How do you know that you have a healthy lawn? You know that a lawn is in top shape when it has a lush green, smooth carpet that is great for croquet and cartwheels. If you think your lawn doesn't look quite like that, you may need to change your approach.

In the game of golf, they say you need to become the ball. To achieve a perfect lawn, you need to be the grass. You need to know what it really needs by knowing the basics. The basic necessities in lawn care are quite simple: water, fertilizer, and sun. Once you have provided these basics, you and your lawn can both be happy.

Here's how to get you started:

Setting the Soil

Starting a new lawn is somewhat like an adventure. Planning and careful preparation are crucial. No matter what method of planting you prefer, you must prepare the area carefully to get rid of weeds and ensure that the soil won't crust over immediately or turn compact into lumpy ruts.

One of the important steps that many people fail to do is testing the soil's pH. Though you can hire a professional, there are also DIY test kits available that can be bought from nurseries and garden centers. Though it may seem like a hassle, testing your soil will definitely save you a lot and prevent you from encountering costly problems in the future.

To seed or not?

Rolling a carpet of sod is the easiest way of having a beautiful lawn. However, sod can be expensive especially if you have a very big lawn. A good option is to seed the area yourself. You can do this by hand or by using hydroseeding.

Hydroseeding has become popular nowadays but has long been used by farmers to sow huge fields. One of the advantages of using hydroseeding is that it solves one of the main issues of handseeding which is the even distribution of seeds.

Mowing

Mowing is important to keep your grass healthy. Never mow your lawn way too short because it will just stress out the grass. Raise the mower to the highest notch as possible so that you'll be mowing only the top third of the grass as you cut.

Always remember that taller grass offers better root development and it shades the ground so it doesn't dry too quickly. Cutting the grass too short will only cost it to renew itself too fast and you will have to mow it as often.