How To Make Your Lawn Thicker And Greener?

This is probably the question everyone who seeks the joy of growing a perfect lawn asks themselves most so I have decided to share my expertise and write this how to make your lawn thicker and greener article.

There is really no shortcut to making your lawn thicker and greener, it simply takes hard work and dedication.

You have to be disciplined and patient when you are on a quest for lawn perfection and if anyone tells you there is a quick way to make your lawn thicker and greener they are probably not telling the truth.

You really do have to carry out a lawn maintenance routine all year and keep on doing it until you have a perfect lawn then you have to keep on doing it every year otherwise the standard of your lawn may deteriorate.

I do have a beautifully lush green and thick lawn so if you want a lawn like mines simply follow my advice

There is no quick fix to make your lawn thicker and greener. You just have to follow my lawn care routine and it will slowly make your lawn thicker and greener and turn it into the beautiful lawn you dream of.

Have A Proper Lawn Mowing Routine

If you want your lawn to be thicker and greener then the single most important thing you can do is to have a proper lawn mowing routine.

Lawns do grow at different speeds due to a number of factors including the type of soil, type of grass, local climate etc. so you shouldn’t really base your mowing routine on a set time but you have to use your eyes and mow your lawn when you judge it needs to be mowed.

The height you should keep your lawn depends on the variety of grass you grow:

You should keep warm-season grass varieties such as bermudagrass and centipede grass at approximately 1-2 inches.
You should keep cool-season grass varieties such as Kentucky bluegrass and fine fescues at approximately 3-4 inches.

You should aim to cut your grass often as every time you mow your lawn it will actually stress and damage it but it is when the grass is recovering from it that healthy growth happens.

The more regularly you mow your lawn the thicker and greener it will become without doing anything else. Personally I tend to mow my lawn every weekend during the growing season and my lawn is thick and green.

Keep Your Soil In Good Condition

The soil that is under your lawn is where the grass gets all its nutrients from so if you want a healthy lawn that has thick lush green grass you really do have to keep the soil that is underneath in good condition.

Grass that is used for lawns tend to like a pH level that is close to neutral and although the pH of your lawn probably will be around a neutral level it is probably a good idea to check the pH level of your soil every so often, I check the pH level of the soil under my lawn every year using a home pH soil testing kit.

When you are aiming for lawn perfection it is probably a good idea to keep the kids off your lawn and if you aren’t able to you are probably not going to achieve that thick and green lawn you are hoping for.

The problem with a lawn that gets heavily used is that the soil underneath will probably become compacted and it is difficult to grow a healthy lawn when the soil is compacted into a near-solid state as it becomes difficult for the roots to spread new shoots to sprout.

Check my article on how I make my lawn green naturally.

Keep Your Lawn Weed-Free

Some people don’t bother too much about having weeds in their lawn but I definitely do as any weeds that are growing in your lawn will be feeding on the nutrients that should be going towards making your lawn thick and green.

You should aim to have nothing growing in your lawn apart from grass and if you actually have a lawn that is already thick and green I’m sure that is what your lawn looks like.

Lawn grass and weeds like different growing conditions so if there are weeds growing in your lawn that means your lawn is probably not in perfect condition for grass to grow which means it’s unlikely you have a lush green lawn that is thick in grass.

If you have lots of weeds growing in your lawn you have to make getting rid of them a priority so as much as I don’t like using chemicals on my lawn that may be the only option and you should consider applying a specialist lawn weed killer.

The trick is that if you keep your lawn in good condition and it has that thick green grass that everyone wants it will be a lot more difficult for weeds to start growing in your lawn never mind take over it.

Aerate Your Lawn

Lawn aeration is one of the most simple things you can do to your lawn and a lot of people never do this simple task that can lead to a massive improvement in the health of your lawn.

I aerate my lawn every year during my spring lawn maintenance routine but some people do it twice per year, it depends how much traffic you have on your lawn how often you aerate it but I see no harm in aerating more often than my once per year routine.

There are so many benefits your lawn will gain from aeration and these include:

Better drainage for your lawn
Allows air down to the root system
Make your lawn less compacted

Helps fertilizer get to the root system

The main reason I aerate my lawn is that kids play on my lawn so the soil does become completely compacted and if you are in this situation and want a thick and green lawn you really do have to aerate it.

The better drainage your lawn will benefit from will also lead to your lawn becoming a more lush green as the water will get down to the roots instead of settling on the surface.

Fertilize Your Lawn

Most lawns will grow just fine if you don’t use fertilizer but if you are trying to get the lushest green and thick lawn as possible then using fertilizer is a must. I fertilize my lawn three times per year:

Spring – kick start your lawn by using fertilizer.

Summer – give your lawn a boost especially if it’s been getting trampled on.
Fall – I use a slow-release fertilizer to feed it over the winter.

I definitely recommend you use fertilizer during the spring just as your lawn starts to grow again as I feel using a fertilizer at this time is the most beneficial and you will see the results almost immediately as it kicks in your lawn will flourish.

Midway through the summer I like to give my lawn a feed of fertilizer as my lawn does get well used and I am constantly trying to achieve the perfect lawn so why not?

Fertilizing your lawn towards the end of fall with a slow-release granular fertilizer it a really good idea as it will give your lawn nutrients during the cold winter months and this is especially beneficial if your lawn could end up under snow during the winter.

Overseed Your Lawn

If you want a lawn that has thick green grass then you should be overseeding every year.

Adding fresh grass seed to your lawn is never a bad thing. It is really simple to overseed all you have to do at the most basic level is take handfuls of seed and throw then as evenly as possible over your lawn.

If you want to go down the route of being a bit more professional you could use a broadcast spreader and that will mean it is easier to spread the seeds more evenly over your lawn.

When you have spread the seeds over your lawn you don’t want them to be sitting on the surface you want them to be down at the thatch level where they will have a chance to grow roots and become viable grass.

I get my seeds down to the thatch level by using the flat side of a rake and by rubbing it over my whole lawn.

I’m not sure how the professionals do this but I have used this tactic for getting the seeds down to the thatch level for years and years and it must work as I have a beautiful thick green lawn.

Check out my article on reviving your lawn after winter.

Water Your Lawn Properly

Grass does like water but if you implement the wrong watering routine it can have a detrimental effect on your lawn.

The trick for your watering routine is to water less often but give it plenty of water when you do.

If you water your lawn every day it will encourage the root system to stay near the surface as that is where it is getting the water from.

When you water your lawn less often the roots will have to grow and look for the water and this means it will grow a healthy deep root system.

There is a simple way to test if your lawn needs to be watered:

The way to tell if your lawn needs water is when you stand on it and the blades bounce back up it doesn’t need water.
If you stand on your lawn and the blades don’t bounce back that means the grass is wilting and needs to be watered.

If you train your lawn to have a deep root system there is a greater chance you will have a thick green lawn whereas if you water too regularly your lawn will basically become dependant on you to feed it water.

Lawns with a deep root system are healthier and more drought-resistant so that is what you want your lawn to be like.