My lawn is still not green

[FardinA]

Hi There, I have laid my grass last spring, and the results were fine to some extent. I had thick grass in my fron yard and back yard. However, on sides, the grass was not thinck enough. Weather is warming up slowly here in Alberta, Canada (14-16 C in day time). However, my grass mainly stays yellow. The worst part is the sides where I can barely see any green grass. My neighbor's grass is thick and green. His grass is very green and thick on the side of his house, but mine (which is adjacent to his grass) is not at all. I asked him if he used any speacial type of grass. He just used fertilizer in the fall, and so do I. I used even fertilizer just three weeks back. I don't know what's wrong with my grass. If it's the weather, then why my neighbour's grass is much better than mine? I appreciate if you can let me know of your feedback.

[Derryl]

Hi there

I'm Derryl in Calgary.

You need to water your grass to force it to grow. You should water one inch per week. Get a container and measure one inch from the bottom and put it u7nder the sprinkler. When you get 1 inch in the container move the sprinkler.

Derryl [e-mail]

[AutoTracer]

Do you know what kind of grass you planted. Your neighbor either has a different kind of grass or there is a substantial difference in his soil, watering schedule or fertilizer he uses.

I'm not sure what is the best grass for your area. Best way to find out is to call a sod broker and ask what grows best and greens up soonest for your location. You can probably overseed this year and if done evenly, shouldn't look patchy.

How about lighting. Does your lawn get at least 4 hours of direct sun per day? Do you have overhanging trees in the thin areas?

Is your soil overcompacted perhaps from walking along the edge. Did you ammend and till the soil before planting the new grass or just scratch the surface of the compacted earth.

My front yard suffers from thinning on the front edge due to a slight slope that draind the water too fast and the fact that I used less than the ideal grass; bluegrass looks great when healthy but it is hard to maintain.