10 Home Remedy Tips to Revive Your Lawn and Keep it that Way

All of the seasons will take a toll on your lawn. It doesn’t matter if your lawn becomes scorched in the summer or frozen through the winter, there are a few things you can do to revive it before you call in a landscaper. Doing preventative maintenance on your lawn will help avoid many conditions that will need reviving!

Preventative Maintenance

1. Never leave anything large lying on the lawn no matter what season it is. Grass needs to breathe and get sunshine to be healthy. Even a small child’s toy will cause an unsightly patch when it is finally picked up.

2. Make sure things like Frisbees and riding toys are picked up and put away, especially through the winter. If they were forgotten over the winter months, pick up everything as soon as possible. Grass lies dormant over the winter, but as soon as warm weather hits it will start to grow and if something is lying on it will be yellow and sparing.

3. Mulching the last grass cutting of the year before winter will help feed the ground and add a protective layer from the snow and ice. If you have an abundance of leaves, it is best to mulch them up very finely. If you do not have a mulching mower, rake the yard clean of leaves before the first snow fall. Wet leaves will mold and cause more lawn damage through the winter months.

4. Dog urine will burn the lawn. If you have an indoor pet that you take out to potty, be sure and take the dog to a specific spot, or totally away from your lawn to do his business.
You can remove dog doo, but there is little to do about the urine, so avoid allowing your dog to hike or squat near any living areas of your lawn.

5. Raise the deck on your mower if you are cutting your lawn very short. Cutting your lawn too short just before winter will result in a poor growth for the next year. Cutting it to short in the summer will allow the sun to burn the roots and it will turn brown and wither. Leave the grass taller and cut more often if necessary.

Bringing Your Lawn Back to Life

1. Preventative measures are the best, but if your lawn is already suffering there are several things you can do before calling a landscaper! If it has been especially dry, wait until evening and saturate the entire lawn with a garden hose. Spray it until it stops absorbing the water quickly. You may have to do this a couple of times a week.

2. Rake the lawn with a heavy garden rake. This will help “scratch” the dirt below and aerate the soil, allowing the grass roots to get a little air. Moisture will penetrate better too, especially if the wet soil has been trodden on and becomes packed down. You can also buy or rent a roller that has prongs on it that will do the trick. Heck you can even wear a pair of cleats and walk around!

3. Feed the lawn with stuff out of your cabinet! You can put a mixture of tomato juice, fabric softener, orange juice and dishwashing liquid into a hand sprayer and feed the lawn. I know that sounds silly, but it works. You can also spray your lawn down with some diluted beer. It won’t smell very good, but it will work!

4. If you have tired looking bushes, you can clean under them using the garden rake to scratch up the surface. Feed them by pouring diluted tea or coffee around the base of the bush. You can also pack your used coffee grounds around the bottom of the bushes. The coffee grounds will help hold moisture, plus will feed the plant as you water or when it rains.

5. Add a little Epsom salt to your watering can when you water your shrubs or flowers. The magnesium in it is great for the soil and will help with root growth which will in turn give you beautiful shrubbery. That will also revive your tired lawn!

Sources:

My own experiences, plus the book, “Terrific Garden Tonics” by Jerry Baker, Master Gardener