especially using the mechanical method), this is the perfect time to add soil conditioners like lime or sulfur, as they can now reach the root zone through those fresh channels you've created.

Overseeding is also a consideration. Aeration and overseeding are like peanut butter and jelly; they just belong together. However you aerate, you can hopefully provide the perfect niche for new seeds to tuck into. If you’ve used a liquid aerator, wait 24 hours before seeding to let the surfactant settle. If you have core-aerated, seed immediately. The plugs will break down and act as a topdressing for new grass.

Finally, don't forget fertilizing. In spring, your grass wakes up hungry. However, be careful not to overdo the nitrogen too early, as this can encourage top-growth at the expense of roots. Use a slow-release formula like The Andersons Professional PGF Complete from Walmart, which is highly rated by pros for its balanced mineral blend and structural benefits. By combining these steps with your chosen aeration method, you’re giving your yard the best possible start to the season.

Other Lawn Care Treats

If you're leaning towards the traditional route or you need a few more tools to finish your spring prep, these lawn care goodies rate highly for reliability and durability. Try these lawn care items to reduce compaction, prep soil, and get your lawn ready for the spring rush.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Your lawn is the most plant-rich area of your garden, but do you give it as much love and attention as your borders? Nope! A lush lawn is the centerpiece of a beautiful backyard, and it doesn’t take much time to turn it into a sweep of green gorgeousness – just as long as you act now with some early spring lawn care. I’ve set out seven simple spring lawn care tasks that will give you a fabulous lawn by summer and they don’t take long. You could get them all done in an afternoon, depending on the size of your lawn of course. But honestly, even if you only manage to do one or two, it’ll make a big difference to grass growth.

Combined, these seven steps not only create optimum conditions for your lawn to grow well, they keep it looking good, too. Strong, even grass growth will mean there’s no space for weed seeds to settle and grow, so your lawn will take less of your gardening time for the rest of the year.

Ready? Let’s get started! Just so you know, I’ve included plenty of product links so you can see exactly what I’m talking about in case you’ve already got something similar stashed in the shed, not because you need to spend a lot to get a lovely lawn. If any of your neighbors have a covetable lawn, they’ll no doubt have some of these tools so it’s well worth asking if you could borrow them, too.

1. Cut the Grass

Once the worst of the winter weather is behind you, your grass will start growing, and regular cutting will help thicken the turf. For the first trim of the year, set your lawnmower blades higher than normal, to around 1½ inches off the ground. Mow once a week or fortnight from now on, depending on the weather and how fast your grass grows, and, as the weeks go by, gradually lower the blades little by little. By summer, your mower blades should be around an inch high. Choose a dry day that’s not frosty.

Before you mow, though, sharpen your mower blades. You’ll not only get a tidier lawn, but blunt blades can damage the grass. It only takes 10 minutes, and you’ll get that time back as sharp blades will make it quicker to mow your lawn. If you’ve already got a sharpening stone such as this one from Amazon, use that – but it’s much faster (and more fun) with a blade sharpener bit that fits into a hand drill, like this 5-pack from Amazon. If you’re a gadget geek, then the annual task of sharpening your mower blades will be even more satisfying with a cordless sharpener like this nifty number from Amazon.

Make sure your mower isn’t connected to a power source when you sharpen blades – and that means taking the battery out of a cordless mower, too.

2. Weed Judiciously

None of us want a weed-infested lawn that looks untidy, but should you get rid of all the weeds? Absolutely not. Low-growing clover, daisies and bird’s foot trefoil are all good to leave in your lawn for dainty flowers that look pretty and provide a valuable source of nectar to pollinators.

Bigger lawn weeds like dandelions and thistles tend to have long tap roots, and if you snap these as you pull the plant, it’ll grow back stronger than ever. You need a tool that gives you leverage to get these strong roots out cleanly. Use an angled, notched weed puller like this hand tool from Amazon, rather than one with rake-like prongs – that’s designed to pull up shallow-rooted weeds. If you’ve got a lot of weeds to pull or a bad back, then a long-handled weed puller with a claw-type tip like this one from Amazon will make life easier.

If you’re gardening for wildlife, consider leaving your dandelions in your lawn for a few weeks longer, as they’re a super source of nectar for early-flying pollinators when not much else is blooming. Simply snap the spent flowerheads off before they turn into seedheads to prevent the plant spreading.

3. Re-edge Your Borders

Where your lawn meets flowerbeds, grass is likely to have reached into the fertile soil. If you’re dealing with a serious invasion, a half-moon lawn edger like this saw-tooth edging tool from Amazon will reinstate a clean line between grass and soil. If the edge just needs a tidy, then snip along the edge with a pair of long-handled edging shears like these from Amazon. If you’ve got a mini hedge trimmer (like this cordless trimmer from Amazon), then check to see if it has an additional grass shearing blade to swap in – most do, and it’ll give your lawn edges a tidy buzz-cut.

4. Get Rid of Moss

The reason why weeds love to seed in lawns is that there are lots of thin, moist patches where they can easily get a foothold. Thickening up your lawn is the answer but, before you do, you need to get rid of the competition and give your grass room to grow. Have a closer look at your lawn and you’ll see that there are patches of moss and lots of brown, dead grass, known as thatch – and this is what you’re going to eliminate.

It’s simple (and hugely satisfying) to do. All you need is a springtine rake such as this one from Amazon – you probably already have one for raking leaves. If you’ve got a big lawn, then an electric scarifier like this from Amazon is an easier option. You’ll be amazed how much debris you remove from your lawn!

5. Aerate the soil

Lawns are subjected to a lot of use and the soil often becomes compacted. This makes it hard for water, air and nutrients to filter down into the soil to feed grass roots. But it’s an easy fix. All you need do is aerate the soil by creating lots of little holes all over your lawn. You can do this with your garden fork, or there are plenty of purpose-made aerating tools available, such as this rolling aerator from Amazon. You can even get spiked soles that Velcro over your shoes (from Amazon) so all you have to do is walk around your lawn!

6. Reseed Bare Spots

You’ll likely have a few sparse patches of grass after winter, as well as bald spots where you’ve removed weeds, that need overseeding. Grass seeds need contact with soil to germinate well, so it’s often best to cut a square of sparse turf out and replace soil to lawn level before sowing. Any lawn repair product, such as as this from Amazon, will contain fast-growing seeds that’ll germinate in under two weeks. If you’ve got a larger patch to repair, then it’s better to choose a specialist lawn seed tailored to the conditions you have. Water well, but gently so as not to wash seed away, and keep moist until the grass is established.

If your lawn has burn spots caused by dog urine, then products are available to neutralize the acidity of urine-damaged soil, allowing grass to regrow, such as this from Amazon. When looking for burn-spot repair treatments, do read the fine print as some are simply dyes that paint the dead grass green! Going forwards, consider natural dog chews (such as these from Amazon) that balance nitrogen levels in urine to reduce this problem.

7. Feed Grass Growth

Now you’re ready to get that grass growing! Look for a lawn fertilizer that promotes root as well as shoot growth, and releases nutrients over a long time period, such as this one from Amazon, and spread according to packet instructions.

Another option, if you have a mulching option on your mower, is to feed your lawn its own clippings. Some lawnmowers have a mode that chops the grass into very short lengths as it cuts. Left on the lawn, this breaks down to supply grass with nitrogen for strong growth.

And that's it! Time for a cup of tea on your patio, and you can look forward to a fabulous lawn this summer.

Last spring, I tried overseeding my lawn for the first time — and quickly discovered a frustrating problem. No matter how carefully I spread the grass seed, most of it just sat on top of the soil. Without enough contact with the ground, the seeds struggled to germinate, and I definitely wasn’t about to haul bags of topsoil across the entire yard just to bury them.

The culprit, it turns out, was likely compacted soil — and the solution wasn’t adding more soil, but loosening the lawn itself. That's where tools like LawnVigor's manual core aerator (available on Amazon) come in.

Why Spike Aerators Don’t Always Help

If you’ve ever struggled to get grass seed to take root, compacted soil is often the reason. Over time, foot traffic, mowing, and even rainfall can press soil particles tightly together. When that happens, air, water, and roots all have a harder time moving through the ground, and your lawn needs to be aerated.

Traditional spike aerators try to solve this problem by pushing solid spikes into the lawn to create small holes. While that may temporarily allow some airflow and water penetration, it doesn’t actually remove any soil. In fact, the pressure from the spike can push surrounding soil outward, compacting it even further.

The holes themselves are also relatively shallow and narrow, which limits how much they improve the soil structure below the surface. In other words, spike aeration can help a little — but it often doesn’t go deep enough to truly relieve compaction.

The Simple Tool That Makes Aeration Easy

The LawnVigor manual core aerator from Amazon take a different approach to aeration. It works a bit like a hole punch for your lawn; instead of poking holes, it uses hollow tines to remove small plugs of soil from the lawn, creating open channels that allow oxygen, water, and nutrients to reach grass roots.

One feature that stands out is the durable steel construction, which gives the tool enough strength to punch cleanly through dense soil without bending or warping. It also creates holes up to four inches deep, helping break through compacted layers below the surface where roots actually grow.

But don't just take my word for it. With 4.7 stars overall, the LawnVigor aerator is a favorite amongst the gardeners who've tried it. One reviewer boasts that it's a "game changer for compacted soil," while another says that their "grass looks greener and healthier already."

Many reviewers also mention that the long handle and foot plate make the tool incredibly easy to use. One reviewer goes so far as to state, "I'm a 78-year-old woman, and I had no problem using it."

Why Core Aeration Works Better

Core aeration improves lawn health by actually removing soil instead of just displacing it. Those small plugs create open channels that allow water, oxygen, and nutrients to penetrate deeper into the ground. When soil is loosened and aerated, roots can expand more easily and access the resources they need to support thicker growth.

Core aeration is especially helpful if you’re overseeding. The holes created by the aerator provide small pockets where grass seed can settle into the soil instead of sitting on top of compacted ground — dramatically improving seed-to-soil contact and germination rates.

And those little soil plugs scattered across the lawn afterward? They break down naturally and help improve soil structure over time. The result is better drainage, deeper roots, and a lawn that fills in more evenly.

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Typically, fall is the best time to plant grass seed, but early spring is a close second best. Before you run out to the store and buy a bag of seed, let’s explore the best type of grass seed to purchase. Choosing the right seed for your location and lawn condition is important so the grass survives and thrives to become a lush lawn worthy of picnics and games of tag.

It is also critical to buy good quality seed. Buying the absolute cheapest seed can seem tempting, but the germination rate will be low and you might still have patches in your lawn even after all your hard work.

Don’t wait to seed your lawn much longer, summer will be here soon and then you’ll be out of luck until fall. Here are the best types of grass seed for overseeding your type of lawn.

Grass Seed for Cool-Season Lawns

Cool-season grasses are turfgrasses that are best for lawns in the northern regions of North America. Cool-season grasses are adapted to cold winters and hot summers and actively grow when daytime air temperatures are between 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 C) and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. When it gets warmer than that, they slow their growth and have limited ability to take up nutrients. Getting your cool-season grass established before warm summer temperatures is critical to the health of your lawn.

Common cool-season grasses include Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass. Scotts Turf Builder Kentucky bluegrass seed, available from Amazon, is combined with fertilizer and soil improver to improve results and grow dense, healthy turf. Scotts also offers a perennial ryegrass seed Turf Builder mix and a tall fescue seed Turf Builder mix which are both available from the Home Depot.

Grass Seed for Warm-Season Lawns

Warm-season grasses are turfgrasses that perform well in the hot conditions of the southern U.S. Unlike cool-season grasses, warm-season varieties grow during the warmer months of the year and have high heat and drought tolerance. Seeding warm-season grass should be done in the spring or summer when the threat of frost has passed, ideally when air temperatures are consistently between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit (21-32 C).

Common warm-season grasses include centipedegrass, Bermudagrass, St. Augustinegrass, and Zoysia grass. You can find centipedegrass seed and Bermudagrass seed from Scotts at Lowe’s. Zoysia grass and St. Augustinegrass are generally planted as sod or sod plugs since they are such great spreaders. Zoysia grass and St. Augustinegrass sod plugs can also be purchased from Lowe’s.

Grass Seed for Shady Lawns

Beautiful full-shade lawns are tough to achieve. Turfgrass needs sun. If you have an area of your yard that only gets 3-4 hours of dappled sunlight throughout the day, you should consider planting a lawn alternative.

However, there are species of grass that do better in shadier spots in the yard. Seed mixes that combine shade-tolerant types of grass are your best bet if you have a moderately shaded area. Fine fescues like creeping red fescue, hard fescue, and Chewings fescue are cool-season grasses that will work in shaded areas that have little traffic. The dense shade mixture grass seed from GreenView can be found at Lowe’s and is a mix of fescues and perennial ryegrass. St. Augustinegrass is the most shade-tolerant of the warm-season grasses.

Grass Seed for Mossy Lawns

Moss can overtake turfgrass in lawns that are compacted, have poor drainage, and acidic soil. There’s nothing wrong with moss, but if you’d rather have grass it can feel like a losing battle. Lawns in the Pacific Northwest can be particularly prone to moss infestations given the climate conditions of that region.

Gardening Know How senior manager Allie battled moss in her PNW lawn until she found success with Scotts Turf Builder Pacific Northwest mix of grass seed, available from Home Depot, that includes soil conditioners. Dethatching can also help reduce moss colonies. If moss is still a problem, you can find Scotts MossEx at the Home Depot to treat moss and fertilize grass for improved turf.

Grass Seed for High-Traffic Lawns

If you have kids or dogs zipping around your lawn all summer, you will want to purchase a good quality grass seed for high-traffic areas. There is nothing sadder than a brown, worn patch of mud in your yard under the swing when the rest of it is brilliant and lush.

In northern regions, Kentucky bluegrass will be your best choice for high-traffic lawns as it is resilient and grows quickly (this high-traffic mix from Scotts at Home Depot fits the bill). In the south, Bermudagrass is the toughest grass for your climate and Bermudagrass seed can be purchased from Lowe’s.

Aerating a compacted, high-traffic lawn can also help improve the turf. Aeration is the process of removing small plugs of soil to allow air, water, and nutrients to reach grass roots more easily. You can hire a professional service to aerate your lawn or use a Garden Weasel manual core aerator, available from Amazon, for a smaller area that has become compacted.

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After long months of snow and cold, spring is on the way! Early bulbs will be popping up and cheering us with their sunny faces. Many gardeners spend spring readying their vegetables and flowers to be planted, but sometimes they overlook a more humble plant that needs a little attention this time of year: grass.

Spring lawn maintenance will make all the difference come summer. Lush summer lawns are the result of preparation and forethought in the spring. Proper spring lawn care will mean your grass is thicker, healthier, and more resilient through the rest of the year.

I have compiled a spring lawn care starter kit to help you get the best lawn.

Spring Lawn Cleanup

Once the nighttime temperatures consistently reach 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 C) you can begin your lawn cleanup. It is important to wait until this temperature to help your local pollinators survive so they can do their work to support our ecosystem!

Spring Lawn Prep

After a long winter, your lawn needs a little TLC. A soil test will help you know what your grass is missing, aeration will help relieve soil compaction, and a simple edger will tame the turf that got out of hand last fall.

Spring Lawn Applications

Weeds and grubs can ruin a lush, beautiful lawn seemingly overnight. Gentle assistance in spring will keep problems at bay so you can enjoy your lawn this summer.

A little work in the spring means you and your family can enjoy the perfect lawn all summer. And the neighbors will be envious!

If there’s one thing that can quietly undo months of lawn care, it’s winter weather in all of its glorious forms: heavy rain, sleet, ice, snow – it all wreaks havoc on our soil, leading to soggy patches, thinning grass, and a lawn that (get ready for the relatable content, folks) struggles to bounce back in spring.

The good news? According to one gardening pro on TikTok, keeping your lawn healthy through winter doesn’t require specialist equipment or complicated treatments. In fact, one of the most effective fixes involves just two things: a garden fork and a bag of lawn sand.

His advice has been gaining traction online for good reason: it’s quick, affordable, and focuses on prevention rather than repair – helping your lawn stay in better shape through winter and come back stronger when the weather warms. Win!

Why Winter Lawns Often Struggle

During winter, grass naturally enters a dormant phase. This means that growth slows, mowing becomes utterly unnecessary (hurray!), and many gardeners assume there’s nothing more to do.

While the grass may be resting, though, the soil can quickly suffer across all USDA Planting Zones, and especially in areas with heavy rainfall or clay-heavy ground. Think about it: when soil stays saturated, it limits the oxygen available to grass roots. Compaction makes matters worse, preventing excess water from draining away.

Over time, this can weaken roots, encourage moss, and leave behind muddy or bare patches that linger well into spring. And here’s where @GardeningWithIsh’s simple drainage hack comes in.

As Ish explains, it’s not officially “too cold” to worry about your lawn — but if you’re noticing wet or boggy patches forming, it’s a sign drainage needs attention.

His method is refreshingly straightforward. Using a standard garden fork, gently poke holes into the affected areas of the lawn. These holes allow excess water to drain away more easily and help air reach the roots.

Once that’s done, add a small amount of lawn sand or apply a thin compost into the holes to keep them open and improve long-term drainage. Low-effort, true, but it can have a big impact over the winter months.

Shopping Essentials:

It's basically an easy form of aerating your lawn, right? And so, to get the best results, timing and technique matter more than force. Choose a mild winter day when the ground isn’t frozen and avoid working on the lawn if it’s completely saturated.

Push the garden fork (or if you prefer, lawn aerator tool from Amazon) a few inches into the soil, spacing the holes evenly across any areas that tend to hold water. There’s no need to lever the fork back aggressively: you’re creating drainage channels, not tearing up the lawn.

Once the holes are in place, sprinkle lawn sand over the surface and brush it in so it fills the openings. Lawn sand is designed to improve drainage while still being gentle on grass, unlike builders’ sand, which can compact and cause further problems.

One of the biggest mistakes gardeners make in winter is doing too much. Over-aerating, adding excessive sand, or repeatedly walking over wet and frozen grass can all undo your good intentions. Instead, aim to do the bare minimum – just enough to help your lawn cope with winter conditions, without stressing it further.

That's why this TikTok hack is so great, as it is a) a light touch approach, b) easy as anything, and c) the kind of protective method that also sets the stage for healthier growth in spring.

So there we have it! Plenty of reasons to (once the snow melts) get out there and start addressing drainage problems with a fork and a bit of lawn sand. Sometimes, the simplest fixes really are the ones that make the biggest difference.

Winter hits lawns hard: frozen ground, sneaky snow mold, stubborn thatch, and frail roots turn lush green into patchy eyesores. The silver lining? You can strike back right now—no waiting for spring. A handful of savvy winter moves will supercharge your grass for a triumphant thaw comeback.

Winter damage sneaks up quietly—snow mold spreads under wet cover, compacted soil starves roots, leaves mat down and rot, heavy traffic crushes blades. Dormant grass can’t repair itself, so issues linger and worsen until spring. Spotting problems early lets you act before thaw.

Bringing a lawn back to life after winter takes just a few easy fixes before the growing season kicks in. These fixes address common winter damage so your lawn greens up faster and thicker, ready for summer.

Why Your Lawn Struggles in Winter

Identifying winter lawn damage and issues early alters the outcome. Through the winter months, frozen soil compacts roots severely, blocking oxygen and water at the precise moment the grass requires them. Snow mold develops rapidly beneath prolonged wet snow, resulting in gray or pink patches that kill grass. Thatch accumulation retains excess moisture and promotes rot, while foot traffic during winter crushes blades and further compresses soil particles. Dormant grass lacks the ability to recover, so damage persists and frequently worsens by spring.

Addressing these during thaws establishes quicker recovery. Earlier action shortens the spring recovery period.

1. Clear Snow and Ice Carefully

Heavy snow compresses the lawn, trapping moisture at grass level and fostering ideal conditions for snow mold. Shovel or rake snow from high-traffic paths, driveways, and shaded areas where melt collects—distribute it evenly rather than piling it in one location that smothers another section. Maintain clear walkways to prevent traffic over frozen turf and additional compaction.

Even distribution avoids smothering and permits better air circulation. Proceed gently; dormant blades tear easily with rough handling. Avoid rock salt on paths—it infiltrates soil and stresses grass. Sand or kitty litter offers effective traction without harm. After significant storms, clear snow again to reduce weight and limit extended wet conditions that sustain fungi.

2. Remove Leaves and Debris

Leaves beneath snow mat down swiftly, obstructing light and air while supporting mold. Rake or blow leaves away after each leaf fall or thaw before deeper burial occurs. A light rake or low-speed leaf blower performs best—aggressive tools can injure crowns when soil remains soft. This cordless Ryobi leaf blower from the Home Depot has variable speed settings so you can ensure you don't hurt your delicate turf.

Clearing debris allows grass to breathe and substantially lowers fungal risk. Regular fall raking limits buildup—modest leaf residue can serve as mulch, but wet, compacted leaves smother. Pine needles require particular attention; they acidify soil and compact more than broad leaves. Removal now permits earlier sunlight exposure in spring, hastening green-up.

3. Aerate Compacted Areas

Winter foot traffic and freeze-thaw cycles compress soil intensely, depriving roots of air and water. When thaw permits clean core extraction without smearing, aerate small affected patches promptly. A manual aerator or garden fork suffices for most small yards. This lawn aerator tool from Amazon will help you manually dethatch your lawn.

The holes alleviate compaction, enhance drainage, and restore root aeration. Prevent recurrence by avoiding traffic on wet or frozen grass—use boards for temporary paths when necessary. Fall aeration is optimal if planned, but a winter thaw provides an early advantage for spring recovery. Openings accelerate water and nutrient access to roots upon growth resumption.

4. Overseed Thin Spots

Winter damage often creates thin or bare patches that weeds exploit if untreated. Once soil thaws sufficiently, spread grass seed over the areas, rake lightly for contact, then apply a thin layer of compost or straw for protection.

Seeds remain dormant until soil warms, then germinates and fills gaps rapidly, outcompeting weeds early. Select cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, or fine fescue blends matching the existing lawn. Fall overseeding develops stronger roots resistant to future freeze-thaw. A light watering during thaw settles seed. Early action positions new grass ahead of spring weeds.

5. Top-Dress With Compost

During suitable thaw periods, apply a thin compost layer across the lawn—it levels minor unevenness, adds organic matter, and activates soil microbes earlier. Leaf compost or finished manure yields excellent results without excess.

Compost improves soil structure, drainage, and nutrient release gradually, supporting healthier roots without synthetic fertilizer dependence. Fall and spring applications maintain consistent nutrition for greater resilience. Rake lightly to integrate between blades—thick layers risk smothering. This timely input drives faster green-up and vigorous growth in spring.

Taking a little bit of time this winter to tend your lawn will ensure you are off to a great start in the spring. Lush summer grass is just around the corner!

In the depths of winter, most of us instinctively retreat indoors. But there is one common habit many homeowners continue to do every day without a second thought – and it’s slowly destroying the grass beneath their feet.

Walking on grass during frosty weather might seem harmless enough, especially if it’s just a quick dash to the shed or a shortcut to the front door. Yet, according to lawn experts, it is one of the most common causes of long-term winter lawn damage (and don’t even think about mowing it!)

But it’s not just any cold snap that spells disaster for your lawn; there’s one key warning sign that you have to keep off the grass. You need to listen out for the telltale “crunch”.

Why Frozen Grass is Vulnerable to Damage

Grass is hardy, but in winter, plants are placed under real stress. Growth slows right down, moisture freezes inside the blades, and the soil beneath becomes far less forgiving. So, when you walk across frozen turf, the grass can’t bend and recover as it normally would. That's why you need to listen and feel for that crisp winter crunch.

“When grass feels crunchy underfoot, that’s your sign to leave it be,” said Chris McIlroy, lawn professional at The Grass People. “Frozen grass bruises very easily, and even a quick walk across the lawn can compact the soil underneath. Doing less now really does pay off later.”

Footprints on a frosty lawn aren’t just a visual clue that someone has been walking on it; each step can snap frozen grass blades and press down the soil, reducing airflow and drainage. Come spring, these stressed areas often struggle to recover, leaving bare patches, moss invasion, or uneven growth.

It Won’t be Obvious Until Spring

Winter lawn damage is so often overlooked because the consequences aren’t immediate. Your lawn might look fine for weeks until the frost melts, but beneath the surface, the grass roots may already be weakened.

Compacted soil makes it much more difficult for roots to access oxygen and nutrients, while damaged blades leave the lawn vulnerable to disease. When the warmer weather finally arrives, these weakened areas are often the last to green up – or worse, they die back completely, leaving lawns looking thin and patchy just as spring entices you out into the garden again.

This is why lawn professionals often see a spike in repair work in early spring. Though you can do it yourself with a lawn repair kit.

Lawn Repair Kit Picks

How to Care for Lawns in Cold Spells

Happily, winter lawn care is refreshingly simple – just stay off it. Avoid using the lawn as a walkway, and if possible, keep pets from repeatedly crossing the same areas. And, even if the grass isn’t crunchy, it’s also wise to delay mowing altogether in freezing conditions, as cutting frozen grass can cause even more stress.

Chris also suggests you think ahead once temperatures begin to rise slightly. Applying a winter fertilizer during a milder, frost-free spell can help lawns stay resilient through the rest of winter. Scotts Turf Builder WinterGuard Fall Lawn Food, available on Amazon, is widely used in late winter warm spells and works on any grass type. Its nitrogen is largely slow-release, and its high potassium supports roots without forcing blade growth.

“A winter feed isn’t about forcing growth,” he added. “It’s about strengthening the roots and helping the lawn cope with cold, wet conditions, so it’s in better shape when spring arrives.”

Feeding should only be done when the ground is frost-free and temperatures are stable enough for nutrients to be absorbed. Rushing in too early can do more harm than good.

Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your garden is nothing at all.

At this time of year, when things are quietening down in the garden, the lawn mower can start looking a little surplus, angled awkwardly on the sides of yards, if not already gathering dust in the recesses of the shed. Wouldn’t it be good if you could think of some really useful lawn mower uses that could validate the existence of that hulking beast once the grass stops growing? In fact, there’s plenty you can still use your mower for, so don’t be too quick to drag it into storage.

Basic lawn mowing keeps the yard tidy, but off-season tasks can unlock its real potential. A lawnmower alternative for shredders or vacuums sits right there already. Sharpen the blades once, and it tackles tough jobs without skipping a beat. Run it over leaves or debris to chop everything fine and fast. The bagger catches the mess while the blades do the work. Use a lawnmower like this for quick cleanups that beat raking or shredding by hand. So prepare to get busy with your mower all over again, with these 9 unexpectedly brilliant ways to use yours – beyond simply cutting grass!

9 Great Lawn Mower Alternatives

The industrious moving parts and ferocious speeds of lawn mowing equipment are capable of repurposing all manner of important garden materials, as well as helping shape and delineate parts of the yard that may face neglect at quieter times of year. Even when not mowing your lawn, your lawn mower could be making light work of shredding and bulk-purposing, and in tandem with sturdy bags for collection, storage and distribution, it creates really useful time-savers around the garden.

These useful lawn mower alternatives include organic mulch production, soil and lawn improvement, debris shredding, and other cleanup and preparation jobs. Find out how to turn your grass-cutter into a resourceful and versatile gardening gizmo.

1. Leaf Shredding

Fallen leaves pile up fast in autumn. As a really productive lawn mower alternative, try this useful leaf cleanup trick. Run your mower over the leaves on a high setting to shred everything into small pieces. The fine bits break down quicker and make nutrient-rich mulch that feeds the soil.

Toss in some nice, rich compost if the leaves feel dry to balance things out. This mulch of yard trimmings and leaf clippings will suppress weeds and hold moisture around plants without much effort. Spread it thick under shrubs; it feels crumbly, but settles into a protective layer that lasts through winter. Rake the leaves into rows first if they're scattered wide – it makes the passes easier and catches more in one go. Dry leaves crunch under the blades, turning a chore into something satisfying.

Empty the bagger directly onto beds or paths. The shredded leaves feel lighter to spread than they would whole. Store extras in bags, like Durasack Heavy Duty Yard Bags from Amazon, for later use around perennials. It takes a bit to sort out damp batches, but the mower handles them without clogging if you go slow.

2. Compost Pre-Shredding

For coarser garden debris like thicker tomato stalks or problem vines, you can use a lawn mower to chop them down to size for the compost pile. Spent tomato vines or bean stalks go in whole and come out shredded. Lay them out flat first, as the mower slices through easier that way. The pieces heat up faster in the bin and decompose without clumping.

Mix the shredded bits with greens for balanced composting. It might feel stiff to lug heavy vines over, but the results are well worth it. A mulching blade like the Maxpower 21-Inch Universal Gold Metal Mower Blade from Amazon makes clean cuts every time. Compost turns richer, ready for spring planting sooner than usual.

3. Pine Needle Mulching

Pine needles work the same way: collect them under pine trees and then mow them to create an acidic mulch for blueberries, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. The needles may feel prickly at first, but they settle into a mat that lasts months. Run multiple passes if they're thick, and it breaks them down fine. Spread the mulch around acid-loving plants to hold soil pH steady and deters several pests.

It’s a good idea to take regular soil pH checks with a meter like the Raintrip 4-in-1 Soil Meter from Amazon to assess how well your mulch is doing, and make amendments as necessary. Empty the bag straight into bins; the smaller pieces integrate without poking out. The scent lingers a bit, adding to the garden's natural feel.

4. Winterizing the Lawn

The last mow of the season leaves grass clippings behind. Let them stay: the mower chops them fine. And if you mulch with grass clippings, they will recycle nitrogen back into the turf. This winterizes the lawn naturally, building healthier grass for spring. The clippings feel light, but pack serious nutrients once they decompose. Water lightly afterwards if the ground is dry, as it helps everything settle in.

Come warmer days, the grass greens up thicker without extra fertilizer. It’s a good idea to just test the soil pH occasionally, as clippings can shift it slightly over time. Spread your clippings evenly to avoid clumps that might smother important growth. This layer protects roots from frost, too. It takes a bit to adjust the height, but the mower does the rest. New growth pushes through strongly, with fewer bare patches.

5. Cover Crop Chopping

Cover crops like clover or rye protect bare soil over winter. If you haven’t already started some, grab a bag of Everwilde Farms 500 Crimson Clover Seeds from Walmart, which is a nice bumper supply at a bargain price. These crops develop fast, and give structure to bare soil. Once spent, you can use your mower to cut them down in bulk at speed, chopping down to distribute where they are needed.

The pieces mix into the earth easier before tilling or planting to help you recharge your soil. It takes a bit to walk the rows, but the mower handles it well. New beds come alive faster with this prep. The roots stay put and add organic matter deep down. Scatter seed over the chopped residue, and it acts like a starter mulch that boosts germination rates.

Rotate crops next season to keep the soil balanced and productive. The chopped material feels springy underfoot, like a natural carpet ready for new growth. Turn the mower deck up for thicker stands. The residue breaks down over several months, enriching the dirt without extra inputs.

6. Vacuuming Fine Debris

Fine debris like scattered straw or small twigs litters the yard after projects, and lawn mowers can help with yard waste removal. Attach the bagger and vacuum it all up with a slow pass. The mower sucks up the mess without scattering more. A bagger attachment like the American Lawn Mower Company Store Lawn Mower Grass Catcher from Amazon catches everything neatly.

The collected material goes right into a compost pile or mulch pile without extra handling. Clear the discharge chute between runs to avoid clogs from the damp stuff. It sorts out sticky bits that might otherwise jam things up. Dump the bag in one spot for easy transfer. It’s an efficient process, turning cleanup into a quick lap around the yard.

7. Garden Bed Prep

What can a lawn mower do to help you prep your garden beds, you may be wondering? You’d be surprised. For garden beds, you can set the mower deck high and chop surface weeds or leftover stalks. This preps the soil for seeds or transplants in minutes. The cut bits work as instant mulch that you can make yourself. Walk slowly over uneven ground, and the mower levels things out.

Rake the residue lightly if needed. A rake like the Vevor Landscape Lawn Care Rake from Amazon can help with leveling, clearing and grooming. New plants root better in the loosened top layer. It takes a bit to maneuver tight spaces, but the results show up fast.

8. Pathway Clearing

Narrow areas of paving and garden paths overgrown with tall weeds or grass need clearing, too. Mow along the borders to level them out. The cut material works as mulch right there. Define the edges first with string, as it keeps the lines straight.

The paths stay tidy longer with the clippings down. It feels solid underfoot once settled, reducing mud in rain. To set off that wonderfully tidy effect over the darker winter months, why not add some solar lights, like the Mancra Solar Pathway Lights for Walkways from Amazon?

9. Harvesting Nut Hulls

Fallen nuts like walnuts or pecans hull easier under the mower. Run over them carefully to separate shells. It’s a good idea to wear protection, too, as the hulls can fly about. Safety glasses like the Dewalt DPG82 Anti-Fog Safety Goggles from Amazon keep eyes safe from flying bits.

It might perhaps feel odd to use a mower for this, but the harvest certainly goes a lot quicker if you are doing big batches. The shells crack open cleanly, making nut gathering less of a backbreaker. Bag the hulls for disposal or spread them as mulch in areas away from paths to avoid slips. Also, clean the mower deck afterward as hulls can leave a residue that sticks. Collect in small batches to avoid overload. The mower handles the tough outer layers without dulling blades much.

Winter Lawn Mower & Lawn Essentials

Winter is no time to be resting on your laurels, as there are still ways to take care of your lawn mower and help your lawn get through the chillier times. Make sure you’ve checked and cleaned equipment before putting it in storage, and give turf a treat ahead of spring.

Need more ideas for getting the most from your plants, indoors and out, and looking for the best seasonal expert advice delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the free Gardening Know How Newsletter!

Turfgrass grows better in well-draining soil than heavy soil. Most of us know that you can lighten heavy soil and improve drainage by adding sand. When should you apply lawn sand to improve drainage? The short answer is spring or fall. But the devil is in the details: you need to apply the right sand at the right time in the right way to get a positive effect.

Why Add Lawn Sand to Turfgrass?

If you live anywhere near a golf course, you’ve probably seen the gardeners putting sand on top of the grass. This is called sand topdressing, and it’s a practice increasingly used in private landscaping lawn care as well.

Why is this popular? Because adding sand improves the physical property of the soil, stopping it from getting compact and improving drainage. Sand can also even out irregularities in the topsoil, which makes the lawn easier to mow. It breaks down thatch and boosts root performance.

Sanding to Improve Drainage

Sanding is one of the top treatment choices for landscapes with heavy, clay soil. This type of soil compacts easily. Applying sand will make it more permeable, allowing water and air to get to the soil roots. If you already have a sandy soil lawn, don’t add more sand. That could create soil that is not capable of retaining nutrients or moisture.

Although it is possible to simply apply lawn sand on top of the grass, it’s more effective to aerate first. If you use a core aerator like this one from Amazon, you can poke thousands of holes in the soil over the entire area. Sand is applied after the soil is aerated, filling up the newly created holes with coarse lawn sand. Done regularly, this technique improves the physical property of your soil over time.

Pick Your Sand Carefully

I live near Pacific beaches in San Francisco, Atlantic beaches in France, so sand is not hard to come by. But while beach sand is free, it should be avoided at all costs when you are looking to sand a lawn. It contains so much salt that your lawn may die, rather than flourish. Stay away from playground sand (too fine!) and also avoid construction sand. Its high limestone content may change soil pH which can damage the lawn.

Instead, choose coarse sand (with particles sized between 0.5 to 2 millimeters) or river sand, tumbled by Mother Nature’s water action. Fine quartz sand – with a grain size of under 2 mm – is considered the best choice by many gardeners, since it is fine enough to penetrate the soil without clogging the pores. This sand from Amazon is specifically designed for lawn use.

When to Sand Your Lawn

Everyone knows that the best time for planting is early spring or fall. Well that’s also the best time for sanding, since the soil is warm and sufficiently loose that the sand can penetrate it easily.

Never sand during times of drought and heat, since the soil will be compacted. Also refrain from sanding the lawn during times of stress, like freezing winter conditions or sweltering summer temps. On the other side of the spectrum, avoid this kind of yard work during heavy rain. Pouring rain makes it hard to do anything outside, including working the sand into the soil.

So early spring or early fall it is. If you opt for spring, do it before the spring grass growth spurt begins. Whether you pick spring or fall, you’ll want to pick a clear day that isn’t too hot or too windy. If there is such a thing as an ideal day for spreading sand, it could be a nice day when rain is expected over the next few days. You can “create” this ideal condition by sanding on a nice day, then watering down the lawn if no rain materializes.

How to Sand the Yard

Even with all this information, it’s easy to make mistakes. One critical mistake to avoid is sprinkling pure sand directly on clay soil. This might happen if you are sanding the soil before installing the grass, and it can cause issues, creating a layer of soil that looks and feels like concrete.

If you blend fine sand with clay particles and water, the result is a hard, impermeable layer that resembles concrete. The clay particles wedge in between the grains of sand, plugging up the openings. This restricts drainage rather than creating it.

Instead, mix your sand with compost before you apply it to the soil. Try this Back to the Roots compost from Home Depot. Topsoil also works, or a mixture of compost and topsoil. You’ll get the improved drainage you are looking for.

Knowing how to level a lawn is helpful if your garden is naturally lumpy. A lawn pitted with divots is not only unsightly, but also unhealthy and potentially dangerous. Even small pits and hills can cause falls and injuries, collect water, and negatively affect turf health.

Fortunately, smoothing out your yard isn’t difficult and you don’t need any fancy tools to level your lawn either. I’ll share a simple way to level your lawn with only two items you probably already own or can buy for just a few bucks at any hardware store.

Here’s how to level your lawn quickly and easily. Just follow these simple steps for a lush, lovely, and level lawn.

Why Level Your Lawn?

A level lawn might not seem that important, especially when compared to growing healthy green turf, but it makes a difference. There are several reasons to consider taking the time to level your lumpy lawn:

• Prevent pooling. A poorly leveled lawn contains divots that can create puddles when it rains. This isn’t always an issue, but if your soil doesn’t drain well or you get a lot of rain, you can end up with puddles that breed mosquitoes and even cause root rot.
• Improve lawn health. Pooling interferes with growing a healthy lawn, but there are other ways that leveling can improve overall turf health. Leveling allows you to treat your lawn more uniformly, so fertilizer and pesticides don’t get clumped in certain areas.
• Reduce safety hazards. A lumpy lawn can be a safety risk. Even if you’re only walking across the lawn, divots and pits can lead to a twisted ankle or worse. If you have active kids, a level lawn reduces injury risks. It also makes it easier to place outdoor furniture and decorations that won’t tip over.
• Make mowing easier. Mowing the lawn is easier and more effective when you don’t have to navigate pits, divots, and small hills all over the lawn.

Best Time to Level a Lawn

Spring and early fall are the best times to level a lawn. Wait for a day when the lawn is fairly dry and there is no major rain in the upcoming forecast. If you grow cool-season grass, aim for leveling in early fall. You can overseed your lawn at the same time.

If you have warm-season grass, spring is an ideal time for this chore. Generally, warm-season grass should be actively growing when you level the lawn.

The Easiest Way to Level Your Lawn

Leveling the lawn might seem like a big job, but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t need to hire a landscaping company, buy a fancy lawn leveling rake, or rent and push a heavy lawn roller.

Instead, I'll show you the easy way to get a flatter yard with two items you probably already own – a rake and topsoil. Here's how to do it:

1. Prepare the lawn

Start by mowing the lawn, but not too short. You want the grass growing in low spots to be able to recover and keep growing after the next few steps.

If your lawn has a lot of thatch, remove some of it. Heavy thatch suffocates grass. If it’s not too compacted, you can use a rake to dethatch your lawn. A stiff metal rake, like this one from Amazon, is the best tool for the job. Though any rake will work.

Otherwise, you can consider renting a dethatcher to make the job easier – though this is typically unnecessary.

2. Identify problem areas

Next, find all the low areas in the lawn you want to correct. If you have a big lawn and many low spots, you might want to mark the areas with stakes to make the next step easier and ensure you don’t miss anything.

Put a stake or some kind of marker – you can even use stones or sticks you find in your yard – wherever you notice a low spot or divot so you know where the problem areas are.

3. Add top dressing

Buy or make a top dressing of topsoil and homemade compost to fill in the sunken areas of the yard. Make sure you get a high-quality topsoil, like this one from Scotts, that is free of weed seeds that can cause problems down the road.

There are even specialty soil mixes that have fertilizer mixed in to give grass seeds a strong start, like this Turf Builder LawnSoil from Scotts, which you can also find on Amazon.

If your soil is naturally heavy and contains a lot of clay, you can add some sand to your top dressing to help improve drainage.

4. Rake, water, and seed

Once you’ve added top dressing to all your divots, use a rake to even it out. After you have the top dressing in place, you can add grass seed, which you can find on Amazon. Though this might not be necessary depending on how large the areas you need to fill are.

For large spots, overseeding is the best course of action. This will ensure grass fills in fast and the divot or low spot disappears by next summer. However, you might want to wait for the right time to overseed, which is typically early fall.

Whether you add grass seed or not, do water the lawn. This will help the new top dressing settle and is necessary to germinate grass seeds.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Lawn leveling can be a simple chore, but as with any gardening task, there are potential pitfalls to avoid for the best results.

For example, leveling at the wrong time can cause problems. If you get heavy rain right after leveling, it can wash away your hard work and erode all the topdressing you just added.

If you level the lawn during the middle of summer when the weather is hot and dry, you can add more stress to an already stressed lawn. This is bad for the overall health of the turf and can impede its growth.

Don’t skimp on the top dressing of topsoil. This is the most crucial element of the process. If you use the wrong type of fill for your lawn or use a cheap product, you’ll get poor results.

Finally, don’t ignore drainage issues. If you have these problems now, leveling won’t fix them. Consider ways to improve waterlogged soil before you do this task, so you can improve the overall health of your lawn.

Lawn leveling is an important garden chore you should not to overlook. It doesn’t have to be a big job, though. Use these simple and cost-effective tips to get a level, safe, and healthy lawn.

Lawn care doesn’t end when the winter starts creeping in – it just looks a little different. You may not be mowing the grass every few weeks or patching up bald spots with fresh grass seed, but there are plenty of other tasks your lawn will thank you for doing in November.

The reward? A lush green lawn come spring that bounces back perfectly from the cold winter months. You may be able to tuck away in the warmth of your home through the cooling seasons, but it’s important to remember that your grass is facing the full brunt of the winter at all times outdoors. Even mild winters can be a lot for grass roots to handle.

To help you give your lawn all it needs, I asked professionals in gardening and lawn care for the top three tasks they would recommend completing in November to ensure a lush lawn next year. The tasks themselves are rather simple, though there’s one that the pros strongly warned against doing at this time of year.

Aerating

During the spring, summer and autumn your lawn is likely getting more foot traffic. Perhaps you host summer barbecues and frequently mow, plod around tending to your spring garden, or walk around admiring the hues of autumn taking over your yard’s foliage. Every step taken on your lawn leads to soil compaction, making it increasingly hard for it to breathe.

Aerating your lawn in November as winter starts coming in is a great idea. Your lawn will now be less in use, and the full brunt of winter hasn’t yet settled.

Brian Feldman, senior director of technical operation at TruGreen, says, “Soil compaction is one of the biggest obstacles to a healthy lawn. Over time, especially in areas that get a lot of foot traffic, the soil becomes densely packed, making it harder for water, air and nutrients to reach your grass roots. When roots can’t access what they need, your lawn can thin out, become patchy and become more vulnerable to drought, weeds and lawn disease. Aerating your lawn in November gives the soil time to recover and allows new roots to establish before winter sets in.”

The Manual Push Core Aerator Lawn Tool available on Amazon is ideal for aerating smaller lawns. Simply push the prongs into your soil, take them out to leave holes, then repeat. If you have a larger lawn, something like the Walensee Lawn Aerator from Amazon may be more suitable as it can create more holes faster and has a detachable head for use in harder to reach areas.

Fertilizing

Last November I added fertilizer to my lawn for the first time, and now I’m never going to let a year pass without doing it. It makes complete sense: your lawn’s grass is about to enter the temperature stress that comes with winter and will need all the strength and energy it can get to survive. Fertilizing your lawn will help give it the boost it needs, and doing it in November is great because you won’t be stepping all over the grass as it decompresses and absorbs the nutrients.

“Fertilizing late in the year is one of the smartest things you can do, especially for cool-season grasses,” says Brian. “As air temperatures drop and soil stays warm, your lawn shifts its energy from top growth to root development, and the right nutrients can make a big difference.

“Though be careful not to over-fertilize, as too much can lead to nutrient runoff and weak, fast-growing grass that’s more prone to damage. The goal is strong, sustained growth from the roots up.”

Scotts Turf Builder WinterGuard from Amazon is ideal for late fall or early winter lawn fertilizing. It works to eliminate weeds while simultaneously building up the strength of your lawn’s roots. Make sure to read the packaging for guidance on how much to use.

Clearing Debris

The moisture and chill of winter provides the perfect environment for bacteria to thrive. Combine this with piles of decomposing leaves, moss and debris, and you’ve cultivated a recipe prime for fungal lawn diseases.

Angelia Zaber, lawn care specialist at Online Turf, further explains the importance of removing debris from your lawn in November to increase your chances of gorgeous greenery in spring. “Regularly clearing fallen, damp leaves or any other debris from your lawn is generally good practice, but it’s particularly important during November as your lawn care transitions into the winter. This can be done using a rake or a leaf blower, depending on your preference, but if you don’t gather them up your lawn will be at risk of disease.

“Dollar spot is a common one that impacts lawns, appearing as small silver-dollar-sized patches of almost bleached-looking grass, ruining your greenery. That’s the last thing you’ll want to see in spring.”

Angelika personally recommends using the HOSKO 79 Inch Leaf Rake available on Amazon for the job. It’s wide to gather up lots of leaves fast, and has an adjustable handle for ease of use.

Don’t Scarify Your Lawn During the Winter

Scarifying is the process of aggressively removing thatch, moss and dead organic material from between the blades of your grass and your soil’s surface. It can cling onto a lawn pretty well, so removing it is a rather rough process.

Though aerating your lawn in November can be highly beneficial, both Brian and Angelika warn others against scarifying your lawn so close to winter.

“While I usually advise to scarify and aerate your lawn at the same time, a lawn scarified in November will not be able to bounce back before the stress of winter,” says Angelika. “As a result, scarifying this late is likely going to do more harm than good, leaving your lawn weaker – resulting in bare patches and bigger susceptibility to diseases. This will also mean more work in the spring.”

It’s best to wait until spring to do this, though if you successfully undertake other forms of November lawn care you’ll have an easier lawn to tackle in the New Year.

If you are like me, you may be seeing advertisements online and in your local hardware store for ‘winterizer fertilizer’ for your lawn. But what is winterizer fertilizer and do you really need it? Winterizer fertilizer is a special blend of fertilizer that is meant to help your lawn grow better next spring.

Fertilizing grass in fall can help improve color, allow it to recover from stress more easily, and resist disease more effectively. Despite the possible benefits, you need to understand more about your lawn and its needs first before you go out and buy this trendy amendment.

Let’s explore what winterizer fertilizer is, if you should be using it, and how best to apply it.

What is Winterizer Fertilizer?

Winterizer fertilizer, or winter fertilizer, is a type of lawn fertilizer that is high in nitrogen and potassium and is applied in the fall to help your grass overwinter well and look more lush when spring arrives.

Nitrogen helps boost turfgrass growth so it has a good chance to absorb the sun’s energy through photosynthesis before winter sets in. This energy will be stored in the roots and help the grass look great next spring.

Potassium improves stress tolerance in turfgrass. This includes increased heat and cold tolerance, improved disease resistance, and better drought tolerance. Sounds pretty good! However, winter fertilizers aren’t necessary for all lawns or types of turfgrass.

Should I Use Winterizer Fertilizer?

Only cool-season grasses benefit from winter fertilizer. Warm-season grasses that thrive in the balmy climate of the Southern U.S. are going into dormancy in autumn and can actually be damaged by the application of nitrogen which is found in winterizer fertilizer. Warm-season grasses include centipede grass, St. Augustine grass, bermudagrass, and zoysia grass.

Cool-season grasses are also preparing for their dormancy period in the fall, but they can benefit from nutrients before their winter nap if they have deficiencies. Cool-season grasses include Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and fine fescues.

Though these colder climate grasses tolerate winter fertilizer, they still might not need it. Many lawns do not have a potassium deficiency. It is best to do a soil test before using any fertilizers to ensure that you don’t accidentally damage your lawn. A simple soil test like this one from Amazon can help save your lawn from fertilizer burn.

Important Note: Some states and localities have restrictions on what types of fertilizers can be used and when, so you should check your state laws or talk with your local extension office.

Best Types of Winterizer Fertilizer

There are many types of winterizer fertilizers available or you could even spread a thin layer of homemade compost over your lawn before the first frost hits. Different fertilizers have different NPK ratios and are better suited to lawn needs. Again, a simple soil test is a good way to see what your grass needs before buying a fertilizer.

• Scotts Turf Builder offers a “Winterguard” fall fertilizer which is available on Amazon or from any big box home improvement store.
• Fertilome has a winterizer for established lawns that is also available from Amazon.
• Turf-Tone “Fall Winterizer” is a great organic winter fertilizer that will keep your lawn happy.

How to Use Winterizer Fertilizer

Understanding when and how to apply lawn fertilizer is important no matter the lawn. The last time to fertilize your lawn is the end of October for much of the U.S. Waiting any later in the year means that the ground will be too cold for the fertilizer to work its way into the soil. Additionally, your grass will have entered its dormant period and won't take in the extra nutrients.

If you live in the northernmost USDA hardiness zones, you should apply your winter fertilizer in September. The lawncare experts agree that the ideal temperature range for cool-season grass fertilization is between 60-70 degrees F (15.5-21 C), and the range for warm-season grass fertilization is between 75-85 degrees F (24-29.4 C).

Follow the directions on the bag of fertilizer that you choose, but it is also a good idea to use less fertilizer than it suggests. Low and slow is the way to go. No one wants a burnt out lawn from an overzealous fertilizer application. Typically, a half pound to one pound of fertilizer per 1000 square feet (0.23-0.45 kg per 93 m2) of lawn is plenty.

Spread the winter fertilizer evenly over the lawn using a hand spreader or a broadcast spreader. You can find hand spreaders and broadcast spreaders from Amazon or your local hardware store. Lightly watering the lawn after fertilizer application will help it to soak in faster.

If your cool-season grass has had a rough summer, applying a winterizer fertilizer will help it look lush and gorgeous next spring. Fall is the perfect time to prepare your lawn for future success.

There’s no shortage of conflicting gardening advice online – especially around when to stop mowing your lawn for winter. Some say it’s best to put the mower away in September, while others insist on one final “short cut” before winter. Ask turf specialists, though, and there’s really only one golden rule that matters: Stop mowing when the grass stops growing.

You heard it here first, folks: instead of following dates, we should be focusing on growth activity, because as long as our lawn is still actively putting on height? Then, we need to make sure that the occasional trim is pencilled into our lawn care calendars.

Once all growth stops, though, so too should all lawn mowing equipment – not least of all because it is always better to have the grass too long over the winter months than too short. With that in mind, then, here’s how to tell when it’s truly time to park the mower for the season.

When Does Grass Stop Growing?

At a first glance, it seems as if the golden rule that tells you when to stop mowing your lawn for winter has an impossibly simple answer: whenever the grass stops growing. But… well, but when exactly is that?

We know that grass growth slows as temperatures cool. As per their USDA Hardiness Zones, our country’s lawns fall into one of two categories: cool-season grasses, which usually sit in Northern and Midwest states, and warm-season grasses.

As a general guideline, the former usually stop growing around late October to November. Warm-season lawns tend to stop earlier; think late September through October – although the weather matters (great news for anyone who loves talking about it!).

A warm fall? You may need to keep mowing into mid-November. An early frost? Growth may very well stall just a few weeks sooner than expected. Which means that it's important you're not just relying on forecasts.

How to Know If Your Lawn Is Still Growing

If you want to use the golden rule that tells you when to stop mowing your lawn for winter, you don't need to set up a complex calendar based on weather forecasts and frost predictions (unless you want to).

Instead, you can skip the guesswork and use something like Amazon's Gardening Grass Gauge to perform this simple check:

• If your grass grows more than ½ inch in a week, it still needs mowing.
• If it stays the same height week to week, it’s done for the season.

Easy, right? That being said, remember that mowing during a cold snap or when the lawn is frosty or wet can damage blades and compact the soil, leading to bare patches come spring.

If the grass is frozen, soggy, or brittle, then, skip the mow. No matter how long your grass is.

The Dangers of Going Too Short

It's all well and good knowing the golden rule that tells you when to stop mowing your lawn for winter, but it's just as important you know how high to set the blades on your lawn mower.

Yes, whether you have a manual push model, or something more powerful, your final mow is important. Cut too short and grass becomes vulnerable to frost damage. Leave it too long and grass can mat down, creating risks like snow mold and root damage.

Generally, experts say it's best, then, to take cool-season grass down to 2.5–3 inches. Warm-season grass, on the other hand, might be better at 1.5–2 inches. And don't forget to leave a small patch a little longer, for overwintering pollinators and beneficial insects to bed down in.

Before we finish up, let's repeat the golden rule that tells you when to stop mowing your lawn for winter: don’t stop mowing because it’s October, stop mowing because your lawn tells you to.

Watch the grass, then, and check the growth. Make one final tidy pass at the right height. After that, give your mower a clean, sharpen the blades, and store it away until spring.

Your lawn will thank you with a greener, stronger comeback. And we're sure you'll appreciate a bit of a break from mowing duties, too; grab yourself a mug of mulled cider, pop your feet up, and relax until springtime rolls back around...

As the temperatures begin to drop, it’s important to brush up on your lawn care to keep your yard’s grass looking and feeling healthy. Good lawn care in October is vital as the weather transitions into cooler months. After the hotter days of high summer, lawns will be crying out for intervention. Proper lawn care now is crucial, to ensure your grass doesn’t die off, become too mushy in the event of snow or fall flooding, or succumb to temperature stress as a result of weather extremes.

Even if you live in a climate with milder summers or upcoming milder winters, that doesn’t mean you are off the hook. Your lawn is outside directly in the elements at all times – and even if the winter doesn’t feel extremely harsh, your lawn will be feeling every cool wind or flake of snow. So making time for October lawn care is imperative.

To help prep your lawn this fall and set it up for the healthiest possible transition through winter to spring, make time for these 5 essential tasks before the month is out. You may not notice a visible difference straight away, but these October lawn care tips will set you up for a lush, green lawn come the new year.

1. Remove Excess Leaves

Removing leaves from your lawn in October isn’t just about making your lawn look better. There are many reasons why removing surplus leaves from your grass can help to improve its health, from allowing your grass to more easily breathe to decreasing the chance of your lawn developing fungal diseases.

One of the biggest cleanup mistakes people make in autumn involves attitudes to leaves. Hillary Thompson, a horticulturalist at Super Sod, is a strong advocate of removing leaves from lawns to prevent them being smothered by a thick layer of leaves. “I coach people to leave the leaves on their property in beds and natural areas, but to remove them from their lawns by raking or leaf blowing,” says Hillary. “Removing leaves also helps mitigate fungal diseases.”

So as part of your lawn care in October, rake leaves to the side of your fence or to another lesser-used area. Use a tool like this Adjustable Lawn Rake from Amazon to ensure your lawn is leaf-free, while still providing shelter for insects and animals in the cooling months of the year.

2. Aerate Your Lawn

Last year was the first time I ever aerated the lawn, and the grass seemed so much happier for it, perking up visibly in the weeks after. When it comes to this aspect of lawn care October is a great time to tackle it. People in your home will be going outside less, giving the lawn a generous chance to breathe after heavy use.

As Angelika Zaber, a lawn care specialist and gardening expert at Online Turf, explains, your lawn has seen a lot of use in summer, so it will likely be compacted from all the foot traffic. “A compacted lawn is less equipped to handle the increasing rainfall and can lead to water pooling in areas of your lawn,” says Angelika. “This is why October is the perfect time to aerate it.”

The process of aerating a lawn involves making small holes sporadically in your lawn to help loosen up the soil and let air pass through. This can be done using a garden fork like the Truper Spading Fork from Amazon, or an aerating tool such as the Seeutek 18 Inch Rolling Lawn Aerator, from Amazon. A dedicated aerator is recommended for larger, more compacted lawns, as it’s quicker to create the holes. However, either method is fine.

3. Overseeding Grass

Can you seed a lawn in October? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. If your lawn has dried out patches or areas that are balding, October is actually the best time to fix this summer hangover through the process of overseeding. As the name suggests, overseeding refers to the process of setting down lots of extra grass seed to grow between the gaps of your existing lawn.

“Overseeding is best done in October, after scarification [removing excess thatch and organic matter] and aeration. It’s the perfect time to repair any damage from summer before the winter arrives,” says Angelika. “After you have scarified and aerated your lawn, simply sow your seeds and cover them with topsoil.” You can make lighter work of large areas by using a seed spreader like the VEVOR Tow-Behind Lawn Spreader from Amazon.

If you live in a climate with plenty of fall-winter rain, you likely won’t need to water your fresh grass seed. But if you do need to water the yard, use a shower-like setting on your hose and water the grass from a distance. This way, you won’t be stepping on your lawn, crushing the seeds and creating soil compaction all over again.

4. Late-Season Winterizer Fertilizer

If your lawn appears to be struggling, October is an ideal time to consider adding fertilizer to your grass. The weather is still warm enough for the grass to absorb the essential nutrients from the fertilizer just in time to develop strength pre-winter.

Ryan Walts at Lawn Squad believes October is the best time to tackle this task for other reasons, too. “Fall lawn care is focused on recovery and preparation, making its priorities different from spring (focused on growth) and summer (where heat and drought stress management are more important),” says Ryan.

“Fertilizing is a key component of this recovery process, as well as part of protecting your lawn over winter. It provides your lawn with the nutrients it needs to store energy in its root system and survive the winter,” he explains. “Strong roots are the foundation of a healthy lawn, and the nutrients absorbed in October fuel growth and recovery as soon as grass comes out of dormancy in spring.

“A winterizer also boosts the success of fall seeding efforts by supplying young seedlings with nutrients for better germination and development. It can help grass to better fend off pests and diseases that thrive in transitional weather.”

The Scotts Turf Builder WinterGuard Fall Lawn Fertilizer from Amazon is a good choice, containing nutrients such as nitrogen and potassium for promoting strength. If your lawn particularly struggles with weeds, Amazon’s Ferti-Lome Winterizer and Weed Preventer is a comprehensive targeted solution.

5. Winterize Lawn Irrigation Systems

If you use any irrigation systems to keep your lawn well-watered, such as sprinklers, then October is the prime time to put them away or prep them for winter. Though it may not directly sound like a form of lawn care, your lawn will directly benefit from this essential October job. Come spring, when it’s time to water the grass again, it’s peace of mind to know that your watering mechanisms are working as they should.

Chris Rigby, a lawn irrigation system expert at Rain Bird, believes this is crucial lawn care for October. “Proper winterizing of your irrigation system, especially in the cold northern climates, can help the longevity of the system, and can also save you on costly repairs,” says Chris.

Chris reveals that the best way to winterize an irrigation system is to carry out a blowout. “This involves using compressed air to blow out any water in the pipes. If water stays in these lines and there is sustained cold (that is, freezing temperatures for a long period of time), these irrigation lines run the risk of freezing and cracking, thus causing costly repairs come spring,” he explains.

“Make sure you blow out any spigots, filters and backflow devices. Just open the spigots, undo the drain at the bottom of the filter, and make sure the backflow is drained,” says Chris. You can buy cans of compressed air from Walmart.

Don't Forget…

As well as a prompt and sensible lawn care strategy for feeding, watering and clearing away leaves, make sure you’ve identified and tackled any weeds that might be nestling in the sward, storing up your ground’s goodness in readiness for spring. It would be a great mistake to lay foundations for spring if you haven’t first addressed any unwanted extras that are staring you in the face!

Take advantage of any rainfall by pulling out younger weeds while the ground is wet (and it will be relatively easier). Where you can get a good purchase, lever up tenacious weeds by manipulating the tap roots with a hand weeder or corkscrew weeder. You can also apply a herbicide like Scotts Turf Builder WinterGuard Fall Weed Killer & Feed3 from Amazon to thwart pernicious weeds like purslane and dandelion.Anything you can do now will exponentially reduce your weeding workload come spring.

You can also take advantage of a lawn clear-up to tidy up the levels of lawns. Fall is a great time to level your lawn if you are aware of significant lumps, bumps and irregularities. Use a leveling rake like the Vevor Lawn Leveling Rake from Amazon to help you create a neater, more regular surface from which your grass can flourish.

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I honestly used to be astounded by people with immaculate lawns—the neighbor whose yard is always mowed to perfection, the friend's lawn that never seems to accumulate desert-colored patches even during the heat of summer, you get the picture.

As someone who used to live in a home with a huge, high-maintenance yard, the thought of having a well-maintained lawn seemed unachievable. But I’ve since learned that regardless of the size, there's one thing that matters the most when it comes to achieving the well-kept lawn of your dreams: using the right lawn care products.

To help you gather together the top tier lawn care supplies you need to grow gorgeous grass, I consulted experts who have worked in yard care and know exactly what a lawn likes. These are the products they can’t live without after professional firsthand experience using them on lawns. Adding these to your lawn care routine will make all the difference to the look of your grass, as well as its overall health. And soon you'll have a lawn that astounds all your friends and neighbors.

1. A Well-Kept Lawn Mower

A well-kept lawn mower came in as one of the most essential products or tools experts recommended to keep your lawn in the best shape. But it isn’t just important to mow your lawn when the grass needs cutting. You need to mow it more often than you think using a lawn mower that isn’t clogged up with grass.

Hillary Thompson, a horticulturalist at Super Sod, has used a Ryobi push mower, like this one that's available on Amazon, for many years with great success. “The best tool for lawn care is already in everyone's shed or garage...the underrated lawn mower,” says Hillary.

She also shared why mowing lawns more often is important, as well as the essential maintenance you need to perform on your lawn mower to keep it running smoothly. “Instead of mowing every other week, which is a standard frequency for lawn care companies, start mowing every week and you will see the difference in a greener, more verdant lawn.

“When folks start mowing their lawns once a week, they reduce scalping so that there are less brown spots and stress, and their lawn grows denser thereby feeling more satisfying to walk on, plus the thickness crowds out weeds.

“If you take good care of your mower by protecting them from the elements and do a yearly tune up such as replace air filters, change/top off oil, and spark plugs, sharpen or replace blades, and drain the gas for winter it’ll last longer and perform better when you’re cutting the grass.”

Using a scraping device like this mower deck scraper from Amazon can be incredibly useful too when it comes to removing excess grass from inside of your mower’s blades.

2. Rotary Scissors

Rotary scissors are somewhat akin to trimmers, but Skye Durrant, founder of LawnGuru, insists they are far superior and something he can’t live without when it comes to his lawn care routine.

“I mow my own lawn daily to keep it looking like a golf course, and hands down my favorite lawn tool to hit the scene in recent years is the Stens power rotary scissors from Amazon.”

Skye believes there are several reasons why opting to use rotary scissors instead of a traditional trimmer is better for lawn care. They can increase cut quality and are easier to use.

“Rotary scissors don’t fling rocks or debris at your shins firstly, thanks to their low-velocity cutting action,” says Skye. “This also makes their cut more precise, as the rotary scissors work using a scissor-like motion to cleanly slice through blades which are gentler on your lawn.

“Traditional trimmers can often struggle in thick or wet grass too, leading to uneven cuts and wasted time. But rotary scissors can easily power through dense patches without slowing down, which makes them perfect for overgrown areas or detailed trimming.”

Be sure to check the brand of your existing trimmer, as many rotary scissors can attach onto trimmers directly, if they’re the right size.

3. A Standing Weeder

Before talking to Angelika Zaber, a lawn care specialist and gardening expert at Online Turf, I hadn’t heard of a standing weeder. But after she explained to me what one was and why they’re among her essential lawn care products I became tempted to buy one for myself.

“While a lot of people swear that hand pulling is the best method to get rid of weeds, it is easy to accidentally ‘snap’ the weed, resulting in the root staying in the soil,” Angelika explains. If the root stays in the soil, your weeds will just grow right back and need addressing again in the future.

“On top of that, hand pulling your weeds can be very time consuming, so it is easy to get bored of it. This is why I absolutely love using a standing weeder to combat any weeds that are in my lawn.”

Angelika specifically recommended the Walensee weed puller, which is available on Amazon. It's ideal for removing weeds both in flowerbeds as well as around your lawn. It’s compact, easy to use, and simple to wipe clean.

4. An Adjustable Rake

If you’ve ever had to rake a large yard filled with leaves, you can probably recall the ache creeping into your arms, neck, or back. Angelika swears by using an adjustable lawn rake for this reason. She also loves how, when the extension collapses, it takes up no extra room to store than a regular rake would.

“One of my all-time favorite products for lawn care is this adjustable garden rake for leaves from Amazon,” says Angelika. “This rake is very durable, making it a perfect choice for this task. And it has an adjustable handle, making it a perfect choice for anyone, no matter their height.

“I use it for raking the leaves off my lawn during fall to improve air circulation and prevent mold as leftover leaves can suffocate your grass.

“In the spring, it can also be used for scarifying. Scarifying refers to the process of removing an excess layer of thatch (dead grass and other organic matter that forms on your lawn over time). This allows air, water, and nutrients to reach the soil, resulting in a healthy, beautiful lawn.”

If you purchase Angelika’s pick, the rake also includes a 32-gallon leaf bag.

5. Ryegrass Seed

There are many different kinds of grass seed out there that most of us non-lawn pros would never think of. But Ryan Walts at Lawn Squad swears by a particular kind he’d pick time and time again for touching up his lawn: ryegrass seed.

He believes it’s the best choice because it grows faster than other varieties and contains a blend of different kinds of grass to produce a gorgeous varied texture.

“Lesco Double Eagle ryegrass seed is one of the best options for quickly establishing a thick, healthy lawn in sunny to mostly sunny areas,” says Ryan. “I love how this blend contains three varieties of perennial ryegrass, each selected for its fine leaf texture, deep green color, and quick germination so you get a lovely replenishing lawn in great time.”

If you’re unable to get hold of the Lesco brand, the Scotts Turf Builder perennial ryegrass seed mix on Amazon is a great alternative. It also contains fertilizer to further encourage rapid growth.

Autumn is a good season to add nutrients to your lawn. Fall fertilizing builds strong grass roots and helps the plants to store up energy for the following spring. Are you wondering when to fertilize your lawn in fall? If you’ve procrastinated fertilizing, you may want to know the last possible time to feed the grass before winter.

There is no universal “perfect” time for applying fall lawn fertilizer. But the best fall lawn fertilizer schedule for your lawn isn’t hard to figure out. This article will help you narrow down the best timing in your region.

Why Feed the Lawn in Fall?

Unless you are new to living with a lawn, you know the importance of giving that carpet of grass some TLC before winter. In most areas, turfgrass goes dormant in winter, then starts growing again in spring (if it’s cool-season grass) or early summer (if it’s warm-season grass). Fertilizing in fall gives the grass a nutrient boost that results in better growth in spring.

When to Feed the Lawn in Fall – Warm-Season Grasses

Warm-season grass loves summer heat. In warm regions, these lawns can remain green from early summer right through fall. It’s best to skip a fall nitrogen feeding. Nitrogen pushes growth and you don’t want new young grass to appear in late fall since it will be killed by a fall frost.

If you want to fertilize warm-season turfgrass in fall, use a phosphorus-heavy type of fertilizer. Severely limit nitrogen since the grass should be almost done growing for the year. Try this Scotts Winterguard fertilzer on Amazon, which can be used on any type of grass.

Early fall fertilization is your best bet for warm-season grass. A September feeding will give the lawn a chance to absorb the nutrients and then to slow growth before dormancy. Consider September your very last chance to fertilize. If you miss this fertilization timing, fertilize in late spring as your lawn starts a new season of growth.

When to Feed the Lawn in Fall – Cool-Season Grasses

When should I fertilize my lawn in the fall? If you're asking about cool-season grass, remember that it doesn’t appreciate summer’s heat. This type of lawn thrives in spring and fall and needs two feedings of nitrogen to stimulate growth, one in the spring and another in the fall.

The autumn application of fertilizer for cool-season grasses should be scheduled in September or October, between Labor Day and Halloween. This timing is ideal since it feeds cool-season grasses that have struggled through the stress of summer heat with extra irrigation and need some help recovering. Fall feeding helps the roots of cool-season grass to get growing, creating a dense grass concentration that shoulders out fall weeds. A good option is Scotts Winterguard Weed & Feed, available on Amazon.

The last possible day you can fertilize cool-season grasses in fall is generally considered Halloween. However, the exact day depends on current and projected soil temperatures. You never want to fertilize when the turfgrass is dormant or the ground is frozen. Plant growth slows when the soil temperature drops below 40 degrees F (4 C). That means that turfgrass plants won’t be able to utilize nutrients effectively in cold weather, so fertilizer applications would be wasted.

If you do decide to feed your grass in November, reduce the rate of nitrogen to prevent excessive turf growth in spring. If you missed this deadline for fall fertilization and your ground is already frozen, there is no way to get nutrients to your turf before winter. You’ll need to wait until spring to feed.

Frequently Asked Questions

As the growing season winds down, early fall is a good time to tackle lawn care. The cooler, often rainier days of September are ideal for helping grass grow and recover from the hot, dry days of summer.

Early fall is when turf grass has a chance to strengthen its roots and store energy and nutrients for winter. Working on the turf now will give it a good chance of healthy spring growth. Here are some core tasks for your September lawn care list.

1. Aerate the Soil

Aeration is a chore that too many homeowners neglect. It may sound tedious, but this one task can do so much for your lawn:

• Decrease compaction in the soil
• Allow more air and oxygen to get to the roots
• Improve the movement of water and nutrients through the soil
• Reduce excessive thatch
• Promote strong root growth

Aerating your lawn in September sets your grass up for success when it comes to building stronger roots that will help it survive winter and thrive next spring and summer.

Your choice of aeration method will depend on the size of your lawn and your budget. You can pay a landscaping service to do it, but you can totally do it yourself. Wayfair sells Lawn Aerator Shoes and Home Depot has a handheld 15 Tine Spike Aerator, both manual aerators that are your best bet for a small yard.

If you have a larger lawn or have a lot of soil compaction, you'll want a core aerator, which removes plugs of soil. This Tow Plug Aerator from Home Depot will get the job done.

2. Overseed and Fix Bare Patches

If your lawn is looking a little thin or has bare areas, now is the time to put down grass seed. Even if your lawn isn’t particularly bare, overseeding now can help boost the density after summer wear and tear. In September, in most regions, the soil is still warm enough to allow grass seed to germinate, and the cooler weather reduces the stress on grass seedlings as they grow.

Start with the right grass seed or seed mix. Ideally, it will match whatever you have in your lawn now. Prepare the lawn for seeding by cutting it to about two or two-and-a-half inches (5 to 7.5 cm). Rake the lawn, removing leaves and at least some of the thatch to allow grass seed to make contact with the soil.

This Scotts Turf Builder Grass Seed Mix on Amazon is a good general option for lawns in the Northern US.

The O.M. Scott and Sons Bermudagrass Mix, also on Amazon, will do well in Southern yards.

Use a broadcaster to spread seeds evenly across the lawn. If you only have a few bare patches, you can scatter seeds by hand. Water the lawn daily for a few weeks. Once the grass is well established, you can reduce watering.

3. Fertilize the Grass

A few lawn fertilizer tips - fall is the best time to fertilize a lawn in northern climates. Cool-season grasses, like fine fescue and Kentucky bluegrass, respond best to feeding at this time of year. If you live in a warmer region and grow warm-season grasses, like zoysia or St. Augustine, don’t feed grass until spring.

For many lawns, feeding in fall boosts root growth and allows grass to store energy and nutrients. This will keep it healthy through winter dormancy and into spring. A slow-release grass fertilizer is a good choice for September, as it will continue to feed the turf throughout the fall. Use a spreader and follow the product instructions for the best results.

For an organic option, try Garden Magic Compost and Manure from Amazon.

If you want to go the synthetic route, try Scott's Turf Building, available on Amazon or Scott's Liquid Turf Builder, also on Amazon.

4. Tackle Weed Control

Just like grass, broadleaf weeds in your lawn are trying to develop strong roots and store nutrients in the fall. Now's the time to stop them in their tracks. When you apply an appropriate herbicide in September, the weeds will carry it to their roots along with the nutrients they’re storing. This is the ideal time to manage and reduce these weeds.

There are countless products available for broadleaf weeds. The best lawn herbicides contain more than one herbicide to kill a greater variety of weeds. Follow the instructions carefully for whichever type you choose.

If you don’t like to use chemical weed killers, using organic herbicides is a good alternative. Or, if you want to get your hands dirty, this is a good time of year to tackle weeds by pulling them manually.

No matter what, keep in mind that everything else you do to improve your lawn in September creates healthier turf that is naturally more resistant to weed growth.

5. Keep Watering

Watering grass is so important in the summer months if you want it to stay green. But your job doesn't end with summer. Here are some September lawn watering guidelines.

Lots of homeowners assume that they no longer need to water once fall begins. This isn’t true, although you can certainly reduce watering amount and frequency.

Keeping your lawn hydrated this month will help the grass do all the work of storing energy and growing roots that will help it come back strong in spring. As the temperatures cool and you see more rainy days, you can definitely decrease watering from summer highs.

Unless it rains, aim to water the lawn once or twice a week in September. Water more frequently if conditions are dry. The best time to water grass is in the morning, before 10:00. This allows the soil and roots to absorb moisture. Less will be lost to evaporation.

These are the must-do September chores for maintaining a healthy, lush lawn. Also remember to adjust your mowing height. Cut the grass lower and keep cutting it until it stops growing. Cool-season grasses generally stop growing when daytime highs are consistently 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) and lower.

Growing a perfect turf lawn poses several challenges. While I’ve never felt like I needed the perfect lawn, many gardeners are chasing that flawless expanse of green. One of the challenges in many yards is the presence of moss.

Over the years, I have tried various strategies to get rid of moss in the lawn and garden, researched what it takes to grow a moss-free yard, and ultimately figured out how to strike the right balance. I’ll let you in on the secrets to a moss-free lawn that I learned, but wish I had known years ago.

Identifying & Understanding Moss

Learning how to get rid of moss in the lawn starts with first understanding moss. If you see areas of low, green, spongy growth in your lawn, you’re probably looking at moss. While there are many types of moss, most are a different shade of green from your grass, so it stands out.

Moss is an ancient type of non-flowering plant, making it different from most of what we normally grow in our gardens. Mosses reproduce by spores, like ferns. They grow low to the ground or on other surfaces without true roots. Instead of roots, they have rhizoids that anchor them to surfaces.

There are thousands of species of moss and all of them are pretty tough. Since moss has existed around for hundreds of millions of years, this unique plant has adapted to growing in varied and difficult conditions.

Many mosses grow and thrive in shade and moisture, so look for it in these areas of your lawn. If you're interested in embracing the moss, you can even grow a moss lawn as an alternative to traditional turf.

What Happens if You Don’t Take Action

Initially, I ignored the moss in my lawn. At least it was green, which was better than bare or brown patches. The problem, though, is that moss is a lot tougher than grass. Especially in areas with ideal conditions, moss will grow more readily than turf grass, taking over more and more of the lawn.

We ended up with some pretty big patches of moss and, as the grass turned brown and died around it, even more patches of brown dirt. The issue is that moss grows steadily and readily, but it also grows slowly. It was going to take time for it to fill in the areas of dirt where grass wouldn’t grow.

How To Get Rid of Moss in the Lawn

My first approach to eliminating the moss (after ignoring it) was to pull it out. Without roots, it’s easy to do. Rake the area to pull it up and dispose of it. Then, left with bare patches in my lawn, I had to grow grass. This is where I ran into an issue. Moss was growing in these areas because the conditions were right, which means they were wrong for growing grass.

To help the grass grow, I had to make some changes. The areas where moss was thriving were shady. I had no desire to take down trees, but I did get them trimmed to let in some more light. You can also plant different types of full shade grass that will grow in areas where moss thrives.

The next problem was that the soil was too acidic, heavy, and compacted. I started by aerating the lawn to reduce compaction and adding pelletized limestone to raise the pH. You can either hire someone to aerate, like I did, or purchase a plug aerator, like this one from Amazon, to do it yourself.

I wasn’t prepared to do anything more extensive, but this seemed like a good start. I seeded the area with grass and added a starter fertilizer, like this one from Scotts on Amazon. Improving the soil this way favored grass growth over moss growth.

What Kills Moss in the Lawn?

Killing moss in the lawn seemed unnecessary at first, but ultimately it was the best way to help the grass grow better. In areas where the grass was interspersed with small patches of moss, it became very difficult to pull out the latter without harming the grass.

Once I had good grass growth from overseeding, I looked for a product to kill the remaining moss. Most home and garden centers carry one or two anti-moss products, which contain iron sulfate. It kills moss quickly, as I found out, but it doesn’t harm grass. Try this Scotts brand anti-moss spray from Amazon that’s safe for lawns.

Is It Possible To Stop Moss From Coming Back?

Knowing how to treat moss in the lawn effectively can help you reduce its growth significantly. But if you had a lot of moss growing, as I did, it’s very difficult to eliminate it all or keep it from coming back altogether.

The best long-term strategy is to keep maintaining your grass with good lawn care practices that encourage strong growth. That means making sure there's enough sunlight, good drainage, plenty of fertilizer, and doing dethatching and aeration.

For me, balance is key, rather than striving for perfection. I have tried to favor grass growth, but in some areas I let the moss take control. In one particularly shady and moist corner of my lawn, I have embraced the moss and even added ferns, which thrive in similar conditions.

A lush green lawn is a part of the American dream, but what if your landscape doesn’t get any direct sun at all? You can still have a beautiful lawn if you choose the right full shade grass varieties that will grow in your sun-starved yard.

Most turf grass species demand direct sunlight, often requiring up to eight hours a day, but certain species tolerate shade well. The best grass for shade depends not only on the plant but also on the level of shade found in your landscape. Does your yard get direct sun in the morning, in the afternoon, or none at all?

Generally, the less sun your lawn gets, the fewer grass species will work for you. And when it comes to the best full shade grass seed, you can count the options on one hand. Keep in mind that “full shade” in this context doesn’t mean pitch dark. Full shade areas get less than four hours of sun per day or only get indirect sunlight.

All grass requires some amount of sun to grow, but there are four types that can grow even in full shade. Let’s take a look at the best grass for full shade, some tips to help your shady lawn thrive, and grass alternatives for extremely dark gardens.

Best Grass for Full Shade

Is part of your landscape a full shade area? You can enjoy a healthy lawn if you choose one of the grass options on our shortlist. Gardeners in northern regions will do best with cool season grasses, while warm season grasses work well for those in the South.

1. Fine fescue

Cool season grass, USDA hardiness zones 3-8

Fescue is a good choice for shady areas, especially fine fescue, a category of fescues with narrow leaves. Red fescue and chewings fescue are the top fine picks for shade tolerance.

Red fescue grows from rhizomes, while chewings grows in bunches. All fine fescues grow slowly and stay green in shade. They only need four hours of indirect sun a day to thrive. This Pennington fescue seed mix made specifically for dense shade areas is available from Home Depot. It only needs two to six hours of sun per day to thrive.

2. Tall fescue

Cool season grass, USDA hardiness zones 3-9

Fine fescues are the top choice for full shade grass, but tall fescue comes in as a close second. Tall fescue seeds easily and germinates quickly. It rapidly develops a deep root system which adds to its heat and drought tolerance. Tall fescue is a bunch-type grass, growing in clumps and making it easier to keep it in place.

This tall fescue seed blend from Home Depot only needs four to six hours of sun per day and it starts growing in only one to two weeks after planting.

3. Rough bluegrass

Cool season grass, USDA hardiness zones 3-9

Rough bluegrass grows well in damp, shady areas. It is a lighter shade of green than most other lawn grasses. Spreading by stolons, it can be invasive and is considered a weed by some gardeners, but it performs like a champ in full shade.

This shade grass seed mix from Amazon includes rough bluegrass and other full shade-tolerant varieties for an affordable price.

4. St. Augustine grass

Warm season grass, USDA hardiness zones 8-10

In regions with hot summers and mild winters, warm season grass is the preference. It’s grass that stays green in the heat of summer and waits until temperatures drop to go dormant.

What warm season variety is also a full shade grass? The top choice is St. Augustine grass. It will survive without any direct sun at all if it gets four to eight hours of indirect sun. Pick a variety reputed for shade tolerance like ‘Sapphire,’ ‘Seville,’ or 'Palmetto,' which you can buy as plugs from Home Depot for quicker establishment.

Tips for Growing Grass in Full Shade

There are a few basic tips to follow to help turf thrive in dark spots, even if you do choose one of these full shade grasses:

• Mow your lawn less in shady areas. Leave the grass blades taller so that the grass blades can absorb as much of the indirect sunlight as possible.
• Restrict water for full shade grass. The best time to water your lawn is in the morning. Grass in shady areas stays moist since there’s less sun to evaporate the water.
• When you fertilize your lawn, give shade-grown grass less nitrogen, but add extra potassium to support disease immunity. You can find lawn fertilizers specifically designed for dense shade at Home Depot.

Grass Alternatives for Shady Areas

If your yard gets no sun at all or if none of these turf grasses for full shade appeal to you, consider other types of shade ground covers that grow happily without much sun. Consider these lush lawn alternatives:

• Moss: If you want a soft, dense ground cover that loves shade and doesn’t require much maintenance, a moss lawn might be your ticket. You’ll never need to mow. Find Irish moss seeds on Amazon to cover your yard for cheap.
• Clover: Here’s another low-maintenance and drought-tolerant alternative to grass for those full shade areas of the yard. A white clover lawn doesn’t need mowing or fertilizer and its deep roots help prevent erosion. Choose either white clover or red clover. Explore different types of clover seeds on Amazon.
• Pachysandra: This is a dense ground cover that loves shade. Pachysandra is both loved and hated by gardeners. It is easy to cultivate and provides a year-round mat of leathery dark green leaves that keep down weeds. But this plant can become invasive and, once installed, it’s very difficult to get rid of. Find live pachysandra plants on Amazon.

It’s no secret that a lovely lawn needs TLC most of the year, but proper August lawn care—after several months of hot summer weather—is particularly important. Summer sun means summer fun for you, but it can stress and damage your lawn.

There is typically more lawn traffic in summer with picnics, barbecues, and backyard volleyball matches. Then there’s the intense heat and reduced rainfall. It’s not a big surprise if your grass looks “fried” in August. If your grass looks brown, now’s the time to act.

Do what it takes now to guide your grass back into the “green” before summer’s end. But don’t worry! Proper late summer lawn care in August can restore your lawn. Complete these 7 simple tasks for a lush lawn that looks fresh and vibrant all the way through this month and into fall.

Must-Do August Lawn Care Tasks

You can bring in a professional to provide lawn care services, or you can easily do it yourself by sticking to a few basic August lawn care guidelines. Here are the top tasks to check off your list for a lush and healthy lawn that lasts from August through fall.

1. Water Weekly

Lawns require water to thrive and the need for irrigation rises in the hot days of summer. Proper water is essential to keeping your grass green—or getting it green again. Water longer in summer, offering your turf at least an inch (2.5 cm) of water per week, every week. When you water deeply, the roots get what they need to grow and you help prevent a heat-stressed lawn.

When is the best time to water grass? Get out the hose or turn on your lawn irrigation system in the early morning. You want those grass blades to have plenty of time to dry before night falls to prevent fungal issues.

2. Keep Off the Grass

A green lawn naturally attracts activity in summer—for picnics, parties, pets, or just summer fun. But if you are trying to protect your grass and help it survive the summer heat, you should keep off the grass when it is very hot out. Driving on the lawn, parking on it, or positioning heavy objects on it will damage grass even more.

If walking across the lawn frequently is necessary at your house, install stepping stones or another cheap DIY garden path to help protect turf. While the grass under each stone will die, the rest of the lawn will thrive.

3. Mow High & Let It Lie

You don’t want to give your lawn a crew cut in late summer. Instead, use the higher settings when you mow your lawn. The taller your grass, the more the shade for grass roots. Taller grass also holds in more moisture and keeps down opportunistic weeds.

When is the best time to mow? Pick early morning or late afternoon for this task. And be sure to leave your clippings where they lie. No raking is the best raking in late summer, since clippings can help hold in precious moisture at the soil level.

4. Don’t Overfeed Grass

When your grass looks unhappy as summer peaks and wanes, it’s tempting to revive it with lots of fertilizer. But resist excess! When your lawn is dormant or slow-growing, the grass cannot take up nutrients so fertilizing your lawn now can burn it.

If you must fertilize, use a product specifically for lawns in summer. This Scotts fertilizer from Amazon is specifically formulated to help protect your lawn against heat and drought as well as certain summer pests, like chinch bugs. For a safer and more natural solution, try this organic summer lawn fertilizer from Espoma on Amazon that will revitalize your August lawn.

5. Watch for Pests

You might think lawn pests would shrivel up and die in the summer heat, but late summer is actually the prime time for insects like chinch bugs. Monitor the grass regularly for common lawn pests.

In fact, chinch bugs might be the cause of the “fried” look of your lawn. These pests are most active during the hot, dry summer months. They suck out juices from grass blades, and simultaneously inject toxins that can result in yellowing grass or brown patches in your lawn.

Look for adult and juvenile chinch bugs between grass blades with a magnifying glass. Adults are black and white and young ones have red markings. If you see lawn pests, it’s time to remove thatch from the lawn, since this is where the pests hide. Then use a Neem oil spray like this one from Amazon to kill the pests.

6. Rake Up Debris

While autumn is known for colorful falling leaves, some leaves and dead plant stems will end up on your grass in summer, too. Your August lawn may also be covered with twigs, stones, and pieces of wood from summer storms.

Give your lawn a good raking to clear your yard of unwanted debris and allow those grass blades to breathe. Pick up a durable, yet lightweight rake to make the task easier and prepare for raking leaves in the fall. This adjustable rake is a best seller on Amazon. It easily comes apart so it’s compact for storage in your shed or garage over winter.

7. Check for Compacted Soil

If your lawn is growing in compacted soil, the roots can’t get the water, nutrients, or air they need. Check for this problem in late summer, especially if you grow a cool season grass, like Kentucky bluegrass or tall fescue.

To test for compaction, all you need is a small screwdriver. Try pushing the screwdriver into the lawn in several locations. If it’s hard to do, your lawn is compacted.

The cure for compacted soil is aeration, a process of opening up the soil by removing small cores of soil and thatch from the lawn surface. You can aerate your lawn yourself with a simple aerator tool like this one from Amazon or you can hire a specialist to give your lawn a more extensive plug aeration. For cool season grasses, fall is the ideal time to aerate so start planning in August.

With the price of groceries and just about everything else on the rise, many of us are looking for ways to cut back—including in our landscapes. A good place to start is by creating an affordable lawn care plan for your yard.

Proper lawn care is a necessary, but often expensive, part of maintaining a home landscape. So finding any way to cut back can make a big difference in your bank account. Professional lawn care companies in the U.S. charge on average between $50 and $150 per mow, depending on the size of your yard and where you live.

That can really add up over the course of the summer, even if you’re only mowing every other week. Then add the cost of fertilizing, weeding, aerating, and dethatching. The cheapest route is to take care of your lawn yourself, but even that can end up breaking the bank.

Thankfully, there are ways to decrease costs without sacrificing the health or curb appeal of your lawn. Follow these simple money-saving tips for gorgeous grass that looks like a million bucks.

Affordable Lawn Care Tips

These cheap lawn care tricks will keep your yard lush and you flush with cash. Check out our experts’ top tips for a yard you and your wallet will love.

1. Choose an Efficient Lawn Mower

The first step towards affordable lawn care is choosing the right mower. This seems elementary, but there are many different types of lawn mowers available. You can choose a gas, electric, or manual push mower.

Manual reel mowers are the most affordable because they don’t require gas or electricity, just your own muscle. You can find reel mowers for under $100, like this highly-rated mower from Home Depot, making them a budget-friendly addition to your lawn care arsenal.

If you have a large lawn, a manual reel mower is probably not the best option. Instead opt for an energy-efficient motorized lawn mower that won’t waste gas or need constant charging. Our Digital Community Manager and former garden center manager swears by Ryobi’s electric yard equipment.

Home Depot carries tons of Ryobi's electric lawn mowers, many of which come with interchangeable batteries you can use on their other electric landscaping tools.

2. Follow the One-Third Rule

How you mow your lawn is more important in the long run than what type of mower you use. The one-third rule, also known as “mowing high,” is when you only cut off the top ⅓ of your grass each time you mow.

Mowing high is better for the health of your lawn requires less mowing, which in turn saves you money on gas, electricity, or time. If you let grass get too long, it makes it harder for clippings to break down in the soil and makes your grass more difficult to cut.

3. Leave Your Grass Clippings

Lots of people think you need to bag your grass clippings. In fact, leaving the clippings in your lawn adds nitrogen back into the soil. This reduces the need for fertilizer and saves you money you’d normally spend on lawn feed.

Leaving the clippings behind also shades the soil, reducing the need for water. If you like to let your grass grow longer between cuttings, invest in a mulching mower that chops up the clippings and helps them break down faster. If you leave clippings that are too long, though, you could end up causing other problems like thatch.

3. Maintain Your Mower

It is also important to maintain your mower to keep it in proper working condition and help it last a long time. You can’t do a good job without your mower being in tiptop shape.

This means giving your mower an annual tune-up before the season starts. For a gas-powered mower you should change the oil, replace the spark plugs, and check the air and fuel filters. At the end of the season add a fuel stabilizer to prevent carburetor problems next spring.

You should also clean your mower at the end of every season, whether it's gas, electric, or manual to prevent rusting blades. At the start of the season, sharpen the blades to make mowing easier. Get a universal lawn mower sharpening and balancing kit from Home Depot that works on whatever type of mower you have.

5. Water Once a Week

Some people have built-in lawn irrigation systems and some move sprinklers from spot to spot around their yard. If you want to save money on watering the lawn, you need to make every drop count. This means watering infrequently but deeply.

Water your lawn deeply once a week to allow the root system to grow deeper in search of water. The best time to water grass is in the morning. Avoid windy days to reduce evaporation loss.

If you are willing to sacrifice that lush look, it’s also okay to quit watering and allow the turf to go dormant. It will green up when temperatures drop in the fall. Some communities suffering through drought won’t even make this an option. It is mandatory in order to save water for more important concerns.

6. Don’t Over-Fertilize

We’ve already talked about leaving lawn clippings to add valuable nitrogen back into the soil, but what else can you do to cut the cost of fertilizing your lawn? Despite what some people say, you only need to fertilize your lawn once or twice per year.

For cool season grasses, the first and most important application of fertilizer should happen around Labor Day. At this time, temperatures have cooled and there is often a bit more moisture so roots are growing. Fertilizing grass in fall will help foster a healthy root system.

Fertilize warm season grasses around Memorial Day, once grass has started to green up again. To cut back even more on costs, try a homemade lawn fertilizer or choose an affordable all-purpose lawn fertilizer like this one from Scotts on Amazon.

7. Embrace the Weeds

More and more gardeners are beginning to believe that a weedy lawn is actually a good thing. Many common weeds, like clover and dandelions, are pollinator magnets and support beneficial insects. Embrace the weeds in your grass for a more sustainable lawn that bees and butterflies will love—as well as one that saves you money on weed killers.

However, if you wish to rid the lawn of weeds, the most cost-effective and environmentally-friendly option is to dig them out by hand. Tackle unwanted weeds in spring as they begin to emerge. You can also wait until the end of the season and attack them in mid to late September when they are most vulnerable.

Make the job easier by choosing the right equipment. Content Editor Kathleen Walters says this $35 soil knife is the only tool you need to remove even the toughest weeds. It will make quick work of even the worst dandelions and won’t leave a big hole in your wallet.