Keeping a lawn in your home is one way of making your home beautiful. Lawns give you a venue to organize parties, barbecues and other functions.

It has also been scientifically proven that turfs prevent soil and stream erosion, they reduce heat and sound pollution as well. Like most plants, green turfs replenish the oxygen in the atmosphere. Turfs can also serve as anti-pollutants; they detoxify pollutants like sulfur dioxide and keep the air clean and fresh.

Those are some of the reasons you need to keep lawns in your homes. Lawns need to be catered for like all other plants in your garden. Good conditions for turfs mean no competition from weeds, diseases, pests and insects. Healthy lawns are green and beautiful. Here are some ways of keeping your turfs healthy:

Lawns like every other green plant need to produce it’s own food in the process called photosynthesis. Available conditions necessary  for plants to prepare their own food include moisture, sunlight and carbon dioxide. All these should be available in the right proportion to allow the turfs to remain green and healthy.

It is important to apply fertilizer to the soil. Nitrogen, Potash and Phosphate are the basic required nutrients for all plants therefore the need to go for fertilizers with the right amount of these nutrients. Applying fertilizer to the turfs make them more resistant to weeds, insects and pests. They also make them look greener, healthier and denser. Apply lime to soil regularly to helps maintain the soil’s pH.

Mowing is one of the most important determinants of your the turf’s ‘health.’ It is very important to mow the lawn to its optimum height. If the lawn is cut too low, the surface area of the grass reduces, hence, its’ inability to prepare it’s own food. During periods of drought, the lawn draws on the stored food in the leaves, however, it is very important to be mindful of the height you mow the lawn as well as the frequency. Never set the mower lower than 2.5 inches.

It is important to water the turfs as frequently as possible. In Ghana, the rainy season lasts for a period of six months (April – November) and it is important to be mindful of the amount of water in your lawn. Make sure there are drains to allow the passage of excess water in your lawn. During the dry season, ensure the soil is always moist. Maintain a regular schedule for watering the lawn and your turf will remain green throughout the year.

You can also share with us some of the ways you have maintained your Ghanaian lawn 🙂