Home & Garden Tips
Getting a good-looking lawn
By Roosevelt McWilliams County Extension Agent

To have a good-looking lawn, do one thing before you do anything else. First, choose the kind of grass that will give you the look you want. It sounds simple enough, but there is more to it than that. Before you take that step you need to give some thought to what grass will do best in our climate, your commitment to your lawn and other factors.

A major consideration is climate. You need to know what type grass will grow best in our part of the state. For lawns the state can be broken down into northern, central, and southern regions. Cool season grasses, which grow well in cool months, do best in the North Georgia Mountains south to Atlanta. The best grass for the region would be tall fescue. However, a warm season grass, such as Bermuda grass or zoysiagrass, which grows best in warm months, would also do well.

Centipedegrass, Bermuda, Zoysia, and St. Augustine, also a warm season variety, are recommended for our area. The time and effort you are willing to put into your yard should also be taken into account when choosing a grass. Proper maintenance is very important to a healthy, attractive lawn.

Mowing, watering and fertilization needs differ. Some grasses, such as centipede, get by with little maintenance and others, like the hybrid Bermudas, need more care. Grasses require regular mowing, some more often than others. Since Burke County soils are not rich in every nutrient, all grasses will need some fertilization. Some grasses will need to be watered more than others, and depending on the nature of your soil, you may have to apply some lime to combat the acidity which is common in Georgia soil.

Lime and fertilizer programs should begin with a soil sample that you can bring to the Burke County Extension Office. The sample helps determine the pH level of the soil, so you will know how much lime, if any, to apply and what fertilizer to use. When you bring a soil sample to me, be sure to let me know what type grass you want to grow. Then you will be able to get specific recommendations. Make sure to check the amount of shade your yard has and choose your grass accordingly.

Shade is really important because a lot of problems are related to it. Trees compete with grasses for the same soil nutrients and water. St. Augustine is the most tolerant of shade and Bermuda is the least.

Lawns require proper mowing to reduce stress to the individual plant. You should mow at the height specific to the grass. You should mow often enough to remove only one third of the leaf height. If you let it grow tall and then cut it back short, that creates disease problems and moisture stress. Mower blades should be kept sharp. A clear cut reduces stress on the individual plant. A sharp mower blade can reduce fuel use by 20 percent.

For watering, the general rule for turfgrass is one inch of water per week in a single application during the growing season. Sprinkler systems and hoses are most often used in watering, but with them, you have to water two or three hours at a time in the same location to get the needed water. If you can't do that, anything else is better than nothing. A bluish tint on the grass is a sure sign your lawn needs water.