Top Home Lawn Maintenance Checklists for 2026

Rotary spreaders do not use fertilizer equally, however, and most of the fertilizer is placed within 70% of the real spread width. To apply fertilizer evenly with a broadcast spreader, either use half the rate and apply in 2 instructions at right angles to one another, or overlap the applications by 30%.

Water the turf during the summertime if a top quality yard is wanted. Low and medium-quality grass may be permitted to go inactive.

Long stretches of exceptionally hot, dry weather condition might kill some of the grass. Rain alone is typically enough to sustain lawns in Wisconsin. Periodically, watering is required to preserve a premium yard during dry periods.

Prevent watering more often than when a week as that will motivate shallow rooting of the grass plants, making them more susceptible to stress and disease. To determine the amount of water your sprinkler or irrigation system offers, set a series of numerous coffee cans, quart-sized jars or similar sized straight-sided containers at 5- to 10-foot periods from the base of the sprinkler to the end of the irrigation pattern or width.

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Irrigate the lawn in early morning. If water starts to run off from your lawn before the sprinkler has actually used a complete inch of water, divided the watering into 2 or more shorter sessions.

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Watering to the point of runoff wastes water and might remove nutrients and pesticides from the turf. Rake the dead leaves and particles from the lawn to assist it green up much faster.

Water top quality yards to keep them green and growing. Medium- and low-grade yards can be allowed to go dormant. Apply fertilizer around July 4 unless the weather condition is hot and dry and the yard is not irrigated. Core aerate if the soil is badly compressed or thatchy. Overseed bare locations if required, especially if it can be done together with core aeration.

Recent research study has demonstrated that effectively fertilized lawns have considerably less water runoff and nutrient loss than lots of fields planted with agronomic crops. Nevertheless, preventive steps need to be taken to ensure that the nutrient loss from home yards stays low. There are some simple actions you can require to help decrease the amount of nutrient runoff from your yard.

Research has revealed that even a single season without fertilization can reduce turf stand density, increasing water runoff by as much as 70%. This provides a constant nitrogen source for the grass in between applications.

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Failure to sweep it up might cause much of it to ultimately enter lakes and streams through storm water. Water lawns after using fertilizer. This practice increases the efficiency of the fertilizer and greatly decreases the potential for nutrition losses during the time of year when short-duration, intense rain storms are a typical prune in the early morning when plants are turgid (i.e., they have a lot of water in them) so that they snap more easily.

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Such yards give lots of people the enjoyment they prefer from a turf without the time needed for maintenance. Recognize, however, that low-maintenance yards do not fit everyone's idea of a lawn. They might be vulnerable to weeds, bring in rodents such as field mice and ground squirrels, and the higher height of the turf may avoid the area from working for recreation.

The mixture should consist of several varieties of red fescue, Chewings fescue, hard fescue, and sheeps fescue. The remainder of the mixture should consist of no more than 50% of typical or low-maintenance types of Kentucky bluegrass and no more than 15% perennial ryegrass. Great fescues are slow-growing turfs adjusted to low fertility and dry soils.

Fertilize the yard when or two times every year to postpone weed invasion. The yard might be left unfertilized but will be more susceptible to weed invasion.