There is no substitute for a great yard to turn a house into a home. Not only does it make your house more inviting, but it gives your family and friends a place to come together for great fun and relaxation. During those times you need to stay in, a lush, green yard provides the perfect oasis to escape to. But the seasons can be brutal on your lawn maintenance.
9 Lawn Maintenance Tips to Keep Your Grass Green All Year
With sun and rain come dry spots, weeds, and more that make your lush grass into a brown eyesore. To keep your home as beautiful as a warm spring day, we have compiled 5 lawn maintenance tips to keep your grass healthy and vibrant year-round.
Mow Your Grass
Nothing is more important to keeping your yard looking fantastic than consistently mowing your grass, but it’s not as simple as rolling your equipment over your lawn. If done improperly, you can cause lasting damage to the grass. Before you even bust your mower out, you need to make sure you are properly maintaining your blades and know the length you should cut your grass.
Maintaining Your Mower Blade
A dull blade can mean that as you mow, you’re not cutting the grass but actually pulling the grass out of the ground, creating an opening for pests and fungi to take hold of your grass. Luckily, it can be incredibly easy to sharpen your blade. Remove the blade and run a 10-inch sharp file down the top side of the cutting edge to maintain the longest-lasting blade edge. After about 50 strokes, it should be ready to go!
Know Your Grass Height
Simply cutting the grass as short as possible to mow less frequently can blow up in your face when pests and sun damage wreaks havoc. There are warm-season and cool-season grasses that have their specific needs, but every variety has slight differences so knowing what kind of grass is in your yard and its ideal height will keep it looking in top shape every season.
Cool-season grasses will be at their optimal height in the fall and spring and typically have an ideal height between 1 and 4 inches. Warm-season grasses will be at their optimal height in summer and have ideal heights between 0.5 and 3 inches.
Vary Your Watering by Season
From drought-like summers to rain-soaked winters, having the same setting year-round on automatic sprinklers can destroy all the hard work that goes into proper lawn maintenance. On average, grass needs between an inch and an inch-and-a-half of water per week, so to avoid flooding the yard in the winters and drying it out during the summer, spread the amount of watering over the course of the week.
A half-inch on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the summer keeps the ground properly irrigated, but in the winter there will be times that there is no need to water at all because the rain will do it naturally. If a six-inch screwdriver can easily go into the ground, then the soil is perfect.
Check Your Water Level
Every sprinkler system is different, and the time to get to an inch-and-a-half will vary depending on what is installed. Place a rain gauge on the yard and time out how long it takes to get to a half-inch to get a good idea of how much time the sprinklers need to be run each day. Don’t have a rain gauge? Take an empty tuna can and place it in the yard as the sprinklers run. A tuna can is an inch tall so once it is halfway full, you’ll know how long it’ll take!
Get Rid of Pests Naturally
If the lawn is getting proper water and sun but there are still brown spots, chances are you have a pest problem. Surface pests and grubs often feed on the grass and can attract animals like raccoons and skunks that will dig to find the grub to eat. Most pests will be buried in thatch, a layer of dead grass and dirt accumulated right above the ground, making it difficult to diagnose exactly which kind of pest is causing the issues. Getting a professional with decades of experience who can quickly figure out the issue and the best ways to take care of it is key.
Nematodes to Meet Your Needs
One proven way to get rid of grubs is through the spraying of nematodes. Nematodes are naturally occurring microscopic worms that are the natural enemy to many of the pests that cause the grass to brown. Finding a certified technician to deal with the issue early can save you time and heartache over watching your once immaculate yard wither away. Not only do these treatments help kill the pests, but they naturally promote growth and health in the grass to save you money on replacing the damaged turf.
Core Aeration
As you enjoy your yard–playing games with your kids, having friends over for a barbeque, or even just laying out enjoying the sun–soil becomes compacted. This can strangle the roots, depriving them of space to grow and flourish. Core aeration is the process of puncturing small holes in the ground that will break up that compaction while giving the soil greater room to absorb water, nutrients, and fertilizer. It is often overlooked because of the need for bulky equipment, but it is vital to keeping your grass healthy.
To get the best effect, aerate right before the grass’ growing season. If it’s a warm-season grass, aerate in late spring or early summer before the heat fully comes in, and for cool-season turfs, aerate in the fall and pay attention to the forecasts for the season. The ideal time to aerate will be about four weeks before the first frost hits. Do this once a year and your yard will be as lush as it is in your dreams.
Have a Weed Killing FIESTA
Not a single person on the planet likes weeds. From dandelions to crabgrass, they nothing but eyesores and ruin all the great work you have put into your lawn maintenance. Weeds aren’t just a springtime issue, as there are so many varieties that each have different seasons. Normal store-bought weed killers can make the problems worse, killing plants that you want alive while leaving terrible odors.
Weed-A-Way has developed an anti-weed application that is mineral-based so it doesn’t hurt the environment. It’s called FIESTA. It predominately uses iron in its formula, so there is no horrible smell that’s dangerous to breathe in. Within one day, the results will be clear as the weeds die and people and pets can safely walk on the grass. A week later you’ll be able to see the strangled lawn begin to thrive.
Making Memories With Your Lucious Lawn
If you want to keep your lawn a vibrant green that your neighbors envy, speak to us at Weed-A-Way. With four decades of experience in lawn maintenance, we know all the tips and services to give you the yard to make memories all year.
