New Year Lawn Goals for 2023

As we enter the new year, many new goals may be set to improve and change the regular routines in life. For homeowners, the new year is an excellent time to consider your plans regarding lawn care and lawn maintenance. 

Because many factors play into the health of a lawn, there are several tactics to consider when setting your 2023 lawn care goals. To help make your ideas easier to sort and achieve, we’ve put together the top tips on how to care for sod. 

Be sure to check out our seasonal lawn care guides. Each grass type and cultivar has its own set of best maintenance practices, so it’s important to follow maintenance guidelines for the specific type of grass you have.

Are you unsure of which type of grass you have? Click here.

How to Mow Your Lawn

When you think of grass care, one of the first thoughts that may come to mind is mowing techniques. Mowing is oftentimes not our favorite chore, but it’s an essential task for lawn maintenance throughout the year. The way you mow your lawn will reflect how well your lawn looks during the spring, summer and even through the fall. 

Best Practices for Mowing a Lawn

Using proper mowing methods can reduce the risk of lawn disease, insect infestations and other common issues associated with improper grass heights or dull mower blades. 

When planning this year’s mowing technique for your lawn, it’s important to note that every type of grass requires different mowing heights—and even then, cultivars of the same grass type can sometimes have different ideal mowing heights. 

How high should I keep my lawn?

While some grasses thrive at a height of 3-inches, others grow best at a height of 1–2 inches. Furthermore, both cool season and warm season grasses will require different mowing heights throughout their growing seasons. Generally, cool season grasses like tall fescue and bluegrass should maintain a height of 2.5–3.5 inches, and warm season grasses should be cut anywhere between 0.5–2.5 inches depending on the type of lawn. 

During extreme summer temperatures, it’s best to keep the grass blades slightly taller to reduce water loss and prevent browning. Taller blades provide more shade which helps the root system stay cool and retain moisture. Another practice to remember is removing no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade at a time.

During the fall, keep the grass taller to encourage deep root growth and help the grass survive the cold temperatures. 

If you have a bermuda or zoysia grass lawn, drop your mower a notch and give your lawn a “buzz-cut” for the first mow of the spring with a rotary mower that has a sharpened blade. Bag up all the material to keep excess clippings from clumping or causing disease. After the initial “buzz-cut,” begin mowing the grass at its normal height again. You can return to spreading your mower clippings on the lawn at this time.

How often should I mow my lawn?

A final practice to consider is how often to mow your lawn. For most lawns, mowing should occur once a week during the spring. In the summer, mowing will slightly increase to about 4–6 days, but we know a few expert secrets that will help reduce mowing frequency during the hottest part of the year. In the fall, cut back on your mowing schedule and stop once your grass enters dormancy. Once a week should do the trick.

Learn more about mowing maintenance here.

How to Water Your Lawn

Your lawn is a living organism, so proper irrigation practices can do wonders for promoting a healthy, thriving landscape. Because there must be a balance between too much and too little water, it’s critical to take great care when watering your grass. 

How much water does my lawn need?

Most grasses require 1-inch of water a week during the active growing season including rainfall. Depending on your climate, you may need to consider rainfall in addition to your watering routine. 

Once temperatures begin to drop in the fall, slowly reduce the amount of water given to the plants. You may continue watering during the beginning stages of dormancy to prevent the possibility of dehydration—especially if you live in an area with really dry soils. 

Continue to water the lawn at a reduced amount during the winter season, but don’t altogether stop. Afterall, your lawn is dormant, not dead. 

How do I measure how much I’m watering my lawn?

This is a great question! If you’re confused about how long you should water your lawn or how to quantify how much water your lawn is receiving in various areas, you’re not alone! One of the best ways to get this information is by conducting an irrigation audit. This basically consists of placing a few measuring cups around the lawn to see how long it takes to accumulate 1-inch of water. It may even help you properly place sprinkler heads in more effective locations. Learn more here.

How to Fertilize Your Lawn

What nutrients does my lawn need?

Depending on the type of grass you have, your geographic location, climate and other environmental factors, your lawn is going to require different nutrients. The best way to identify the most ideal fertilizer is by first determining what your lawn needs. You can do this with an inexpensive, easy soil test.

How do I find the best fertilizer for my lawn?

Once you’ve conducted a soil analysis, you’ll have a much better idea of which nutrients your lawn already has and which ones it needs the most. You can then use this information to select the best fertilizer for your lawn’s individual needs. If you aren’t sure how to read a fertilizer label, click here.

However, generally speaking, we often like to suggest using Lawnifi’s^® liquid fertilizer program. 

The Lawnifi liquid fertilizer program is a program made of up of three seasonal boxes—a Spring Box, a Summer Box and a Fall Box. Each season, weather and soil conditions change so the needs of your lawn also reflect that. 

Additionally, each individual seasonal box also contains three bottles of liquid fertilizer—each covering 5,000 sq. ft. of lawn or landscape. Each bottle of liquid fertilizer easily hooks up to the end of a garden hose for an even spray distribution. 

The Spring Box contains three different bottles of fertilizer designed to help your lawn transition from cold winter temperatures to warmer ones as it greens up.

The Summer Box also contains three different bottles of fertilizer that help your lawn endure the hottest, most stressful temperatures of the year.

Finally, the Fall Box helps your lawn recover from hot summer temperatures and transition into cooler once. Each bottle of liquid fertilizer provides the nutrients your lawn needs to help it survive as it enters dormancy during the winter.

If you prefer traditional granular fertilizers, Lawnifi Foundation is a great slow-release fertilizer that comes in 25 lb. bags and lasts for three months.

Our patented nano-fertilizers with Catalyst Technology^TM give your lawn the jump-start it needs to emerge from dormancy, green up fast and thrive throughout the spring months.

Be sure to follow the label’s directions to avoid over-fertilizing your yard.

How to Control Weeds in Your Lawn

Similar to home gardens, lawns can quickly be overtaken by weeds if action isn’t taken. To prevent the appearance of many unsightly weeds, be sure to apply a pre-emergent herbicide to your lawn in the spring and fall. 

This lawn care weed control strategy will attack weeds after germination, but before they establish themselves. After weeds are established, a post-emergent herbicide is necessary to kill the weeds. As always, follow the directions precisely to avoid any damage to your lawn. 

Learn more about weed control in some of these related articles: Identifying Common Lawn Weeds, How to Use a Pre-Emergent Herbicide in the Spring or Fall and Weed Control in Your Lawn & Garden.

How to Control Insects in Your Lawn

Another lawn care treatment to consider is an insect control product for lawns. Applying one in the spring can prevent insects from appearing and target ones that already exist. While there are many insect control products on the market, choosing one for the types of insects you have can greatly aid in reducing infestations. 

Furthermore, certain insects prefer specific turfgrass species over others. For example, the Southern chinch bug, although spotted in many types of grasses, tends to prefer St. Augustine over others.

Learn more about identifying insects so that you can come up with the best prevention and treatment plan here.

How to Control Diseases in Your Lawn

Disease control, like weed and insect control, is essential for keeping a lawn healthy. Prevention is always the best way for eliminating many common grass diseases. Preventative applications not only keep damage from happening in the first place—it requires less product than curative applications and is therefore less expensive. 

Diseases can appear any time of the year, but they mostly show up in the spring and fall for warm season grasses and in the summer for cool season grasses. 

Cultural practices like avoiding overwatering, keeping a proper mowing height and fertilizing your lawn regularly can prevent a wide range of diseases as it keeps your lawn strong and less vulnerable to disease outbreaks. 

If a disease should appear in your lawn, immediately begin treatment with the proper fungicide for your lawn. Following directions carefully for amounts and treatment schedules. 

Learn more about identifying turfgrass diseases so that you can come up with the best prevention and treatment plan here.

Landsape DIY

In addition to these basic lawn care tips, there are many steps you may take to further improve the health and appearance of your lawn. These DIY landscape ideas include aerating, dethatching and perhaps using grass plugs for damaged spots in your lawn. Each of these practices can enhance growth to give your lawn a vibrant look. 

Every lawn is unique and special in its own way, consequently requiring slightly different techniques. As you set your goals this New Year’s, be sure to create a lawn care routine best suited for your type of lawn or follow along with our seasonal, grass-specific care guides. 

If you haven’t already, stay in the loop with any important lawn care information or product promotionals by signing up for our free, weekly newsletter, Sod University.