The name itself is a little misleading. “Turf,” for most people makes them think of artificial grass on football fields. When we get asked the question, “What is turf management,” we define it as including all the best practices that go into managing the care and health of your yard.

Now, if you do a quick search on the topic, you’ll often see the phrase in reference to sports fields and golf courses. It normally leads you to thousands of sites about becoming a turf manager for a professional sports team. However, you can also be the turf manager of your own lawn.

Although this question doesn’t come up very often, it’s a question you need to answer if you’re interested in taking the best possible care of your lawn.

In general, turf management is just good lawn care. It means you are taking the best possible care of your yard, from which you’ll see the benefits in how green and lush your grass grows.

Let’s take a dive into what turf management is good for. One of the top reasons is improving the value of your home.

The basic idea is that maintaining a healthy and beautiful lawn will make your home more valuable by improving curb appeal. Even if you’re not looking to sell your house in the near future, maintaining good lawn care might make a difference once you’re ready to move on and the amount you’re able to get from a potential buyer.

What are turf management best practices?

There are a lot of steps you can take to create your own version of what turf management is. The important caveat here is that you will likely not need to take every lawn care step we’re about to list. The first best practice is to properly evaluate what your yard needs. You’ll need some data points to do that. One good way to get information about your lawn care needs is to test the pH level of the soil. You can also inspect the lawn yourself, looking for any soggy spots or dry patches. Once you’ve identified the problem spots, here are some lawn care steps you can take.

Feed your Lawn

Nothing can grow if it doesn’t have the proper nutrients, and your yard is no exception. Any lawn care regimen should likely include fertilization steps. You can buy bags of fertilizer, but you can also compost your yard clippings and kitchen scraps and spread those out over your lawn.

The other kinds of nutrients any grass needs come from water. You need to be regularly and properly watering your lawn. An irrigation system can automate that, or you can get out there with a regular old sprinkler. Whatever method you choose, it’s typically better to water in the morning.

Aerate

To keep your lawn looking nice, you need to pay attention to more than just your grass. The soil it grows in is also a huge consideration. One way to keep that soil healthy is to aerate your lawn to prevent it from compacting. To do that, you’ll need some specialized tools. There are a lot of different ways to make aeration happen, and they all involve poking holes into your lawn about three inches deep.

Now, you can’t just poke some holes and call it a day. Combining this step with the other key lawn care components on this list is the best way to ensure you’re keeping your yard healthy. It’s also a good idea to complete these steps in a specific order and at specific times of the year. With aeration, you want to do it about once a year when your grass is growing at its peak rate. If you do it in the winter when the lawn is lying dormant, you might stress it out, which is never a good thing.

Mow

Most people with grass are already well aware that they’re going to have to mow it. But do you know the optimal length for your grass? You don’t ever want to cut off more than one-third of the length at a time. That way, you can avoid stressing your lawn unnecessarily.

The exact optimal height for your lawn is going to depend on what type of grass you’re growing. Those who are truly dedicated to their lawn care will know precisely what type of grass they have and will look up the corresponding length suggestions, but if you’re not quite that particular, just know that cool season grasses should be about three and a half inches tall, and warm season grasses should be between one half and one and a half inches tall.

Protect from Pests

Part of becoming a lawn care expert is knowing how to keep your yard free of weeds, disease, and any other kind of infiltrations. You should be on the lookout for trouble spots — maybe there’s a patch of grass that’s wilting or a clump that’s loose. As soon as you become aware of something wrong, you need to identify exactly what kind of interloper you’re dealing with. If you suspect invasive insects, you’ll have to figure out what kind they are before you try to get rid of them, and you’ll likely need to call in the experts to make that determination.

If it’s weeds that are causing you problems, then you’ll likely be in search of a good herbicide. Here’s a little lawn care tip: Apply the herbicide in warm weather so the weeds absorb it more fully, but not when it’s so hot that your yard would get stressed in the process.

What is professional turf management?

Pretty much just what it sounds like. We mentioned in the introduction that residential lawn care is just one facet of what turf management is — professional turf managers handle sports fields and golf courses, making sure athletes can perform well on grass that’s in tip-top shape.

A turf management or lawn care company can also do professional turf management at your home if you’re not feeling up to the task. We’ve laid out what you need to do, but not everybody has the time or inclination to take care of their yard. Leaving your yard in expert hands like Coastal Green will ensure that you’re getting professional-level lawn care.

Now you have all the answers to “What is turf management?”

Since you’ve made it to the end of this piece, you don’t need to wonder, “What is turf management?” We’ve explained what turf management is in all its facets. You’re well aware of what turf management can do for you, and you’re on your way to having the most enviable yard on the block. As we’ve said before, what turf management is to you can be a varied and individualized experience. You need to take the unique needs of your yard into consideration. Then, you can devise a lawn care plan that will address all those specific concerns.

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