Basic Lawn Care

By gardener | Jul 1, 2007

With the sound of roaring of engines and the smell of freshly cut grass, you know that summer has arrived. Everyone wants a beautiful, lush and well-kept lawn, one to be envied by all their neighbors and congratulated on by their parents. But for every one gorgeous lawn, there are 10 others in various states of problems and distress. The secret to having that “perfect” lawn is no miracle growth formula or hundreds of horticulturalists preserving your yard; it’s just good old fashioned work and sweat. Sure you can spend a fortune on a professional lawn service combined with a pest control service and grass fertilizer company but why should you? The fact is you don’t have to; you just need a few basic tips on how to get, keep and maintain the lushest lawn in your neighborhood.

Grass – it is best to go with a mixture of grass seeds rather than one particular type. The variety will help ensure a dense and healthy grass carpet. It is best to check with a few local nurseries to find out the best grasses for your local climate.

Mowing – never trim too low as this will cause your grass to “burn” or brown in the sunlight. It is best to either bag or rake up most of the clippings rather than leave them on the ground so your grass doesn’t turn yellow from lack of sunlight. How often you mow will be determined by you and the earth in so far as how much rainfall or watering has occurred since the previous mowing.

Aeration and adding top soil – you should do this every year in the spring in order to prepare your grass for the summer and the hot sun. The aeration will help with the growth while the top soil will add nutrients and stability.

Trimming – a well manicured lawn utilizes an old fashioned edge trimmer to create a deep furrow and clean edge. This tool should be used at least 4 times a year with an electric string trimmer doing the duty the other times.

Watering – too much water can be as harmful as too little. Please do not be a water waster by forgetting to turn off the sprinkler system if it is raining. You can purchase a rain sensor device for your sprinkler system at any do-it-yourself store. Grass tends to be fairly forgiving, so if you see browning, crisping or wilting, get to watering immediately. How much to water has always been a hot topic of conversation, but basically you should run your sprinklers for as long as it takes to get moist soil at least one to two inches below ground level.

Fertilizing and Weeding – weeds should be pulled or dug up out of the ground and placed in the trash; chopping or cutting them down will not make them go away as they are resilient little buggers. Unfortunately, any chemical treatment that effectively kills weeds will also kill your grass and flowers. As for fertilizing, check with your local nursery as to which compound is best for your lawn and remember to fertilize every spring and late fall.

With just a little effort and slightly more work, you too can have that lawn you have always drooled over but were never able to make a reality. You can take your Lawn Care to the next level by taking a look at Lawn Care which I know you will find of interest if you are dealing with a challenging lawn!

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