7 Ways to Get a Thicker and Greener Lawn: Pro Tips for the Best Grass on the Block

Everyone loves a nice, thick, green lawn. The mere mention of it probably has you imagining wiggling your toes in one right now! A gorgeous, healthy lawn not only boosts your Ohio or Northern Kentucky home’s curb appeal, but it also provides a wonderful setting to create memories with family and friends. Moreover, the best defense against grass-damaging weeds, insects, and disease is to maintain a lush, healthy lawn. But what do you do if you are struggling to get the turf you want in the first place? 

How to Get a Thicker & Greener Lawn

A thin, off-color lawn can result from a variety of common lawn care problems. However, a proper diagnosis of your yard’s condition and these simple tips from the turf professionals will help you get the best-looking lawn on the block:

Regular Fertilization

Applying a balanced fertilizer 4-6 times throughout the year will help improve your grass while giving it the nourishment it needs to survive. Nitrogen promotes shoot growth and greener color, phosphorus encourages root development, and potassium helps the grass better withstand common stresses like drought and turf disease. 

 Soil Improvements

Your lawn’s health is linked directly to the health of the soil below. Healthy soil is teeming with beneficial microorganisms; these help your lawn be more resilient as well as enhancing its color and vigor. Some specialized fertilizers actually include these microorganisms in the mix so they can work toward improving your lawn’s soil over the years. Another key component to healthy soil and lawns is making sure the soil isn’t too compacted, which could cause the turf to look thin and unattractive. Core aerating your lawn each year is the perfect way to address this particular concern.

Overseeding with Turf-Type Tall Fescue

Here in the Transition Zone of Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, as well as in Northern Kentucky, the best grass for lawns is Turf-Type Tall Fescue. Unfortunately, many lawns in our area have a good amount of the less desirable Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass growing in them instead. While these older grass species can work well in yards up north, they don’t have the deep green color or stress resilience that the newer fescues do. Overseeding your lawn each year alongside a core aeration is a good way to add more of this species into your yard. Turf-Type Tall Fescue will blend well into your existing lawn and, with the passage of years, will gradually become the predominant grass type in your yard.

Watering Your Lawn

Plants need water to survive, and your lawn is no exception. In order to maintain a green, thick lawn, you’ll need to make sure your grass is getting 1”-2” of water each week, particularly when it’s hot and dry. Measuring rainfall with a rain gauge is a good way to avoid overestimating the amount of water that storms provide. Watering your lawn first thing in the morning, for about 45-60 minutes once or twice a week, will also help your lawn thrive during these tough times of the year.

Managing Turf Diseases

That early morning watering is ideal because this timing ensures that your grass blades can dry before nightfall arrives. Many of the most damaging turf diseases develop in the dark, moist, warm conditions of summer nights, so improper watering in the evening can aggravate these unfavorable circumstances and cause discoloration or possibly even die-back in some areas of your lawn. 

Proper Mowing

Mowing your lawn too short or too infrequently will not only negatively impact your lawn’s color and its overall health, but can also affect the amount of weeds that have the opportunity to invade your yard. Mow your lawn frequently enough so that you are removing only 1/3 of the blade each time. This could mean mowing more than once a week at times when the grass is growing rapidly. Also, make sure the grass is growing at optimum height, about 3-3½“ tall. And don’t forget to sharpen your mower blades at least twice a year.

Controlling Insects and Weeds

Throughout the year, there are dozens of lawn foes. Pests like grubs and chinch bugs will feed on grass plants, causing the lawn to discolor and thin out or die off. There are products made to control these invasive and unwelcome lawn visitors. Weeds such as dandelions, clover, crabgrass, and wild violets will pop up in thinner areas and around the edges of paved surfaces. Pre-emergent and post-emergent products will selectively control these weeds when applied at the appropriate times throughout the year. 

Facts About Healthy Lawns

One acre of grass produces more oxygen than one acre of rainforest. (International Society of Arboriculture) On a hot, summer day, lawns are approximately 30 degrees cooler than paved surfaces. (Greenroofs.com) Lawns trap more than 12 million tons of dust and dirt annually. (The Lawn Institute) Healthy turfgrass has many miles of fibrous roots that hold soil and filter rainwater (National Arboretum Grass Roots Project) 

Getting Help with Lawn Thickness and Color

Homeowners often try to tackle all these tasks on their own. Some jobs, like mowing and watering, are more easily managed by you because you are onsite and can evaluate your lawn’s condition each day. However, you may find that the rest of these tasks require expertise that you don’t have or products and equipment that are unavailable to you. Hiring a lawn care service can be the solution! 

 We know there are a lot of lawn care companies advertising for your business in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, and Northern Kentucky. After researching your options, you may feel that every company promises great results, but you will also find that certain companies stand out based on a longstanding reputation for delivering on those promises. Here at Oasis Turf & Tree, we care for thousands of local lawns, helping them become thicker and greener. We have customer testimonials on our website and great online reviews. What we do for your lawn works, and how we treat our customers is recognized and appreciated. We’d love for you to be our next customer, and for your thick, green lawn to be the next success story we can share.