A beautiful lawn needs to be well cared for to prevent yellow and brown spots from forming on the green carpet. We have summarized for you the necessary to-dos for proper lawn care and the mistakes to avoid:

Proper Mowing

Lots of sun stimulates the lawn to grow. At the beginning of the warm season, it grows especially fast. Regular trimming encourages the lawn to produce fresh side shoots and increases the density and resilience of the green area. But beware: grass blades cut too short cause the soil to dry out faster and weeds can spread.

The rule of thumb for cutting height is:

• Ornamental lawns should be cut to 3-4 cm,
• Play and sports lawns to 3-5 cm,
• Shade lawns 5-7 cm,
• Herb lawns and flower meadows are taller and mowed only rarely.

Young lawns should be mowed for the first time when they reach 10 cm in height.

Ideally, the lawn mower should be taken out once a week and used over the entire green area. If the grass has grown a bit taller during vacation, please mow it down to normal height gradually. In summer, lawn care should mainly focus on protecting the lawn from drying out or extreme heat. At very high temperatures, the blades should be allowed to grow a bit taller, as this reduces evaporation. This way, the grass maintains a better water balance and burns can be prevented.

Proper Watering

How often should the lawn be watered

The basic rule is: water less often (1-2 times per week), but more deeply. This stimulates root growth and forces the lawn to root deeper. Daily watering can harm the lawn.

• The very best time for watering is early morning. In direct sunlight, the lawn firstly cannot absorb moisture well and secondly the water evaporates very quickly and cannot penetrate down to the roots. This can result in unsightly yellow spots.
  But evenings are also good because the soil is cool, allowing more water to be absorbed and less evaporation occurs. Additionally, this protects the green from burning, as the sensitive blades are not damaged by the magnifying glass effect of water droplets and moisture can distribute well in the soil overnight.
• Grass should not be constantly wet, as this makes it more susceptible to diseases.

The right amount of water for the lawn

The required amount of water for the lawn varies throughout the year and depends on temperature, wind, natural precipitation, location of the lawn area, and the growth phase of the lawn. The water loss from a surface to the atmosphere is called evapotranspiration. There are calculation models to estimate the sum of soil evaporation and plant transpiration approximately. See the dedicated blog post at MIYO.

Approximate water needs throughout the year in Central Europe:

Spring: 15-30 mm per week (equivalent to 15-30 liters/m²)
Summer: 30-50 mm per week (equivalent to 30-60 liters/m²)
Autumn: 10-20 mm per week (equivalent to 10-20 liters/m²)
Winter: 0-5 mm per week

The current evapotranspiration values are continuously calculated by MIYO for the garden location and displayed in the MIYO app.

Due to large fluctuations in water demand, optimal watering requires constant adjustment of the watering amount and monitoring of soil moisture. And that is exactly what MIYO does. The sensors measure soil moisture and MIYO optimizes the water amount fully automatically, taking into account measurements, presets, demand, and weather forecast. Soil moisture is also monitored. If the water has sufficiently penetrated deep, the watering switches off again. This is how optimal lawn care can work so simply.

Proper Fertilizing

Efficient lawn care in summer includes, besides mowing and watering, the right fertilizing. In the hot season, the nutrients from spring fertilizer are usually depleted. The lawn should now be supported with a long-term lawn fertilizer specially formulated for summer. This also makes it more resilient and helps regulate its water balance. For compact and acidic soils, lime and humic acids should be spread additionally.
Moreover, quality is crucial! Cheap fertilizers only stimulate growth short-term and provide too few nutrients to the grass in the long run. The ideal time to fertilize is a cloudy morning that still promises rain. If that is not possible, evening should be chosen and followed by thorough watering.

We wish you much joy with your well-maintained lawn in your garden paradise.