If you live in a house and have a lawn to take care of, these are some of the most important tips to keep in mind that will help you maintain your lawn and keep it in top notch condition.
Prune at the Right Time
Pruning may actually be one of the most important garden tasks that you have to regularly do in order to keep your lawn and plants healthy. Pruning helps your plants regenerate and grow. However, you can’t prune at just any random time throughout the year.
It’s best that you prune the old branches off your trees in late winter and during spring time. In winter, most of the branches get disfigured by ice and snow that has been piling up on top of them. These old branches can completely ruin the appearance of your lawn and make it look like it’s not properly maintained. So, twice a year, once in winter and once in spring, make sure to thoroughly go through the branches and see which ones need to be pruned.
You can start by removing all of the unwanted lower branches on your shrubs and evergreen trees and then slowly move up towards the upper branches. In addition to that, you also need to make sure you are regularly pruning the spring-flowering shrubs at the end of spring season when the flowers have faded. Lastly, at the end of winter season, don’t forget to prune the summer-flowering shrubs.
Mow at the Highest Setting on the Mower
Mowing your lawn regularly is also an important factor in keeping your lawn tidy and maintained. Use a lawn mower to trim the tip of the grass and cut it short to a tall height of approximately 3-1/2 to 4 inches. The goal is to keep your grass tidy but tall enough at the same time. Taller grass is highly beneficial for your lawn because it blocks weed sprouts, shades the ground, and creates the right environment and conditions for beneficial microbes.
In addition to that, by leaving your grass tall, you help your lawn focus on the root growth which as a result boosts your lawn’s disease resistance too. After you have mowed your lawn, make sure you leave some of the grass clippings on your lawn. This is highly beneficial for your lawn since these grass clippings return some of the most important nutrients back into the lawn.
Choose the Fertilizer Well
Apart from pruning and mowing, you also need to give your garden the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and maintained. That is why you need to use fertilizers and not just any fertilizer. You need to know exactly what kind you need for your lawn. You just have to know how to read the label. Every bag or package of fertilizer has three numbers indicating the contents of said fertilizer. These numbers show you the concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in that exact same order and in percentages. These numbers will help you select the best fertilizer for your lawn.
Another great tip that can help you feed your garden with the most important nutrients is that you need to mix the right amount of fast release and sow release fertilizers. This will help you maintain and control your lawn growth. Lastly, this technique gives an instant boost to vegetation and adds extra nutrients.
As for the types of fertilizers, the most preferable option is the synthetic kind of fertilizer since they can help improve the soil health as well.
Aerate the Lawn during spring or fall
This is a task done annually. Once a year, you should aerate your lawn to keep it healthy. Hoe is done? All you need to do is remove plugs of soil by using a lawn aerator. Use it at specified diameter tines and make sure to remove the plugs at a depth of around 3 inches. Also, try your best to aerate the soil on its dry side. However, if it helps you can find the soil that is moist just enough to help you penetrate the tines more easily. By aerating your soil, you are helping to protect it from thatch build-up, compaction, and many diseases.
Water the Lawn Occasionally and Deeply
Watering your lawn not just frequently, but deeply as well is very important. By watering your lawn thoroughly and regularly enough, you are helping the roots stay hydrated and healthy, thus promoting more healthy growth. The best times of the day to water your lawn are early in the morning and late in the evening. By doing so, you will help prevent your lawn from water loss in the sun. To be able to easily cover the whole lawn without making multiple trips back and forth, consider investing in a high-quality garden hose that can easily reach all of the corners of your backyard.
Take Care of Water Runoff
Sometimes, water may run off and over the lawn and this can end up creating deposits of clay soil and a steep slope. In addition to that, it may also uproot vegetation in our backyard. To prevent this from happening, make sure to install an effective drainage system in your backyard. This is especially useful for rainy seasons. You can also add caged ripraps in case your lawn is too steep. This will help channel all of the unwanted water towards the lower levels of your lawn, thus preventing the flood and other damages.
Keep on Cleaning Up Leaves
Lastly, making sure to clean up the leaves regularly is just as important as everything else we’ve mentioned so far. However, it’s not just important to do this task in fall. Some of the trees, like oaks, tend to shed their leaves during other seasons as well, like during winter and spring time. So, be ready to have maintenance responsibilities even during that period. In addition to that, don’t forget to remove debris and heavy leaves piled up around the compound. They can create mould and decaying matter.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many ways to maintain and keep your lawn healthy and tidy. Making sure you water it well, feed it with the right nutrients, and prune your plants are just some of the responsibilities you have to keep up with if you want to keep your lawn in a top condition. If you can’t maintain your lawn, you can hire commercial lawn maintenance in Dubois PA to achieve best results.
