Did you know that your lawn in its natural and wild state would be around a metre high and really untidy?

It is unnatural for the lawn plant (whether it be couch/Bermuda grass, kikuyu, fescue or durban turf grass) to be cut or mowed! Also, did you know that your lawn is placed under a tremendous amount of stress just by mowing it?

So, in the pursuit of the perfect lawn it is helpful to know that the regular mowing of the lawn is quite an unnatural and stressful event for the lawn. So to counter this stress and hardship, we need to provide our "green oasis" with a good supply of food.

The quickest way to a beautiful lawn every year is by fertilizing your lawn. By feeding your lawn you create a thick lush turf grass that outperforms weeds. All lawns need to be supplemented with the proper nutrients to enable healthy turf growth and to counter any competition for food by other plant life including weeds and trees.

So, to help the lawn overcome the unnecessary stress it undergoes with mowing, it makes a great deal of sense to bump up the lawn's food intake.

Now that we have established that regular feeding is highly beneficial for your lawn, we need to determine how often and so on.

Warm season turf grasses such as couch grass [as is known in Australia (or Bermuda grass as it is known in North America)], kikuyu turf grass, zoysia grasses, buffalo grass [as is known in Australia (or St Augustine grass as it is known in North America)] and so on respond nicely to being fertilized in Spring, Summer and Autumn (Fall). The better fertiliser types used in sports field situations are slow release granular fertilizer products that last up to 13 weeks (3 months). These slow release granular fertilisers are sold in hardware and garden stores and can be applied to coincide with the growing seasons.

Cool season turf grasses such as rye grass, fescue and Kentucky blue grass will require feeding all year round including winter.

In the next Lawn Care Secrets Revealed article we will look at just what are the right fertilisers that you should be using to feed your lawn.