I’ve always appreciated the fact that my husband Dave is so passionate about keeping our lawn nice. (Although maybe he’s not “passionate” so much as “borderline obsessed!”) In the past, he typically orchestrated all the fertilizing, watering, and mowing of the lawn, while I stuck to the flower beds and pots.
But in recent years I’ve been taking a more active role in other aspects of maintaining our lawn. And one thing I’ve learned about the lawn in particular is that lawn care can be much more complicated than you’d think! It’s not just watering and mowing. In fact, there are all sorts of issues that can wreak havoc on your grass!
So today I wanted to explore some of those things that can ruin a perfectly good lawn. Because the only way to avoid problems is to learn about those problems in the first place! So here are 7 potential problems that can negatively affect the health and appearance of your lawn, in the hopes that you’ll be able to avoid them entirely!
Related: The 9 Things You Should Never Leave Out In The Yard
7 Unexpected Problems That Can Ruin Your Lawn
1. Not Enough Variety
Some people dream of a Kentucky bluegrass lawn, but going all in on one grass variety may not be the best idea. A lawn that consists of a few different varieties of grasses can actually be more resilient and resistant to disease!
Read up about the recommended grasses for your region, and look into grass seed mixes that can help diversify and strengthen your lawn.
2. Unhealthy Soil
Making sure your soil is in good condition can go a long way toward improving the health of your lawn! Having your lawn aerated once or twice a year can help get more nutrients, air, and water into the soil.
If aeration alone isn’t cutting it, you may want to do a soil test to determine if a nutrient deficiency or imbalance is affecting your soil. Most state university extension offices offer soil testing services at reasonable prices! There’s a useful list of state extension offices with soil testing labs at GardeningProductsReview.com.
3. Cutting It Too Short
Keeping your grass short can actually do more harm than good! The optimal height for most grass types is somewhere between 2 1/2-3 inches. Cutting it too short can put added stress on grass, and even make it more susceptible to disease!
4. Mowing In The Same Direction
Switch up your direction every time you mow your lawn. This will help prevent weird grooves or patterns from forming in your grass.
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5. Mowing When It’s Wet
Wait for a dry day to mow your lawn. Water weighs down grass, which makes it much harder to get a clean, even cut. Wet grass clippings also put added stress on your mower and can even lead to blockages. So do yourself and your mower a favor and let the grass dry out first! :-)
6. Heavy Foot Traffic
Of course you should be able to walk on your grass, but heavy foot traffic in one area can do real damage. If the soil in the area gets too compacted, water won’t be able to reach the roots of the grass and it could die.
If people often walk across your grass in a certain area, consider installing some stepping stones or a pathway there as an attractive alternative!
7. Dull Mower Blades
Dull mower blades lead to rough and ragged cuts in your grass. It might not sound like a big deal, but ragged cuts can actually make your grass more susceptible to disease and pests!
Sharpen your mower blade once or twice a season to protect both your lawn and the mower itself. There’s a good tutorial on how to do it and what tools to use at HomeDepot.com.
Bonus Tip: Hate Lawn Care? Consider Xeriscaping!
Lawn care can be a lot of work, and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea! If taking care of your lawn feels like too much work and not enough reward, consider xeriscaping your yard (or part of your yard) instead.
Xeriscaping is a type of landscaping that focuses on reducing water use. Instead of grassy lawns, xeriscaped yards often feature soil, rocks, and drought-tolerant plants. While there is an upfront cost with any large-scale landscaping project, it could save you substantially on your water bill and maintenance costs!
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Do you have any tips or tricks for maintaining a beautiful lawn?
This might be easy for a postage size lawn with one or two trees. We have over an acre with all of our big trees and the
Please log in or create a free account to comment.neighbors to the west of our house. We live in the country. I have composted some leaves, but that was just a drop in
the leaves that we have. Now I have a landscaper that just mulches the whole lawn. Lots easier.
mjg
Dog pee will compact the earth and strangle your grass. Good luck keeping your neighbors from walking their dogs on your grass. Dogs may be beloved pets, but they are not good for the environment one bit and the bigger they are, the bigger their environmental footprint. Don’t buy dogs and only adopt if you really need a pet. If you have a pet, keep it from peeing(or pooping) on anyone’s grass, flowers or bushes!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Wow! Never quite heard anyone come down like that on dogs! It sounds like you might have more of a neighbor problem than a dog problem! Have you talked to your neighbors? Animals do nothing to be mean-spirited! Do you think a dog picks YOU out to go crap and pee on your yard to make you mad? Because they DON’T! We had a yellow lab for many years who was in a fence and did her business several times a day. Our yard is fine and our grass is NOT strangled! And not all animals are “needed” by people, but they are purely purchased or adopted to LOVE and LOVE BACK! They can become family members that save many people emotionally. Apparently, you see animals in a far different way than most! Sorry if I seem rude, but…I guess tit for tat, here…
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Several of my neighbors have dogs and walk them a few times a day. My lawn is a constant target. Yes they pick up the poop but the lawn has spots and the shrubs are damaged by so much urine. I’m not always there to grab the hose and water it down right away. You might think what’s the harm, one little dog? But for me it’s several dogs several times a day and significant damage. When we had a dog we trained him to poop and pee in the gutter along the sidewalk so we didn’t go into anyone’s yard.
To me, again, it sounds like you and theChristy have neighbor problems! It isn’t as if a mother dog is walking her puppies, on leashes, and stops and lets them relieve themselves on YOUR property…it is PEOPLE. Also, after dark and all night long, there are many animals “out and about, doing whatever they want, pets and wild ones. As I said, animals are animals. They are born innocent as babies, and they LEARN to do whatever their idiot people teach them. It would actually be best if people would be REQUIRED to fence in their yard if they are going to have dogs, that way the owner has to deal with whatever damage their pets allegedly do! I would bet that something on the market can be sprayed on areas that deter animals from your area. They make things to keep deer out of yards. Stoff like this, regarding animals, really upsets me. While I take a lot of pride in my house and I mow my yard regularly. However, I guess I must be a bit of a lower-class citizen because I am NOT losing sleep over some discoloration in my grass! But, I had a father-in-law who didn’t like people to touch, TOUCH his grass! Seriously! We finally figured out that he had WAY too much time on his hands to worry! Animals, have been peeing and pooping on whatever they have to for years. What do you expect them to do? Their nature comes from God. This is one of those things in life that just “is what it is”. Consider yourselves lucky that the owners bother to pick up the poop!
Jillee – what do you do about ahem …. your dog’s urine making brown spots? I’d love to know how you handle this! Our lawn is really nice except for the favored peeing spots. And our pups are too old to train them to go someplace else. I know about that one, but won’t work in this case with our rescue dogs.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks in advance for any advice!
Please don’t mow your lawn in shorts. Wearing long pants and sturdy shoes will keep you from getting hurt if the mower kicks up a rock or if you should (god forbid) slip and fall. I’ve seen hideous injuries in people who mowed their lawn wearing shorts and barefoot. You may think it’ll never happen but it may.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Wearing the proper attire is so much less effort than taking a trip to the emergency room.
Same advice goes for using a weed eater. Always wear long pants and full coverage shoes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Also, with a weed eater, protective eyewear is a good idea!! They kick up so much dust and dirt, and can throw much smaller stuff that can really travel! Our neighbor got something in his eye while weed eating and nearly lost his eyesight! Also, those around you need to stay back. NOT a good time to let the little ones help or follow daddy around the yard!
My father had his big toe cut off by the lawnmower when he slipped and the blades just cut right through his runners and there went his big toe. So wear proper foot gear when cutting grass.Join the discussion…
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