Maintaining a healthy and thriving lawn is no easy task. Each year, there are many homeowners in Minnesota that kill their lawns by accident, or at least part of it. For other homeowners, it may feel like it's impossible to make the grass look great year after year. Here is a list of the most common mistakes DIY homeowners make that accidentally kill their lawns.

1. Overwatering and Underwatering

Improper watering is the number one reason we see lawns dying in the St. Cloud area. If you constantly overwater or underwater your lawn, there is no hope.

In Minnesota, lawns need 1" of water per week.

It's near impossible to properly water your lawn without an automated irrigation/sprinkler system. Trying to water manually will result in uneven distribution of water, and makes it easy to underwater or overwater. Another major issue that can plague your watering schedule is broken rain sensors on your irrigation system. These commonly fail and need to be tested often. The purpose of rain sensors is to prevent overwatering by suspending your irrigation schedule when it rains. Confirming that these sensors are in working order can help prevent overwatering and also save you money.

Example of grass being cut too short, killing the lawn.

2. Mowing Too Short

Another major reason homeowners kill their lawn by accident is mowing it too short. It makes sense to mow the grass as low as possible, allowing you to mow less frequently. Unfortunately, that's not the way it works. When you mow your grass too short, there is less leaf area for photosynthesis to occur, which is what enables grass blade and root development.

Your lawn should be kept at the proper height for the type of turf you have. For example, many lawns in St. Cloud, MN have Kentucky Bluegrass and Fine Fescue, which should be kept around 3 inches. When mowing, you should also never remove more than one-third of the grass blade.

3. Improper Fertilizer & Herbicide Treatments

We all hate weeds and want a thick, green lawn. These attributes of color and weed-free come from the use of fertilizer and herbicide. The fertilizer delivers the nutrients your grass needs for continued healthy growth, while herbicide treatments kill existing weeds and prevent new weeds from growing.

Over-applying, or choosing the wrong fertilizers and herbicides is a sure way to quickly kill your lawn.

The biggest problem with homeowners attempting to fertilize and treat weeds themselves is the misuse of products. To use them correctly, they should be applied at certain times of the year, have certain mixtures of N-P-K (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium), and be applied with the proper volume. This is why it's recommended to hire a professional lawn care company, like us here at Sunset Mowing, to handle fertilization and weed control for you.

Girl on lawn with her dog.

4. Dog Urination & Leaving Feces in the Yard

If you have a dog that always seems to use the bathroom in the same place, you probably already know this kills your lawn. When it comes to urine, it is loaded with nitrogen, which is great in moderation. However, when an area has high concentrations of nitrogen from a dog urinating in the same location, this will kill the grass quickly.

It's also a misconception that dog feces will fertilize your grass, much like manure. Unfortunately, dog feces are also nitrogen-rich, just like dog urine. It won't kill the lawn as fast as urine will, but it will definitely do so in time. Luckily, we can pick up dog poop! We don't offer it here at Sunset Mowing, but you can also hire a service to pick up your dog waste for you.

5. Foot Traffic & Vehicles

Having heavy foot traffic, or parking vehicles on your lawn, are a sure way to quickly kill your grass. It's quite simple, foot traffic and vehicles compress the blades and can easily damage the upper roots or crown of the blade. This type of activity also results in compacted soil, making it harder for nutrients to reach the roots. Besides those reasons, vehicles specifically will completely block the sun while doing damage to the underlying soil.

This is a simple fix, stay off the lawn for extended periods of time and don't use it as a parking lot! If you are going to have heavy foot traffic on your lawn, be sure to follow these other guidelines and your grass will be just fine.

Are you ready to let the professionals take over?

If you're located in St. Cloud, MN, or other nearby community such as Sartell or Sauk Rapids, then you have our services available to you. Give us a call at (320) 293-1625 for a free estimate or to schedule a consultation on repairing your lawn.