The Grass Doctor

How do gardners keep lawns perfectly green?

I water every night and used miracle grow and still my grass is not green in several large places. I am in a warm climate. My neighbor's lawn is perfectly green.

Public Comments

1. you probably have a different type of grass to your neighbour. some grasses hardly ever need feeding or watering others need a lot of both. go to your nursery and choose some lawn seed which grows in all conditions .some lime thrown over the lawn occassionaly is good for greening too.
2. for the color to be consistent over the whole lawn it needs to be the same type of grass.green is from proper fertilization/aeration/and watering.there can be too much of a good thing.
3. First, watering every night is a major problem. You should only be watering when the first 6 inches of your soil are dry. Take a shovel and dig a scoop out and measure how deep the moisture level is. Again, if it is within 6 inches of the turf level, then you shouldn't be watering because the frequent watering ultimately results in shallow root growth and poor over lawn health. Second, you are using a chemical based fertilizer which dissipates rapidly via it being water soluable. Try using an organic fertilizer that is corn gluten based that will provide nitrogen as it decomposes over time. All of the chemical based fertilizers have to be used frequently, whereas a good organic fertilizer should only have to be applied 2-3 times per year at the very most. Also, little fertilizer should be applied in the heat of the summer, then you are just fertilizing weeds. The bare spots may also be due to compaction, thatch or a combination of the two. Check out the following link for better, safer, green grass. http://www.gluten.iastate.edu/
4. There are different types of grasses. Also, does your neighbor use a professional lawn care service? That can also make a difference. But fertilizer is good for a green lawn.