Sustainable Lawn Care 101

If you're new to lawns — or even if you're not — aspiring to have a lush, green, sustainable lawn can be a little daunting. We get it. But we're here to tell you it doesn't have to be that way. You can lay aside those worries about sustainability and aesthetics, not to mention time and money for upkeep.

With a new angle on four simple lawn care basics, you can have a sustainable lawn and still have time to enjoy it and share it with family and friends. Keep your grass — every beautiful inch of it — and nurture those roots in a simple and sustainable way.

• Mowing Your Lawn

• Feeding Your Grass

• Watering Your Lawn

• Repairing Your Lawn

Healthy mowing practices keep your lawn more sustainable.

Mowing Your Lawn

Mowing your lawn is about more than making your grass look even and fresh. How and when you mow has a big impact on your lawn's health and growth. Mowing season starts once your lawn leaves winter behind and kicks into high gear.

If you live in northern climates, that can be early spring when common northern lawn grasses have a big growth spurt. If you're farther south, that burst of green blades comes once the soil warms up a bit more.

Once your grass gets active, stay on top of mowing. That doesn't mean making Saturday (or any other day) mowing day, no matter what. Do your grass and yourself a favor. Mow when it needs it — no more, no less.

When is that, you ask? The best mowing guide is to mow when your grass reaches about 1.5 times your ideal mowing height. We'll do the math: If you want to keep your grass 2 inches tall, mow it when it hits 3 inches. It's that easy.

If you get behind, don't panic. But don't try to catch up all at once. Whenever you mow, only cut off one-third of your lawn's height at a time. That way, your grass has enough leaf surface to bask in the sun, store up energy, and stay strong.

During hot weather, let your grass grow a little longer. The extra shade on roots helps reduce grass stress, retain soil moisture, encourage roots to grow deeper and more resilient, and it may discourage some lawn diseases, too.

With one application, you can feed your lawn all season and improve your soil.

Feeding Your Grass

We know you don't let your houseplants go hungry. So, feed your grass plants, too. But don't get caught up in multiple products and fertilizer schedules that have you running to the store (and the bank) every month. When you hook up with the right lawn fertilizer from the start, everything — and we mean everything — gets so much simpler.

With Pennington Full Season Lawn Fertilizers, your choice is easy:  If you want to kill and prevent lawn weeds when you feed your lawn,* go with Pennington Full Season Weed & Feed with Crabgrass Control 25-0-8. If weeds aren't a problem, turn to Pennington Full Season Lawn Food 32-0-5 Fertilizer instead.

All it takes to fertilize your lawn with either of these lawn foods is one single application a season. That's better for your budget and your sustainability goals. Then these easy-to-use products keep on slowly releasing nitrogen (your lawn's No. 1 nutrient need) to feed your grass for up to four months. But there's more!

Pennington Full Season Lawn Food 32-0-5 Fertilizer works to actually improve your soil, too. This powerful fertilizer contains natural beneficial microorganisms that revitalize your soil and help your lawn thrive. And, like Pennington Full Season Weed & Feed with Crabgrass Control 25-0-8, this lawn fertilizer contains 5% iron to keep that rich, deep green color going.

Arching sprinklers are fun to play in, but they lose lots of water to evaporation.

Watering Your Lawn

No matter where you live, water is a precious resource. When summer comes, outdoor water use and water utility bills soar. Most lawns need the equivalent of about 1 inch of rain per week. If you don't have a rain gauge, get one. You should know how much Mother Nature provides. If it's less than an inch a week, you may need to help her out and irrigate to keep your lawn green.

Do your part for the environment and your budget by learning how to water your lawn and make the most of every drop. For starters, water in the morning before the sun gets hot to limit evaporation. This allows water to soak into your soil instead. Avoid sprinklers that shoot water into the air, and opt for low-to-the-ground irrigation. Then water can go straight to where your grass needs it and stay there.

One of the best things you can do for your lawn's sustainability is to improve your grass. Like other plants, some grasses are more thirsty and needy than others. Once established, drought-tolerant Pennington Smart Seed Grasses conserve water and keep grass green longer.

 The grasses in Pennington Smart Seed grass seed + fertilizer mixes need up to 30% less water than ordinary grass seed. That's 30% less year after year for the life of your lawn. Sounds good, doesn't it?

Even healthy lawns need some thin or bare spot repairs now and then.

Repairing Your Lawn

When you love your lawn and use it, you're bound to have some wear and tear. Whether that's from backyard play or furry family members or just grilling to celebrate your very own "Great Outdoors," thin spots and bare spots happen in your lawn.

When they do, you can manage those repairs in a simple, sustainable way. Pennington Smart PatchII Bare Spot Repair for Lawns has everything you need for fast and easy lawn fixes: Drought-tolerant Pennington Smart Seed grasses, professional-grade fertilizer and mulch. (You'll love how the mulch changes color from dark to light when it's time to water! You won't waste a drop or let your seed get too dry.)

Pre-mixed and ready-to-use Pennington Smart Patch mixes stay put, even on slopes and hills, and depending on the product, you can see growth in as little as five days and full results as soon as two weeks.

Once your new grass gets established, you'll enjoy all the water-conserving benefits of Pennington Smart Seed grasses. Plus, 98% of the ingredients in Smart Patch are biodegradable and made from 98% renewable resources.

With simple, sustainable lawn care, you can be proud of your lawn and all the beauty and benefits it brings to your home and the environment.

At Pennington, we're here to help you create a lawn where dreams come true and memories are made. Have a question? We have answers. Let us help you do lawn and garden your way.  

Always read product labels thoroughly and follow instructions, including information on your lawn grass type.

* Consult label for a complete list of lawn grasses.