How to Get That Dark Green Look on My Lawn

Fertilize your grass in the fall using a 10-10-10 fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Fill a spreader with granular grass fertilizer. Set the spreader to the spreading rate specified on the fertilizer package. Slowly walk the lawn making paths back and forth, letting the spreader cast the fertilizer.

Seed bare spots in your grass in the spring. Loosen the soil in the bare spots with a garden rake. Sprinkle grass seed generously over the loosened soil. Water the soil with a garden hose or buckets of water. Ensure the soil is wet, but not soggy. Place straw loosely over the ground to keep moisture trapped within the soil. Remove the straw after new blades of grass can be seen sprouting through it.

Aerate the lawn once a month. Hook an aerator to the back of your riding lawn mower, or use a push type aerator. Make back and forth paths over the entire lawn with the aerator. The small pockets left by the aerator allow moisture and air to penetrate deep into the soil.

Water your lawn once a week, or every three to four days in hot weather or during drought conditions. Use a sprinkler system or water hose, and wet the soil at least 1 inch deep with each watering session. Water lawns during the morning hours instead of the evening. Watering in the evening does not allow enough time for the grass to dry and may introduce diseases that can kill grass.

Cut only 1/3 inch off the top of your grass when mowing. Cutting the grass too low allows moisture to escape from the soil, leaving brown and dead spots in the yard. Leave grass clippings in the lawn. The grass clippings eventually breakdown, putting nutrients back into the soil. The clippings also help to keep moisture in the ground.

Sharpen mower blades or replace them with new ones. Dull mower blades leave your lawn looking tattered and damage new blades of grass.