The lawn is one of the most critical aspects of your garden. It provides ample space for your children to play about, furry friends to enjoy, and for you to entertain, relax and sunbathe during summer. A healthy, green lawn also brings life to your outdoor space, improves curb appeal, and increases the value of your home. In this article, we highlight eight top maintenance tips to create a picture-perfect lawn.
1. Mow the lawn regularly
The first step to a picture-perfect lawn is regularly mowing the top third of your grass. Regular mowing enables the roots to spread, which is critical to filling out gaps, blocking weeds, and eliminating drying and brown spots. How frequently you mow your lawn depends on current weather conditions and the time of the year. For instance, you should cut the grass regularly in the summer and spring seasons as grass grows faster in warmer months.
Be sure to leave the grass clippings on your lawn. This is because the clipping returns nutrients to the soil. You should also not mow when the grass or soil is wet because this could prevent future growth and damage your lawn.
2. Establish a watering routine
Watering your lawn regularly helps keep the grass feeling and looking healthy throughout the year. The frequency and amount of watering often depend on the weather conditions and soil type within your locality. Water your lawn two to three times a week and more frequently during dry summer months.
Be sure to water your lawn early, between 6AM and 10AM. This allows the water to penetrate the soil before it evaporates in the heat once the sun rises. Do not water the grass in the evening because water will likely cling onto the leaves at night, encouraging mildew and pests. You should also be careful not to overwater your lawn. Overwatering results in flooding, which causes significant damage to the yard.
3. Feed your lawn
If you want a healthy, lush green lawn, consider incorporating fertilizer into your lawn care routine. Be sure to fertilize your lawn twice a year: once in autumn with high-level potash and phosphate fertilizer and in spring with a nitrogen-rich lawn fertilizer. Be careful not to use the wrong fertilizer type, apply too much feed, or use inadequate water with the fertilizer, as this results in fertilizer burn, which could damage your lawn.
Be sure to contact Soils Alive for organic fertilizer and growth treatments that will help to make the soil healthier leading to thicker and greener grass on your lawn. In addition, organic lawn fertilizers are free from potentially harmful chemicals, meaning your kids or furry friends can play on the lawn immediately after the fertilizer application.
4. Weed the lawn
Unwanted plants or weeds make your lawn look unattractive and damage your yard, as they compete with grass for nutrients and room. To keep weeds at bay, devise a weed control and removal strategy through mowing, deep watering, and fertilizing effectively.
Be sure to seek professional landscaping services for stubborn weeds like crabgrass and broadleaf. A professional can help eliminate these hard-to-kill weeds with a precise herbicide formula without damaging your lawn.
5. Enhance drainage
If your lawn has poor drainage, it could become waterlogged for days or weeks. This could compromise your lawn’s health, so you should consider improving drainage. Here are some reasons for water buildup in your lawn and how you can fix the problem:
a) Garden topography
Your garden’s shape should entail a shallow slope to drive water away from your house. Any dips in the lawn cause water to pool on a single spot, damaging the roots and grass, so you should prevent waterlogging.
In case of waterlogging, consider investing in wet plants that do well in moisture areas, installing drains and gutters that direct excess rainfall from your lawn, or adjusting the gradient or reshaping the yard to improve drainage.
b) Soil permeability
Thick patches of thatch, root layers, high clay levels in the soil, and soil compaction often result in poor water absorption and drainage problems. Based on the severity of the problem, consider aerating your lawn to improve air and water flow to minimize surface build-up.
Changing the soil’s nature can also help you achieve desired drainage requirements. You can accomplish this by investing in suitable plants for the current soil type or adding organic materials that gradually adjust the soil.
6. Aerate your lawn
Your lawn often becomes compacted when it is heavily mowed or walked on. This becomes difficult for water and air to penetrate the grass’s root zone, preventing the absorption of essential growth nutrients, so you should aerate the lawn. Aeration involves using a garden fork or specialized tools and machines to create tiny holes in the ground at specific depths and intervals. These holes allow fertilizer, water, and air to penetrate.
7. Seed bare patches
Heavy human traffic, pets, and snow plows could damage some sections of your yard, necessitating reseeding. Prepare your lawn for reseeding by using a powerful herbicide to eliminate weeds. You should then invest in a hardy seed grass variety that can thrive in your location’s soil type and climate zone.
Next, aerate and rake your lawn for seeding. Finally, invest in a spreader to evenly distribute the seeds on your property. You should then fertilize and water the seeds regularly to aid germination. Adding a top dressing can also help protect the seeds while providing nourishment.
8. Hire professional lawn care services
Maintaining a picture-perfect lawn is challenging, time-consuming, and exhausting. Contact lawn care professionals to handle lawn care, repair, and maintenance. Professionals can aerate, mow, overseed, power rake, and control vegetation to help maintain a healthy, strong, and resilient turf. Professionals can also ensure you weed and fertilize your lawn appropriately and at the right time.
Endnote
Proper lawn care is the secret to making your home stand out within your neighborhood. Mow regularly, create a watering routine, feed, weed, and aerate your lawn, improve drainages, and reseed bare patches with the help of lawn care professionals to maintain a perfect lawn.
