Do my own lawn care
We all dream of having an exquisite lawn like a green carpet for our backyard, but how can I do my lawn care? Creating unique environments isn’t back-breaking, although the grass is one of the most intricate perennial herbs. You can keep the grass greener by mastering the art of maintaining your garden. Don’t worry, there are only gardening experiments, not big mistakes, to get the yard you’ve always wanted.
How can I do my own lawn care?
Your garden is your beloved masterpiece, but how do you enhance its beauty and increase its usefulness? An unmaintained lawn will get useless within no time, so you ought to give your turf what it needs and when it is required.
Timing is the most crucial component of lawn care. Your lawn can still be in a struggling condition even if you water, mow, aerate, and weed it precisely. Giving what your grass requires within the optimal time frame is the key for a lush lawn.
Nearly 72% of Americans do their lawn care, whether planting a garden or cutting the lawn. But a growing number also hire a professional lawn care service to attend to their needs.
This raises a question, Should I do my lawn care? You can keep the grass greener on the lush carpet of your backyard, along with some corrections in your schedule for maintenance.
How should I do my own lawn care?
With the right kind of soil and the right grass, let’s see how you can keep your backyard lawn green and mean for a healthy landscape.
Do my own lawn care by watering the soil
Give life to everything by watering your soil correctly. The general rule to watering your lawn is to water it heavily rather than watering it lightly many times a day. When you water it lightly, the water won’t make it deep into the soil, which would do us no good.
Watering rules vary according to the soil type, but the general rule says that you must water until the ground surface has an inch (2.5 cm) of water. By doing so, the water will soak up to 6 to 8 inches, encouraging the roots to penetrate deep into the ground.
You need to water your grass if the color changes from green to bluish grey and if it’s lost its regular bounce and freshness. The best time to water is in the morning, the water won’t evaporate quickly. Also, the lawn would be a calming and soothing solitude when the temperatures begin to escalate.
Ready, Set, Mow!
Another essential operation in the self-maintenance of your lawn care is mowing. A large turf over the ground will require more nutrients and water from the plant’s root system. With a smaller turf, the roots have less strain and thus encourages the grass to expand. Plants grow newer leaves when their blades are cut down to absorb extra sunshine.
Lawn care experts suggest mowing frequently and in varying patterns. This way, you can have a heavier, thicker lawn that is free from diseases and weeds. Make it a thumb rule never to cut more than a third of the grass. Otherwise, the plant may lose its photosynthesizing ability. For a healthier and cleaner cut, ensure that your mower blades are sharpened.
Adding nutrients via fertilizer
The fertilizer’s role is to add nutrients to the soil to be carried to the grass. Regular mowing will escalate the growth of the grass, so your turf is now going to require more nutrients than any average plant. Soil can provide nutrients to its native plants, but it may need some external care to feed your grass.
I can do my lawn care by spreading a slow-acting granular fertilizer that may yield effective results by fertilizing once or twice a year. This can be done more easily via the cresco spreaders that help you care for your masterpiece.
Granular fertilizer is known to release nutrients over several months, unlike the water-soluble spray fertilizer, which directly acts on the leaves. The addition of manure and compost as natural fertilizers is also a good choice.
Periodic Aeration is essential
When soil gets compacted, oxygen cannot reach the microbes responsible for breaking down the organic matter present in the soil and enriching it with nutrients. This is caused due to the result of heavy foot traffic and frequent mowing. If you want to keep your lush lawn healthy, then the golden rule is to aerate it periodically so that the compacted soil is aerated.
Shallow holes are formed in the soil by removing narrow sections via power core-aerators and manual aerators. The soil is revitalized, the holes spread organic material, water, and air in the ground. The cresco spreader evenly distributes the fertilizer in your lawn and aeration enhances the effect of the fertilizers. The best time to aerate your lawn is every fall and spring to avoid compact soil.
Pay close attention to Weeds
While you do your lawn care, the most important aspect is to look out for weeds. The modern mixture of grass these days is extremely competitive itself, so there are chances that it will crowd out the weed. Your grass is weaker if a lot of weeds are popping up in your lawn. Such signs indicate that either you are cutting your grass too short, your soil is water-logged, or deficient.
Weeds are a good sign of a lush green, healthy lawn as they tend to grow in enriched soil. Weeds don’t do much harm in small numbers, and almost all lawns have some weeds. If you deal with weeds in more significant numbers, spraying with low toxicity herbicide on individual weeds may help.
Fighting Diseases in your lawn
Healthy grass can withstand well with fungus, but it tends to develop diseases frequently. Fungi feeding on the grass plants give rise to diseased lawns. You can fight this problem with the assistance of a fungicide readily available at any garden center.
Pest Control for a thriving lawn
Bugs are going to make their home on your lawn, but they will not be able to harm your grass that much. Similar to weed control, pest control involves spraying insecticide to kill harmful insects. You need not worry about the pests if you have a greener, thriving, healthy lawn. Having ants and spiders in your lawn will help you get rid of lawn pests, so you might consider keeping them around.
- Rolling your lawn
Rolling is done to keep the lawn leveled surface, keep the grass anchored securely to the soil, and that the surface of the lawn gets firm. Rolling allows the seedling to come in contact with the soil easily to boost the germination process. It also allows us to eliminate clods of soil and low spots.
Raking and Scraping of Lawn
A hard crust may be formed at the lower end of the lawn, giving the lawn a matty and woody appearance. This can be avoided by lawn care. Scraping the soil at ground level via a sickle in April and May could help to break the hard crust. This hard crust does not allow the cresco spreaders to revitalize the soil with necessary nutrition.
Raking is done after scraping to break down the accumulated crust. By raking it in, you can help with aerating the soil properly, and water can thus go deeper into the ground.
How should I do my lawn care? – 6 mistakes to avoid if you want a lush green landscape
Having a lush green landscape in your backyard makes up for a place where you find yourself going when you need to lose yourself. It’s your own private space. By making some changes in your maintenance schedule, you can time all your lawn work so that you have the best-looking lawn in the neighborhood.
Late application of weed preventers:
Crabgrass and other weeds are prevented by using pre-emergent herbicides to stop the germination of their seeds. Applying weed preventers in the growing season is the most effective way to prepare your lawn against weeds.
It is crucial to apply the weed preventers before the germination time as they won’t be effective if weeds have already started growing.
Not paying attention towards enriching your soil:
It is vital to add fertilizers to the soil. When you bag up clippings and mow the grass, eventually, the soil will exhaust its nutritional elements. In short, the nutrients are used up with the growth of the grass. Using a cresco spreader for enriching your soil with nutrients might help. You can get a soil test done annually to know the right amount of fertilizer required for your soil.
Correctly aerating your lawn:
How can I do my lawn care by aerating? Aeration is essential for the soil as it will assist the water in penetrating deep into the ground to reach the plant’s roots.
With time, the soil of your lawn will get compact due to heavy traffic and accumulation of thatch. It is crucial to water the lawn before aerating. You cannot penetrate water in the dry soil deeply.
Perfect time to treat broadleaf weeds:
Broadleaf weeds like creeping Charlie, dandelions, and clover can invade your lawn and spread over the entire area relentlessly. Using an organic spray weed killer and the granular weed-and-feed product, you can keep the weeds in check.
Under optimal conditions, weed killers are highly efficient. Granular products can be used on a dewy morning and organic spray herbicide on sunny days.
Irrigating your lawn at the wrong time
Extended summer dry spells call for plenty of irrigation, or else your lawn will lose its lush green touch. Any lawn and grass require at least some water to look fresh and crisp. Do not water your lawn in the evening; instead, give your lawn an early morning drink.
Prolonged wetness due to night-time watering may increase the risk of diseases. During the day, the water may evaporate before the roots even get the chance to imbibe it.
Not mowing frequently
Mowing has a significant effect on the overall appearance and health of your lawn. Frequent mowing yields thick, luxurious green grass, which makes your lawn a lot healthier. Keep in mind not to cut more than one-third of the height of the grass.
Mowing is essential as short grass requires less water, the roots have less strain, thus allowing the grass to expand. The well-mowed lawn is also beneficial for keeping fleas and ticks at bay as both seek hideout in tall grass.
What Should I not do when I do my own lawn care?
An exquisite, dreamy, and lush green lawn doesn’t happen all by itself. A ‘perfect’ lawn can be a bit less than ideal as you face weeds, spiders, or other plant diseases. But you can keep your lawn healthier by keeping in mind what to do and what mistakes to avoid.
For a greener, weed-free lawn, you can practice good lawn care maintenance with the required cresco equipment and products. Lawn Care is affordable and a simple task if you are experienced, educated, and all up for experimenting with new things.
