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"  1. Keep Blades Sharp and Raised    It&amp;#039;s imperative that your mower blade stays sharp. Every spring is the ideal time to make sure that your blade, on a push or riding mower, will cut effortlessly through grass. Blades of grass turn brown if cut by a dull blade, putting your lawn at risk for diseases and heat stress. Sharpening a blade is easy: Make sure your gas tank is empty, or close to it, and the cap is tightly screwed. Disconnect the spark plug wire and tip the mower on its side. Use a wrench to remove the blade, and then take a mill file, held at 40 to 45 degrees, to smooth out the damage and sharpen the edge. When you&amp;#039;re putting the blade back on--with the spark plug still disconnected--make sure it is adjusted to the second or top position to ensure that you don&amp;#039;t cut your grass too low. Cutting it at low levels lops off the energy-producing top growth.  2. Watch the Water   A lawn needs about an inch of water per week. If it hasn&amp;#039;t rained, no problem--you&amp;#039;ve been harvesting rainfall, right?--an efficiently placed sprinkler can keep the lawn lush. Rather than watering lightly and frequently--this encourages shallow root growth and drought stress--just give the lawn a long, deep soak for over an hour, once a week. Water early; watering late in the day leaves a wet grass canopy that&amp;#039;s conducive to fungal growth. And always water only the grass, not the sidewalk.   3. Know Your Soil&amp;#039;s pH   A soil pH balance of 6.5 is generally ideal; certain grasses and soils are better suited to more alkaline or acidic conditions. Test the pH using a DIY kit for a rough estimate or send a soil sample to a Cooperative Extension Service soil lab. The pH can be adjusted--acidic soil with a high concentration of clay, for instance, may require an addition of alkaline lime to raise the pH. To lower the pH of moderately alkaline soils, add organic material, such as peat moss. For soil with extremely high pH, amend with sulphur or iron sulfate.   4. Fertilize at the Right Rate   It may not seem important, but the speed at which you walk behind a fertilizer spreader helps determine if the chemicals are being applied at the necessary rate. Walking too fast means that the fertilizer will be overspread and the chemicals will not go as far as needed, which means you will need to apply more. Walking too slowly and not spreading enough can get poor results, leading you to, once again, apply more fertilizer. The proper application rate is 2 to 3.5 pounds of material per 1000 square feet. Check by using a kitchen scale to measure out a pound or two, then put it in the spreader and apply it over a measured area.   5. Decode Fertilizer Chemistry   American lawns typically have cool-weather grasses, so fall fertilization is more important than spring fertilization. To promote winter nutrient storage and subsequent spring root growth, fall lawn fertilizer has higher levels of potassium--a spring fertilizer may consist of a 30-3-4 NPK ratio (30 parts nitrogen, 3 parts phosphorus and 4 parts potassium), but a fall fertilizer may have a ratio of 22-3-14, or more than three times the potassium of the spring product. Seed starter blends have a phosphorus-heavy NPK of 18-24-6. Nitrogen promotes growth and chlorophyll formation. All lawn fertilizers contain lots of nitrogen, but it&amp;#039;s particularly prominent in spring/summer blends. Phosphorus helps establish roots in grass grown from seed or sod. Buy low- or no-phosphorus fertilizer if you&amp;#039;re not establishing seeds--the runoff harms waterways by promoting aquatic weed growth. Potassium contributes to overall plant health, stress resistance and heat and cold tolerance. Combined with nitrogen, potassium helps the plants form carbohydrates over the winter. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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