Beginner's guide to lawn care and turfgrass management

Name: Beginner's guide to lawn care and turfgrass management
Rating: 4.5 (12 reviews)

How applying basic principles of mowing, irrigation, and fertilizing can land you a lush, green, healthy lawn

Created byScott Dworak

Last updated 6/2025

English

What you'll learn

Distinguish between the major turfgrass species used for home lawns and similar turf and learn why some turfgrasses are better suited than others
Learn how turfgrass plants grow and develop and apply those principles to promote a healthy lawn or turf
Recognize what makes a lawn and similar turf healthy and visually appealing
Understand how much, how often, and when mowing, irrigation, and fertilization affect lawns and similar turf.
Identify the major environmental stresses that lawns and turf face and develop strategies to mitigate them
Identify common weeds and diseases found in lawns and learn how best to prevent them year after year--with or without pesticides.
Use a lawn calendar as a simple tool to promote a lush, green, healthy lawn or similar turf

Course content

15 sections • 54 lectures • 10h 59m total length

Course outline1:51
After completing this lecture, students will be familiarized with the course content, be introduced to lawn care and turfgrass management, and understand different functions of turf and the main turf cultural practices.
Introduction to lawn care and turfgrass management4:20
After completing this lecture, students will be able to describe what a lawn and turf are, explain what turfgrass management is and involves, and list the three main types of turf.
Turf function, cultural practices, and proper lawn care3:59
After completing this lecture, students will be able to identify the three main cultural practices of turfgrass management and list the five main components that compose proper lawn care.

Turfgrass morphology and propagation10:30
After completing this lecture, students will be able to explain why turfgrass can persist under regular mowing, identify the main parts of a turfgrass plant, identify the important functions of roots, describe how turfgrass plants propagate, and justify how turf growth habit contributes to repairing turf damage.
Two main types of turfgrass and factors that affect their growth10:42
After completing this lecture, students will be able to identify the factors the affect turfgrass growth, recognize the fundamental differences between cool-season turfgrasses and warm-season turfgrasses, and explain how soil conditions and mowing affect turfgrass growth.

Essentiality of water for turfgrass growth10:48
After completing this lecture, students will be able to explain why water is essential for turfgrass growth, cooling, and nutrient uptake and describe how transpiration and evapotranspiration contribute to turf water loss.
Environmental factors that affect evapotranspiration11:02
After completing this lecture, students will be able to identify the five major environmental factors that affect evapotranspiration, explain how increases and decreases of each of these factors drive this process, and justify why the minimum amount of water use varies with the type of turfgrass and turf function.

Fundamental differences between cool-season and warm-season turfgrasses4:52
After completing this lecture, students will be able to describe the fundamental differences between cool-season turfgrasses and warm-season turfgrasses and their environmental limitations.
Common cool-season turfgrass species used primarily for lawns12:45
After completing this lecture, students will be able to identify the common cool-season turfgrass species used primarily for lawns and recognize the major differences among them.
Common warm-season turfgrass species used primarily for lawns9:43
After completing this lecture, students will be able to identify the common warm-season turfgrass species used primarily for lawns and recognize the major differences among them.
Comparing the traits, adaptability, and other features among turfgrass species23:23
After completing this lecture, students will be able to recognize that some turfgrass species have better adaptations than others do and that no single species is superlative to others and justify why some species may be better suited than others under certain conditions.

Visual quality, density, and other parameters used to measure turf quality11:16
After completing this lecture, students will be able to describe how turf is measured by visual quality, density, percent green cover, and texture.
Uniformity, color, and other parameters used to measure turf quality15:00
After completing this lecture, students will be able to describe how turf is measured by uniformity, color, smoothness, and recuperative capacity.

Soil components and organic matter17:34
After completing this lecture, students will be able to describe what soil is, list the main components that make up soil and soil organic matter, and justify how soil organic matter affects soil properties and, ultimately, turf.
Soil aeration, texture, and pH16:23
After completing this lecture, students will be able to explain soil aeration and texture, describe how soil texture ultimately affects turf, define soil pH, and identify major things that affect soil pH

Mowing stress and height of cut21:37
After completing this lecture, students will be able to explain why mowing is a type of stress and how to minimize this stress, compare and contrast the effects of changing the mowing height, particularly lowering it.
Effects of mowing height on turf8:16
After completing this lecture, students will be able to characterize how mowing height affects various turf parameters, weed pressure, and rooting.
Effects of mower blade sharpness and returning clippings6:22
After completing this lecture, students will be able to justify how mower blades affect turf smoothness and defend why returning the clippings is ideal for lawns.

Importance of water7:46
After completing this lecture, students will be able to recognize the three main questions often asked about irrigation and justify why water is important for turf.
How much to irrigate15:52
After completing this lecture, students will be able to appreciate how much water a lawn typically uses in a week, recognize that different turfgrass species have different rates of evapotranspiration, and describe how different root lengths and soil types affect turfgrass water use.
How often to irrigate16:13
After completing this lecture, students will be able to determine the irrigation needs of a lawn turf and explain how various irrigation strategies can be applied to achieve the desired quality.
When to irrigate4:02
After completing this lecture, students will be able to explain when the optimal time of day to irrigate is and justify why certain times are better than others.

Nutrient elements and turfgrass composition7:19
After completing this lecture, students will be able to describe what fertilization does and identify the major nutrient elements that compose typical turfgrasses.
Nitrogen fertilizer and leaching10:52
After completing this lecture, students will be able to justify why nitrogen is so important to turfgrass, explain how nitrogen affects turf, describe why leaching can be a major risk, and justify why returning clippings is ideal.
Quick- and slow-release nitrogen fertilizers18:34
After completing this lecture, students will be able to compare and contrast quick-release fertilizers and slow-release fertilizers, recognize the various formulations of fertilizers, and explain the primary components of a fertilizer label.
Effects of nitrogen on turf9:14
After completing this lecture, students will be able to describe the effects of nitrogen fertilizer on various aspects of turfgrass growth and physiology and explain the various factors that affect typical turf nitrogen use rates.
Phosphorus and its effects on turf6:54
After completing this lecture, students will be able to describe why phosphorus is important for turfgrass, justify why phosphorus is typically applied to newly seeded turfgrass, and recognize the various types of phosphorus carriers.
Potassium and its effects on turf3:56
After completing this lecture, students will be able to describe why potassium is important for turfgrass and recognize the various types of potassium forms.
Fertilizing cool-season turf13:19
After completing this lecture, students will be able to justify why the timing of fertilizer applications of cool-season turf is important and recognize the ideal months for achieving optimal, healthy, cool-season turf.
Fertilizing warm-season turf4:15
After completing this lecture, students will be able to justify why the timing of fertilizer applications of warm-season turf is important and recognize the ideal time of year for achieving optimal, healthy, warm-season turf.

Requirements

No lawn care or similar experience needed. You'll learn everything you need to know.

Description

This comprehensive course provides a solid foundation for anyone seeking to establish, maintain, and improve his or her lawn while exploring the science of turfgrass management. Designed for beginners, the course is structured around 15 detailed modules that address key aspects of lawn care, combining theoretical knowledge with practical application.

The journey begins with Module 1, which introduces lawn care principles and turfgrass management. Modules 2 through 5 delve into turfgrass growth, turfgrass–water relations, species diversity, and turf quality, equipping participants with an in-depth understanding of the factors that contribute to a lush, healthy lawn.

The course emphasizes the role of healthy soil in Module 6, exploring the critical impact soil has on turf. Essential lawn care practices such as proper mowing (Module 7), irrigation (Module 8), and fertilization (Module 9) ensure participants master the core tasks for a vibrant lawn.

Participants will also learn advanced cultivation techniques in Module 10 as well as step-by-step guides for establishing new turf or renovating existing turf in Module 11. The next three modules provide key knowledge and strategies to combat various turf problems such as stress (Module 12), weed infestation (Module 13), and disease (Module 14). Lastly, Module 15 provides practical lawn calendars for easy and effective scheduling of lawn care management tasks.

Whether you’re a homeowner or aspiring turfgrass manager, this course equips you with the skills and confidence to maintain a beautiful, healthy lawn all year long.

Who this course is for:

Homeowners, lawn care professionals, and others interested in learning how to maintain lush, green, healthy grass with scientifically proven methods

Beginner's guide to lawn care and turfgrass management

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction3 lectures • 10min

Turfgrass growth2 lectures • 21min

Turfgrass–water relations2 lectures • 22min

Turfgrass species4 lectures • 51min

Turf quality2 lectures • 26min

Soil basics2 lectures • 34min

Mowing3 lectures • 36min

Irrigation4 lectures • 44min

Fertilization8 lectures • 1hr 14min

Cultivation2 lectures • 21min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: