Sometimes despite our best efforts, lawns can start looking unhealthy and start showing yellow patches. What can be perplexing is that this happens in the absence of disease and you need an experienced hand to identify the reason behind the condition. Well, you could go through the following checklist to pin down the reason.

" You may be using the wrong species of grass. If you are using a sun loving species of grass, and your lawn gets insufficient light then there will be a decline in the quality of grass. Use shade-tolerant fescues. Bermuda grass for instance is a sun-loving grass and will not grow well in shady areas.

" Remove accumulated thatch which prevents water percolating to the roots and make sure you aerate.

" While mowing, do not cut off more than 1/3 of the height of the grass.

" Watering is preferred in the morning so that the grass does not become soggy.

" Aeration of the lawn is very important and checks for compaction of the soil. Loosen the soil or the lawn quality will decline.

" Too much or too little fertilizer can cause damage to the lawn, so calibrate your spreader to avoid stress on the lawn.

If injury has already occurred, then reseed the lawn taking care that optimal watering, aeration and fertilizing is done. Use a broadcast spreader to ensure even seed coverage. This is especially useful, when the area is large. To ensure even spreading of seeds, use the spreader in a systematic manner, walking north to south and then east to west in a grid pattern and repeat the process until the entire lawn is covered. Wait for the seeds to germinate.

Despite a lot of care bare spots do appear and you need to correct them by sowing seed again. After seeding, cover with a good quality top-soil. These seeds should soon germinate and catch up with the previous

Here is another great article about fertilizing your Lawn & Garden

If you like lawn care....These pages might also interest you:

All About Weeds, Common Lawn Problems, Controlling Lawn Diseases, Four Steps to a Great Lawn, How to Water Your Lawn, Inexpensive Lawn Fertilizer, Lawns in Shady Areas, Thatching, Turf Secrets, Types of Lawn Recreation, Care Free Lawns, Creating a Perfect Lawn, Earth Friendly Golf Courses, Feeding Your Lawn, Fertilizing Basics, Mowers and Pollution, Natural Ways to Fertilize, The Right Time To Fertilize, Types of Lawn Fertilizers