While we don’t offer lawn maintenance at Stone Arch Landscapes, we know that growing adequate turfgrass in Minnesota can be difficult, so I threw together a quick guide to help you establish that lush lawn you've always wanted.
Professional lawn maintenance serves its purpose for association housing, but is costly and inefficient for the average home owner. After observing the work that my friends and family have had done by these companies, and having had worked for one in my teen years (one of the bigger names in the Twin Cities), I have come to the conclusion that they are wasteful and prudent. The best way to a great lawn is through educating yourself and creating your own turfgrass care program that fits your lawn. Every lawn is unique with differences in grass types, soil types, shade cover, and sun exposure, among many other countless factors - the professional maintenance companies fail to account for these vital factors, resulting in high-input, medium-quality, over-priced lawns.
Creating a turfgrass care program may sound like a lot of work at first, but after a couple years of tests and observations, your turfgrass will grow vigorously every spring.
There are a ton of options to sift through, so you will have to make some guided decisions along the way. If something doesn't work, make changes and compare results. Eventually, you will end up with the correct materials and measurements that your lawn needs to thrive.
Soil Type
Knowing your soil composition will give you the best direction for situations down the road, saving you time in trial and error situations. This information can reveal what types of grasses and fertilizers you should be using, how much input your lawn will need, and what types of management practices you will need to perform.
To test your soil, send a sample to the University of Minnesota for a small fee of $17.00.
University of Minnesota Soil Testing Page: UMN Soil Testing
Grass Type
You will need to know what species of cool-season turfgrass currently grows in your yard. You can identify your turfgrass by following the link to the cool-season turfgrass dichotomy:
If you need help with identification, bring a fully rooted sample to your local greenhouse. Most greenhouse employees are plant nerds, so they will be more than happy to help you out.
If your current grass type does not seem to be growing correctly, it could be the wrong species pairing for its environment (soil type, shade cover, etc.).
Here is a brief guide on how to choose a turfgrass species:
Fertilizer Type
When applied carefully, fertilizer is an easy concept. Start conservatively and make small adjustments each time. To see which fertilizer best suits the environmental factors that your lawn deals with, view these simpler fertilizer programs:
After trying these basics, you will be able to see how your turfgrass reacts to make more advanced judgements in the future.
Learn more about fertilizers and applications in the main page: More About Fertilizers
Water Input
The general rule for cool-season turfgrasses is to water your turfgrass until the water is able to soak the soil 5 inches below the surface, evenly across your lawn. This amount depends on your soil type. A clay soil will require more water than a sandy soil.
The best time to water your turfgrass is in the morning before the sun gets too high. Otherwise, you will lose the majority of your water to evaporation. Watering at night increases the chances of developing molds and funguses that stress your turfgrass.
Your irrigation situation should influence your turfgrass species type. Certain cool-season species are better adapted to drought than others.
Mowing
Definitely the easiest unit in my college Turfgrass Management course. Never mow more than ⅓ of the leaf blades off, be sure to keep your mower’s blades sharp for a clean cut. Pick up mower clippings that sit on top of the grass so that they don’t shade the grass or cause moisture problems underneath.
Find your turfgrass species on this page to view recommended mowing heights:
Spring Tips
Once the snow finally melts, it is best to stay off of your grass until it has dried and is no longer muddy. Once you can walk on the grass without getting your boots muddy, rake the grass to stimulate growth.
Look for any sign of diseases or pests. This is the time when environmental stresses like snow mould or salt injury are very apparent, giving you a chance to mitigate the damage before important growth cycles.
Identifying pests online can be fairly easy. If you use reddit.com, post a picture of the area that you are concerned about on reddit.com/r/landscaping, and there are many of us that will come to your aid.
Starting a lawn care program is a bit of a puzzle that you need to solve using clues that are not difficult to obtain. Keep your observations and measurements logged in a notebook for future referencing.
I strongly recommend that anyone serious about having the best lawn in the neighborhood visits the lawn extension through the University of Minnesota. It’s a great resource that’s written by my old professors.
University of Minnesota Lawn Extension
Please reply with any comments or questions.
Written by Tony Cousins