If you have a lawn then you know how tough it can be to keep one healthy, barefoot and badminton worthy. This season the perfect lawn could be yours or at least on the way. We’ll show you some tips, tricks and inside scoops on how to manage and maintain a lushes, deep green lawn.

The best place to start is a visual evaluation. If you have owned your home or just recently moved into one you’ll understand that you need to get acquainted with your lawn. Once you get to know your lawn, you’ll have greater success in maintenance. 
With a visual inspection you will notice things like color, weed population, water retention or run-off, shaded areas verses direct sunlight; these are all areas that can tell you a lot about the condition of your lawn.
When you examine a little further you will get into the physical part of it. You’ll look for things like the depth of your grass roots, moisture penetration, the density of thatch layers and Ph levels.
We’ll get into some of the more common problems so most of you don’t have to look very far.

Symptoms

Crabgrass taking over lawn

Crabgrass is a type of annual grass that emerges in warmer seasonal weather. It's a very stubborn grass with a strong root system that colonizes very quickly. It can cause a flatness or depression in your lawn that has a matt-like appearance. It looks like its name, a crab. The weed is very aggressive so if you spot it, eradicate it quick-like! They take over and squeeze out your desired grass and if not removed, the following year it can double its volume.

The best method is removal by hand. Make sure to remove each one pulling up the entire root system. Pre emergent herbacide applied in spring is the best preventative measure. There are post emergent herbacides available but keep in mind you may suffer discolorations in the lawn. If using a post emergent, early June is the best time to apply when crabgrass is less than an inch tall. You may need to re-apply two to three times before completely eradicating the crabgrass. Commercial lawn services will have the best post emergent herbacides at their disposal for treating young crabgrass. You might want to seek their help or at least get a quote before trying this on your own. Personally, I find it much more gratifying grabbing those suckers and yanking up the entire root system. I've captured some that were worthy of shellacking and mounting!

Remind yourself to apply a pre emergent herbacide next spring. You don't have to treat the entire lawn if you don't want to. Just treat the areas where crabgrass was prevalent the previous season and where the ground has been disturbed.

Lawn turns brown 

Let’s consider that this brown discoloration is not from lack of water. You know this because your neighbor’s yard looks great. If your lawn is looking brown and it’s not from drought, chances are you’ve got thatch issues. 

The primary component of thatch is turfgrass stems and roots. It accumulates as these plant parts buildup faster than they breakdown.

Thatch problems are due to a combination of biological, cultural, and environmental factors. Cultural practices can have a big impact on thatch. For example, heavy nitrogen fertilizer applications or overwatering frequently contribute to thatch, because they cause the lawn to grow excessively fast. Avoid overfertilizing and overwatering.

Despite popular belief, short clippings dropped on the lawn after mowing are not the cause of thatch buildup. Clippings are very high in water content and breakdown rapidly when returned to lawns after mowing, assuming lawns are mowed on a regular basis (not removing more than one-third of the leaf blade). A thatch depth of ¼ inch or less is acceptable. Your clippings are collecting and decomposing at a good rate.

 If you’ve got a ¼ inch or more it’s time to think about thatching or aerating. With a thatch that's too thick you’re inviting unwanted guest and preventing your soil from getting much needed moisture as well as oxygen to your root systems. Thatching is done in many ways. You can do it manually with a rake.

A good wire rake, or a heavier thatch rake will do wonders. 

 You can use a power de-thatcher. Many local gardening suppliers will lease equipment. Keep in mind; when you rent this type of machinery, it will take two or more to transport. If you’re not familiar with operating one you may want to hire some one. There are thatching mower blades you can use in place of your cutting blade. And again, if your not familiar with changing blades on a lawnmower, I highly recommend you get some one else to do it. There’s a lot more involved than what meets the eye. Aeration holes can be very beneficial, but unless your soil is completely compacted where rain water runs off, it’s not necessary to tackle thick thatch. It is, however, great for your soil and your grass roots.

Or you can use the simplest method of all and aerate as you stroll through your yard. Landscape USA makes this possible with a pair of aerator shoes.

There are also decomposition products available at garden supply stores and nurseries that you can spread on your lawn to help decompose thatch by means of microorganisms. Ringer's Lawn Rx ™ is a product that will do this and you won't have to break your back. Thus far, organic thatch control through biological means has proven inconsistent.

Brown spots on lawn

If you find small dead spots on your lawn and you suspect it’s from dog tinkle, because everywhere else is healthy Scottish green and you only notice it near the bases of trees or hydrants, you’re probably right. If that’s the case heavy watering over time will bring the green back. Or you may just want to re-seed. If dogs aren’t an issue and you have more than one or two obvious dead spots, most likely you’ve got an insect problem. There are a number of good granule insecticides available and most will eliminate a vast majority of insects. You can even find some that are mixed in with a fertilizing blend to knock out two bugs with one, well, I won’t go there but I may already have.
We take a closer look at bugs in the pest control page. There's a home-made soapy insecticide recipe there. Look for "Yellow patches in my lawn " to find a great recommendation for cinch bugs. Cinch Bug Home Remedy

Weed Infestation

When weeds take over a lawn it usually means there has been poor maintenance of the soil and improper mowing practices. When the soil is airy and nutrient rich, grass will grow healthy to crowd out weeds. But when soil is poor, grass becomes too weak to fight back. Weeds will annex territory. No matter what you do some weeds will just simply find a way in and what kind of weed varies from soil conditions.
In the Weeding Solutions page the article Kicking Weeds Out Of Your Beds I mentioned a soap based herbicide that effectively kills weeds. 

Spot spraying is a technique I often refer to and recommend prior to mowing, and after the mow, if need be. A broad leaf herbacide is often effective and doesn’t injure the grass blades(a.k.a. selective type of weed killer). Natural methods are always the best. They’re not always the easiest, but anything that has value, like a picture perfect lawn, won’t come without any effort. Remember, a good gardener doesn't necessarily have a green thumb, but has dirty knees instead.

Grass has a yellow hue

This can be interpreted as your grass needing nutrients. When nitrogen is lacking, the blades will turn pale, even yellowish. Sources of nitrogen are fertilizers obviously, but if you choose this route be conservative. Too much fertilizer can kill. Grass clippings help with nitrogen levels as well as cottonseed meal, fish emulsions and seaweed meal or seaweed extract are all good natural sources of nutrients.
If you notice this yellowish discoloration restricted to the shade under trees or in other shady areas, greenbugs may be your problem. Two to three spray doses of insecticidal soap in a two to three week period will get rid of them.

Grass has thinned

If your lawn has experienced thinning it may mean that your soil is tightly compacted. Take out a plug of grass with a knife and inspect the soil. If its hard and dry perhaps clay-like, you may want to aerate. Rent a machine, hire someone or DIY it, but this will relieve the stress the roots are going through. See the above section "Lawn turns brown" for more details on aeration.

Moss taking over bare spots

Here's a scenario I came across recently to show you conditions where this problems may occur. Under an apple tree where the limbs hung low providing great shade but little sunlight, moss has taken over. Poor light, soil compaction and a low Ph level all contribute to the perfect environment for moss growth. I used Safer's De-moss to safely destroy the moss. I have since pruned back low limbs allowing more light. A good rigorous raking of the ground loosened the soil and I am using a plugging method of re-sodding. I have planted spots of new grass sprouted from seedling trays. It will take time to spread, but I have found that this method of re-sodding produces quicker and deeper root systems than re-seeding or overseeding.On another note we used a tall fescue as this will adapt well in this space which has limited sunlight.

Large, dark green rings in my lawn

 Large, dark green circles of grass that may sometimes produce mushrooms are know as "fairy rings." Fairy rings occur when soil has fungi inhabiting in the soil. This fungi grows on decaying matter in the soil. This often happens in lawns where the thatch is too thick or when a tree has been removed and the roots are decaying.

Some rings take on different patterns of dark green circles with mushrooms in the center, rings of dead grass in the center of a dark green circle or arcs of mushrooms in a dark green circle. The patterns can change shapes and sizes from season to season. This dark green comes from the fungus breaking down oragnic matter and producing high levels of nitrogen. Whatever the case there is little one can do.

You may try to fertilize the surrounding areas to equalize nitrogen levels and thus balance the contrast in the shades of green. Or try irrigating with large quantities of water. Whatever the source of the decomposition is will eventually go away in time.