Lawns have become something of a liability where water is scarce in urban areas. However, it is still possible to have a decent lawn and not need to apply any extra water to achieve this. The first thing to do is assess how much lawn you really need in the first place. If you have patches that are forever struggling to grow good grass it may be that the soil is being compacted through too much traffic or that there is insufficient light. Such areas are often better off to be paved or turned into garden beds to make them more useable as well as catching storm water that can be diverted onto the remaining areas of lawn.

Aerating your lawn will create a much healthier soil environment that will make your grass sturdier. Compaction over time greatly decreases the amount of oxygen that is getting to the roots. By hiring a coring machine (similar to those used by golf courses) or by using your garden fork you can create a network of small holes that allow air to diffuse into the soil. A great tip is to broadcast water saving crystals after you have aerated the soil. These crystals absorb many times their own weight in water and swell within the soil to catch any rain or other water and store it up for gradual release to the plant roots in between watering.

Lawn care in winter

Are you tired of not being able to take a summer stroll on your lawn for fear of the sharp pain of bindiis. Those spines are actually the seeds of this pesky weed and winter is the time the seeds germinate and infest your lawn. Therefore winter is the ideal time to control them by using a selective weedicide that will not only kill bindii but also other weeds that detract from the general appearance of your lawn. Products such as Bindii and Clover Killer will painlessly eliminate a variety of problem weeds. The non-chemical alternative is to remove them by hand, a painstaking but nonetheless effective method for the patient gardener.