by Catharine Beale

Created on: June 14, 2008   Last Updated: February 15, 2010

Most Americans learn all about lawn care by watching TV commercials.

Big mistake. What other product would you buy just because you saw an ad that says you need it?

And yet, this is precisely how the world's biggest lawn care products company corners the market. Not just on fertilizer and weedkiller, but on things like grass seed and pesticides.

Scotts Miracle-Gro wants you to believe they wrote the book on How To Grow Grass.

That's ridiculous. Scotts wants to make its shareholders happy, and that's only going to happen if Scott's makes money.  So they hire an agency to create TV commercials for them.  These 60-second spots are NOT educational.  But they are a sales pitch. They want you to buy their stuff. And they're very good at that. After all, homeowners coast to coast study fertilizer and pesticide ads like there was going to be a test on it next Monday. Then they practice it all at home, clueless that you don't need all those things to grow Grass, and you do need others that those advertisers left out.

Learn from TV commercials? That's like asking General Motors to help you pick out a car. Like asking MacDonald's to do your meal planning. Or Dell to tell you which computer to buy. Talk about conflict of interest.

Growing grass is not rocket science. It's easy. It's inexpensive. Some people even think it's fun. Here's what you need to know:

Step 1 - Get your soil tested. To grow beautiful grass, you need beautiful soil. What's in your soil? You don't know! A soil test will tell you that. And you'll save money, because you won't be adding anything your soil already has.

Step 2 - Pick the right seed. This is not the place to cut corners. Breeders coast to coast work 24/7 inventing Tomorrow's Grass Seed and out-grow the competition. New grass does a lot of things it never could before - like Supina Bluegrass, which grows in the shade. Get a premium, top rated seed for your area and conditions based on the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program: www.ntep.com.

Step 3 - Mow, mow, mow your lawn. Researchers at University of California at Davis say it again and again: 'No single height is best for all turfgrasses... Each Grass species will be healthier and have a deeper root system the higher the Grass is mowed.' Get the height right and mow twice a week when it's in full growth - that's Spring and Autumn for cool-season grass, mid-Summer for warm-season grass. Also: Leave clippings to break down on the lawn. And never mow wet grass.

Step 4 - Water

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>