• A few lawn care secrets can help you keep a thick, green, healthy lawn.lawn image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
  
  Lawn care is the bane of the busy homeowner. Yellow patches, grub infestations, weeds, overgrown areas and fertilizer burn are just a few of the stubborn problems lawns present. Many homeowners have few precious hours on the weekends or after work during the week to tend to their lawns, and that consists of a quick once-over with a lawnmower and line trimmer. But you can keep your lawn golf-course-green perfect with a few lawn care secrets.
  
  

Mowing

• Using a lawn mower properly is important to lawn health. Do not set the lawn mower blades at the lowest setting. Set the blade to the highest setting, and make sure that it is sharp to get a clean cut and avoid shredding and damaging grass plants. Don't cut grass during very dry weather, and don't cut it in the midday sun. The best time to mow is in the afternoon or early evening. Avoid cutting the grass too short and "scalping" the lawn, leaving it vulnerable to sun burn, drying out, insect infestation and browning. Never mow off more than one third of the height of the grass blades when moving. The grass plant needs its leaves to absorb sunlight and photosynthesize to stay healthy and thrive. Change the direction you mow every time to avoid creating ruts in the lawn.
  
  

Watering

• The right amount of water on a consistent basis is important to lawn health and appearance. Generally, lawns need 8 to 10 inches of water per week to maintain healthy growth and green color. Use a rain gauge to measure how much water your lawn receives from rain, and keep a weekly log to record the rainfall so you know how much to water. If consistent watering is a problem for you, consider an irrigation or lawn sprinkler system that can be set automatically. An added benefit of these systems is that they generally use less water than random, haphazard watering that may not benefit the grass.
  
  

Feeding

• Grass needs food to be healthy, thick and green, especially during the growing seasons. Common lawn fertilizers provide nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Many fertilizers have a fertilizer-weed control combination. Fertilize the lawn in the spring, again in June and again at the end of August. Feed in the fall at the end of September or early October. If you don't want to use chemical fertilizers, top dress the lawn with compost in the spring, midsummer and fall, or use another organic fertilizer such as cornmeal gluten.