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An immaculate lawn is a pride of many homeowners. To keep your lawn looking healthy and lush all year round, you need to make sure you give it the proper care that it needs. Caring for lawns go beyond just cutting and watering. Getting lawn care help and tips from the experts can help you create lawns that are exceptional in every way.
If you are looking for lawn care help, look no further.
Watering
Watering is a very important aspect of lawn care. When you water, how you water and how much water you give your lawn affect the quality of your grass. Here are some things to consider:
- The best time to water your lawn is in the early morning, before 9am. Watering in the morning allows the sun to dry the water that’s left on the leaves, which helps prevent molds and fungi.
- It’s much better to water less frequently but watering for a longer duration, than watering lightly often. This is because when you water lightly, water only reaches the top of your soil. Whereas when you water longer, you allow the water to penetrate deep into the soil, encouraging the roots of your grass to extend deeper.
- Your grass needs about 3/4” of water in order to thrive. This includes the water it gets from rainfall. The best way to determine if your lawn is getting enough water is to measure it! Get a can and place them around your lawn. Turn on your sprinkler system for about 30 minutes. Then, check your cans to see how much water your cans got.
- A common problem for many homeowners is uneven watering. In many cases, you have areas that get sufficient water, areas that are over watered and areas that are parched. Getting a good sprinkler system will help towards a healthy and lush lawn.
- How do you know when it’s time to water the lawn? This can be a tricky question to answer. Soil condition, weather and the type of grass on your lawn affects the how often water needs to be replenished. One way of telling is to do the footprint test. When you notice footprints staying in the grass for considerably long periods of time after you’ve made them, that’s a sign that your grass is ready for some water.
- Take care not to over water the lawn. Too much water and you create a condition that makes your grass susceptible to diseases. However, if you do the opposite and do not water your lawn often enough, it becomes susceptible to weeds.
Applying Fertilizer
- When applying fertilizer, you need to use the right kind of fertilizer for your lawn. The condition of your soil will determine what nutrients you need to put in. If you can have it tested, that will give you the exact composition of your soil and the exact amount of nutrients that you need.
- Most lawns are happy to be fertilized once a year. But if you would like to apply fertilizer 2 to 3 times a year that’s okay, too. Even better, actually.
- The timing of your fertilizer application will depend on the type of grass that you have. You need to time it during periods of grass growth. For warm season grasses, this is usually around early spring or summer. For cool season grass, this is in early spring and late fall.
- Some things to avoid when fertilizing: avoid fertilizing on a damp lawn. Fertilize when the lawn is dry. After distributing the fertilizer, water the lawn to help push the fertilizer into the soil. Also, avoid fertilizing near the time when the leaves go into dormancy for winter. This helps prevent the grass from growing new shoots too close to winter, which makes them susceptible to snow mold and winter frost.
Trimming the Lawn
- When mowing the lawn, take care to only cut the top 1/3 of the leaves and no more. Cutting too much limits the amount of food that the leaves can make. Starved grass results in stunted growth.
- Make sure you use sharp blades to mow your lawn. A clean cut “heals” faster, and also results in less water loss for the plant.
- Mulching is always a great idea. It helps deposit nutrients that your lawn needs. It can cut landfill waste by about 10%. And when you don’t have to bag grass clippings, it means less time spent on your lawn.
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