Let it grow- Mow High - Mower blades be set to 3 inches & Let your lawn grow taller for best way to reduce the use of herbicide. Tall grass could be stress tolerant especially during excessive heat of summer, also provides shade to reduce weed seed germination especially on crab grass and it increases the uptake of water and nutrients due to its larger root structure.

Twice a year mow low – Your lawn should be cut low of 2 inches at least twice a year. First cut in spring and last in fall that prevent fungus from being established on winter.

Give The Grass a Clean Cut – Keep your mower blade sharp, Mow when grass is dry, Mow in the cool part of the afternoon or evening. Mowing whengrrass is wet or with dull blade can cause the tip of the grass to shred that would make your lawn brown and its tips dry out and more susceptible to disease and cutting grass during excessive heat would cause stress to plants.

Mulch Clippings - Leave grass clippings on the lawn. It lowers the needs for fertilizer since important plant nutrients are returned to the soil. Mulching Mower circulates the grass clippings in mowing chamber to make smaller clippings which break down more easily.

Good soil is essential to a healthy lawn. This is one of the most important element for lawn care. Once grass is established, you can aerate and fertilize it, but actual soil base can’t be reworked. If you carefully prepare the soil layer in the beginning, your lawn can start with a good foundation.

Soils come in two basic types: Clay or Sandy. Heavy Soil, called clay or adobe, is easy to recognize but difficult to work with. If you squeeze a handful together, you’ll get a gummy plastic mass that won’t break apart even if you tap it with a shovel. Though clay soil is often rich in nutrients, it contains very little space for air, grass roots may refuse to grow because there is no sufficient supply of oxygen and often they drown because of poor drainage. Clay soils do have an advantage: slow drainage through tiny,compacted particles prevents nutrients from leaching out.

On the other hand, Sandy soil has huge particles that allow good aeration, quick passage of water, and rapid temperature change. Sandy soil provides plenty of air for plant roots, and the roots can spread easily, but here’s the rub: Water will pour right through the soil, taking with it any plant nutrients you’ve applied.

Here are the tips for proper aeration best for your lawn:

* If it is possible, use a coring aerator as opposed to a spike aerator. Spike aerators just further compact the soil while making a hole.

* Water your lawn heavily, up to an inch, the day before you plan on aerating. The soil should be soft and moist when aerating but not muddy.

* Be careful of shallow sprinkler lines getting punctured by the aerator.

* Aerate during spring or fall or also during late summer

* Aerate only twice a year in arid or dry climate.

* Don’t waste your time or money with shoe aerators.

* After core aeration, leave the plugs on the grass and allow them to dry out, then rake the plugs into the grass if you like. If not, don’t worry they will break up after the first mowing and help to breakdown thatch by providing micro organisms that will feed on thatch.

For us who always love to plant on our garden and is experiencing some problems on how to get away with those bugs, here are some great tips..For each kind of bug that can cause damage to your plants, you can plant certain plants that could be very helpful to your other plants to keep away from those bugs that might put your garden or lawns in danger..

Aphids - The small whitish bugs that love rose bushes and other flowers. Plant Chives, Nasturtium, Basil, or Catnip nearby to fight aphids.

Japanese Beetles - Plant Geraniums or Garlic to keep them away.

Mosquitoes - Plant Rosemary or Basil to keep mosquitoes away.

Tomato Horn worm - Plant Borage near your tomato plants to keep them away.

Flea Beetles and Potato Beetles - Plant Catnip nearby to keep them away.

Ants - Plant Spearmint or Peppermint to keep ants away. It can be planted near your house to naturally deter ants from your house.

You can escape these bugs in your gardens and lawns..with those suggested plants that could help you take good care of your plants. Feverfew and Marigolds repel many different kinds of insects and are a useful addition to flower and vegetable gardens.

While a lush green lawn typifies the suburban ideal, the time and money not to mention the ecological cost of maintaining a lawn has led many homeowners to replace at least part of their lawn with other forms of landscaping, which can be just as beautiful.

While you may be decreasing the size of your lawn, in this case less is more more colors and textures, more areas for recreation and entertaining, and more wildlife habitat.

- Plant a hedge. The least-used parts of your lawn are most likely on the edge of your property. Create privacy and visual interest by planting a “tapestry hedge” with mixed shrubs.
- Build a pond, patio, or island bed in the center of your lawn. Create a visual focal point, a place for entertaining, or a habitat for attracting wildlife.
- Create a tree island. If you have one or more trees in the middle of your yard, chances are the grass that grows underneath isn’t that healthy. Why not plant ground cover, perennials, or woodland plants under your tree instead.
- Devote part of your yard to wildflowers, drought-tolerant grasses, and other native plantings. Practice xeriscaping using plants to replace part of your water-hungry lawn.
- Plant a ground cover to replace some of your lawn. Ground covers are great on slopes, in shaded areas under trees, and in the front yard where a lawn is less apt to be used for recreational purposes.

Your grass is looking anemic? You think you can green it up with fertilizer? Be very careful. Fertilizer at the wrong time will do more harm than good. Grass that wants to go dormant in the summer heat does not want a stimulus.

- Fertilize in spring (late April, earlier or later by a week or so if it’s a warm or cold spring). Fertilize again in fall (early October, or a little later if the weather’s warm). The important thing with fall fertilization is timing. Fertilize when it’s too warm and you get lush top growth on your grass. That may sound good but it’s better to fertilize when daytime temperatures are hitting 10 degrees C and night temps. are down to around 2 degrees C. When scientists discovered that fall fertilization, done properly, went directly to the roots, it revolutionized the lawn care industry. However, many people are still doing it incorrectly.

Avoid high nitrogen fertilizer, especially in the fall, unless you are using sulphur-coated fertilizer. You may want to consider switching to the healthier, more natural fertilizers that are available. In standard chemical fertilizers, the nitrogen usually comes from Urea Formaldehyde. It artificially boosts grass growth and does nothing for the soil.

There are fertilizers which use animal by-products such as bone meal, blood meal, poultry meal and fish meal. These fertilizers increase your soil’s natural microbial activity. Your grass won’t come shooting out of the ground as fast, but it shouldn’t be doing that anyway. Build up your soil’s health the only way it can be done, naturally. Within a year you will see less mold and fungal damage to your grass. The healthier grass will be better able to withstand grub attacks.

Here are some important tips to maintain your lawn tools:

1. Free your hand tools from any mud or soil after using. If dried mud has been accumulated on your hand tools, use a screwdriver or paint stripper to scrape it off.

2. Keep your tools dry whenever they accumulate any moisture. It will prevents them from any rusts

3. During every spring, sharpen your cutting tools and your mower blades to keep their cutting edges in good condition.

4. During chemical applications when you use any metal tools, put them under running water before wiping it dry. Herbicides and fungicides can easily corrode metal tools.