Lawn care is one of the more important parts of home maintenance. A well-maintained lawn can be a source of pride for homeowners, and it makes your home more attractive to potential buyers. However, lawn care can be time-consuming and difficult if you’re not sure how to do it.
If you want to get your lawn looking great, read on for some tips on how to start.
Mowing Your Lawn
Mowing is one of the most basic tasks when it comes to lawn care. The goal is to cut off as much grass as possible without cutting into the roots or leaves of your grass.
This means you shouldn’t cut too short or too long; instead, aim for an inch or two above the soil level.
Watering Your Lawn
Watering is another major part of lawn care. If your lawn doesn’t get enough water, it will die out quickly and become patchy in appearance.
Too much water can also cause problems; it can lead to fungus growth in places where there are clumps of grass and cause damage to plants and soil alike. If you don’t know how much water your yard needs, check with a local nursery or garden center before starting any watering regimen at home.
Weeding
Weeds are pretty much everywhere. They grow quickly and have a tendency to spread, especially when they have not been treated with herbicides or pesticides. They can also be very difficult to get rid of once they have established themselves in your garden. If you want to keep your lawn looking good, it is important that you take time out each week to weed it.
This will allow sunlight through so that new shoots can grow more quickly and effectively than if they were being choked by weeds.
Cutting Back
Cutting back overgrown grass is another way of improving the appearance of your lawn without spending too much money or effort on it. Simply trimming off some of the long blades can make a huge difference in how thick and healthy your grass looks.
It will also help stop weeds from spreading as easily across the surface of the soil as they would if they were allowed to grow unchecked for too long.
Rake it in
If you’ve just had new turf laid down or you’re looking after an established lawn, it’s important to rake regularly with a metal rake so that you can remove any dead grass blades or leaves that have fallen on top.
This will help prevent the disease from spreading through your lawn and also make sure that any fertilizer you apply is distributed evenly across the surface rather than just on top of long grass blades where it could burn into the roots of young plants.
Breathe some air back in
If you’ve ever seen a lawn that looks like it’s been covered with a thin layer of plastic, you’ll know what this step is all about.
Aerating your lawn helps to relieve soil compaction and encourages root growth. There are lots of different tools available for aerating, but if you don’t have one then use a fork or spade instead (just don’t go too deep).
A good, natural feed
A balanced fertilizer applied at least once a year will give your lawn everything it needs to keep growing healthily all year round. Check out our magazine article on how to choose a fertilizer for your garden here. And don’t forget to spread any leftover fertilizer onto flowerbeds too.
Care and repair
The best way to look after your lawn is to regularly mow it to the correct height (usually between 20mm and 30mm). You should also remove any dead leaves from the surface of your lawn. If you have an irrigation system installed on your property then you should also keep this clean and maintained regularly (once every three months).
Finally, if there are any bare patches in your lawn then these can be filled using an organic material like compost or horse manure.
Final Thoughts
Some people prefer to enlist the help of a professional lawn care service that specializes in all aspects of lawn maintenance. However, it might be worth your while to learn as much as you can about the process and tackle it yourself. After all, what’s better than doing something yourself and saving a little money in the process?
