Think of your mower blades as you would a set of good steak knives.  When they’re sharp, they made a clean cut and carving an attractive main course is effortless.  Sharp mower blades deliver the same neat finish.  Having sharp blades also means you’ll mow the lawn faster, because cutting through the turf takes less effort.  Finally, sharp mower blades shred turf into finer clippings, which break down quickly and feed the turf with organic nutrients.

How often you sharpen the blades depends on how often you cut and whether you follow the one-third rule.  Naturally, frequent mowing wears down blades-heavy use causes more wear and tear.  But if you cut off locks of grass, rather than an inch or two at a time, turf will collect in the mower deck and force blades to work harder to do their job.  Your soil type can also have an affect on blade life; sandy southern soils, for example, are abrasive and gradually file away blades.  In general, sharpen or replace blades each spring, before the heavy mowing season.  Check them periodically, according to your mowing habits, to see if they need more attention.

Sharpening blades does no good if you don’t balance them.  You can do this by hanging the mower blade from a nail pounded into a wall, preferably in a garage or shed.  A blade that falls to the right or left is not balanced and indicates that you shaved too much from one side.  You’ll always be in balance if you take blades to a dealer for sharpening.  The cost is generally inexpensive and if you have a set of black-up blades at home, you won’t  miss out on mowing time while you wait for the service.

Do you have a brown spot in your lawn where absolutely no grass will grow? 

Here are the Steps for Reseeding that nasty brown spot:

1. Remove the dead spot with a shovel, digging straight down into the ground.  The hole should be about 12″ deep.  Remember, you want to remove the damaged-root zone and clear out the area, so you can start fresh.
2. Fill the hole with topsoil.  Choose a loamy soil that will provide plenty of nutrients for new seed sot establish.  Tamp down the soil so it is level with the turf.
3. Seed the area with a mix that matches your existing turf-grass.  This is why knowing your grass type is important.  If you seed with a variety that behave mush differently, the spot of new grass will look like an obvious patch job.
4. Topcoat, or top-dress, the areaby covering it with a layer of hay or a paper much product to protect it from losing moisture and form birds, who like to dine on seeds.
5. Water the spot, taking care to keep the area moist for the first weeks, while seed germinate and sprout.

Say you don’t know what type of turf-grass your lawn is and you don’t want to take the chance of choosing the wrong seed for a highly visible brown spot.  You can patch it with turf form a secret spot in your lawn.  Dig out a section to fit the brown spot in your front yard.  Follow the steps above, digging up the bad spot and filing it in with a loamy topsoil that will accept new roots.  Place your homemade sod on the spot and water it in thoroughly.

TIP: Seeds need breathing room to sprout into seedlings, and they need their own territory to develop into plants.  When we pour seeds on soil, figuring that the more we put down, the better our odds are of growing lots of grass, we really end up cramping the seeds.  They choke each other, competing for water and nutrients.  Many do not sprout at all and those that do are not as strong because they have to share limited resources with so many seedlings.  Seeds are thirsty all the time.  For the first two to three weeks of a seed’s life, you must keep the top 1/4″ of soil moist.

For more great tips and tricks to a beautiful yard purchase

John Deere Landscaping & Lawn Care Book