A Basic Lawn Care Guide to Mowing, Watering and Feeding How well a lawn is cared for can have a big impact on the overall look of the property. Even the beauty of the most gorgeous home, with stunning architecture and nestled in a prestigious area, can appear significantly less attractive and less valuable when its lawn remains unkempt. Most people understand this and do what they can to care for their lawn, but lawn care can almost be considered an art that not all participants have yet to master. Knowing the right techniques will surely help you have a more beautiful lawn for the time, money, and effort that you into it. Read on to learn the basics of how to mow, water, and feed a lawn. Mowing Mowing is at the heart of lawn care. Tall grass can make a lawn unsightly, but mowing improperly can also have a negative impact on a lawn’s appearance. No matter what type of mowing apparatus is used, be sure to use all required safety precautions, which are usually detailed in the equipment’s owner manual. Trimming height is the first consideration to make, as grass that’s cut too short can die off or just look unhealthy, due to shallow roots. Grass roots with the proper amount of shade grow deeply, reaching the water that’s stored within the soil, protecting grass during dry spells. As a general rule, mow at a height that lest the blades to stand about two inches tall during the warm season and three and a half inches during cool seasons. Mowing should be done in a pattern, going back and forth but never in a spiral. Move through it briskly to avoid clogging the blades of the mower. Keeping the mower at a medium speed helps you maintain control. The lower speeds are best for trimming borders or manoeuvring around corners and the high speed is simply for transporting the mower to where it’s to be used. Each time that you mow the lawn, be sure to change directions. This helps to ensure the lawn stays even. To make the work easier overlap each pass with the previously mowed area. That might sound like extra work, but it actually saves on the amount of time and energy used on this aspect of lawn care. Make it a habit of mowing early in the morning right after the morning dew has dried. Most lawns need mowing at least every two weeks, but mowing once a week is highly recommended. Watering How can you tell when it’s time to water your lawn? The lawn will tell you through its appearance. Look for grass that’s turned a bluish-green colour, as well as curled blades of grass, and noticeable footprints. These are indicators that it’s time to water. In general, lawns need about an inch of water weekly. To measure how long it takes for you to water up to an inch, simply mark a few plastic containers at the one inch mark and place them on the lawn during watering. The start watering and time how long it takes for these containers to be filled with an inch of water. Just as with mowing, watering should be done early in the morning. There are several methods you can use to water a lawn, with the most common being the use of portable sprinklers. Irrigations systems happen to be the most effective and environmentally sound, but they tend to be quite pricy. Your goal is to keep your lawn sufficiently watered while watering as infrequently as possible. In some areas, rules dictate how often and how much residents can water their lawns. Even still, overwatering can have a negative impact on grass roots and promote the growth of weeds.
Feeding All lawns need some type of food. What you feed your lawn depends on the season and condition of the grass. Nitrogen is essential to grass, helping ti have a luscious green colour, but it’s also easy to feed to a lawn. Simply leave the grass cuttings every other time you mow, allowing the cuttings to decompose and return to the soil. In order to promote a healthy root system, feed the lawn phosphate during autumn. Phosphate in the form of bone meal can simply be sprinkled over the grass. It only takes about a handful per square meter. This can be distributed by hand, or using a lawn feeding apparatus. Potash, while not essential, protects the lawn against drought and disease and can also be applied during autumn. A spring time application of potash is also acceptable. The best source of potash is well-rotted compost.