The Basics Of Lawn Care

One of the most important outside chores is lawn care. It is almost considered an American pastime during the summertime. A trim, neat, and attractive lawn can give you a great sense of pride and ownership in your home. It is also less expensive to do the work yourself and you may find that it gives you a great deal of pride and satisfaction in realizing that even you can make your lawn beautiful. It is important that you keep several things in mind, however, to ensure that you stay safe and keep your lawn looking neat and beautiful all year long. Learning some lawn care basics can help you to accomplish the lawn that you want and deserve.

Before you begin taking care of your lawn, you first want to clear the lawn of anything that may cause you problems. This includes raking leaves, removing any debris, garbage, or unwanted brush, and ridding your yard of any dips or valleys. To rid any little valleys that may be in your lawn, all you have to do is use topsoil to fill the holes and then plant grass seed. A bump in an area that is sodded can be remedied by cutting across the bump in an X pattern and peeling it back for easy soil removal. Then you simply put the sod back. By clearing your lawn and leveling it, you will find that it makes mowing the lawn much easier and it will make your lawn look much more neat and beautiful.

Grass needs to be mowed on a regular basis during the growing season. How regular depends upon how quickly your type of grass grows and your climate, but you may need to mow your lawn once a week or even every two weeks. You need to adjust your lawnmower blades to ensure that no more than 1/3 of the grass' height is cut. This will help to keep the grass healthy and green. If you cut the grass too short, it becomes more susceptible to disease, which can harm your entire lawn.

Soil compaction is a problem that you want to watch for in your lawn care. Your soil can become hard under the grass after a period of time and this can make it very difficult for your grass to get proper moisture and can cause root problems. By aerating your lawn, you can make it easier for your soil to get air and moisture. Aerating the soil is done in one of two different ways. One includes simply punching holes in the soil and the other is called plugging. Plugging is when small plugs of soil around the size of a pencil are removed from the ground. Each of these methods allows water to get to the soil much better and it provides a place for helpful insects and bugs to thrive. You should aerate your lawn about once a year or so. If an aerator is not in your budget, they are available for rent.

Adding fertilizer to your lawn can help it to grow, too. Fertilizer is not a necessity, but it will give your lawn the right additives to enable it to become greener, thicker, and even more beautiful. You can apply it too liberally, though, and this can cause your lawn to die, so it is essential to monitor how much fertilizer you use. Fertilizer comes in tow different forms - liquid and granular. The granular form is dry and after you apply it, you will need to water your lawn. This form is easily spread over the lawn using a hand spreader or mechanical spreader. This kind of fertilizer lasts anywhere from two to three months. A liquid fertilizer is a fast-acting fertilizer that needs to be applied about every two weeks. It can be applied using a watering can or a hose-end sprayer, whichever you prefer.

Your lawn may not be healthy for children for several days after you apply the fertilizer, so keep that in mind. Give the fertilizer enough time to completely absorb into the surface before you allow your family to frolic on the grass. Many people’s lawns do not necessarily need fertilizer to have a beautiful lawn, but if your lawn does, then take the proper precautions.

Andrew Caxton enjoys writing for www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com . If you would like more information on this topic please checkout his website at lawn care

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The Basics Of Lawn Care
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