Lawn care professionals are often able to spot potential lawn problems and address them before they become serious. This proactive approach is key to having a healthy, green lawn.
Watering at the right time is important, as is having an efficient sprinkler system that waters deep down into the soil to promote healthy grass growth. Avoid overwatering, as this can encourage disease like dollar spot or red thread. Visit https://www.primecutlawnky.com/ to learn more.
Mowing a lawn properly is crucial for its health and beauty. It does more than just provide a manicured appearance – it actually contributes to the thickening of grass, and encourages lateral growth that helps the turfgrass resist weed invasions. Proper mowing techniques include mowing at the proper heights for each season, removing clippings or bagging them as desired, and alternating mowing directions each time you mow. These tips help you get the most from your lawn care service, while avoiding unnecessary stress on the turfgrass.
Regular mowing will also help you avoid the expensive and difficult task of getting rid of old clippings, which can be an ongoing challenge for homeowners. When mowing, try to never cut more than one-third of the leaf blade at any given time. This will prevent clumps of old clippings from smothering the young grass, and keep the mower blade sharp for a clean, healthy cut.
It is important to walk the lawn before mowing, and remove any toys, garden furniture or other items that could be mowed over. This will help prevent damage to lawn equipment and ensure that you are not mowing over or harming any plants.
Lawn maintenance services often include mowing, trimming, edging of hard surfaces and cleanup of debris and yard waste. These are great recurring revenue sources for lawn care companies, and help to ensure that the customer’s front and back yards are always looking their best.
In addition to regular mowing, a good lawn service should also provide annual fungicide treatments for the prevention of common diseases like brown patch and summer patch, as well as regular fertilization and weed control. Fertilizing and weed control are especially important in the fall, when a lawn is developing its winter food store.
A lawn care company that truly cares about their customers will employ all of these 10 tips for a thicker, healthier lawn and go beyond them to help the client get the most from their lawn service. They will also be able to identify any problems that may arise, and recommend the appropriate treatment for each of them.
Weeding
Lawn care services keep your grass healthy and beautiful by mowing regularly, edging beds, applying herbicides to kill weeds and fertilizing. Other lawn maintenance tasks include aerating, seeding and soil testing. Landscape contractors, on the other hand, transform outdoor spaces with construction and planting of trees, shrubs, hedges, flowers and lawns. They may also create hardscape features such as walkways, patios and fire pits.
Weeds can choke out turfgrass, competing with it for water, nutrients and sunlight. Annual weeds grow one season and die, but perennial weeds have deep roots that can survive for years, spreading by seed and usurping ground from desirable plants. To reduce the number of weeds in your yard, remove them as soon as they appear, especially when they are young. Pulling the weed by its roots is best, but if you need to use a tool, opt for a dandelion digger or fishtail weeder. Weeds are most easily removed when the soil is moist.
Herbicides can be used to control weeds when hand weeding fails or when the weeds are too large. Choose a selective herbicide, such as 2,4-D, that kills weeds but not the lawn grass. You can also use a systemic herbicide, such as glyphosate (Roundup), which travels through the weeds and into their roots, killing them.
Annual weeds can be killed by digging out the root or by using a postemergence herbicide such as gluphosinate ammonium, which kills weeds and other undesirable plants but not the turfgrass. Be sure to follow the label instructions carefully.
Seeding lawns can help fill in thin areas and encourage a dense growth that discourages weeds. Most turfgrasses benefit from a fall seeding.
When preparing to plant, dig holes that are twice as deep and as wide as the roots of the new plant and backfill with soil. Water the area generously afterward. Afterward, mulch the area to prevent weeds and to add organic material to the soil. Mulching is usually done in the spring and fall, but it can be done year-round. The mulch can be made of wood chips, gravel, stone or tree bark.
Fertilizing
Lawns need proper care throughout the year to keep them healthy and able to look their best. Keeping up with the basics such as mowing, weeding and fertilizing can help a lawn resist disease, pests, drought and heat waves. Fertilizing is a major part of this and can be done either by yourself or with the help of a professional.
The most important step in the process is testing your soil, which will tell you what nutrients are missing. It’s essential that you choose a fertilizer designed to be used with your type of grass. You’ll also need a season-specific fertilizer that’s been formulated to meet the specific needs of the season, such as one higher in nitrogen in spring for early growth and color and one lower in nitrogen in summer for proper moisture retention without scorching.
There are two broad categories of fertilizer: synthetic and organic. Synthetic fertilizers are made using man-made chemicals and are usually cheaper, but they’re also more harmful to the environment than organic fertilizers, which use natural materials such as dried blood, fish emulsion or even processed sewage to feed grass plants.
Granular, slow-release fertilizers are generally recommended for homeowners because they release their nutrients over a period of time rather than all at once. They’re also easier to control and have a larger margin of error than spray-on or liquid fertilizers.
For new lawns, starter fertilizers are available that contain both nutrients and herbicides to kill weeds while encouraging grass growth. Weed-and-feed fertilizers are another option that combine weed control with fertilization in a single product.
When applying any kind of lawn fertilizer, it’s important to follow all the instructions on the label. If it’s a synthetic chemical, wear gloves and eye protection and be careful not to spill any on surfaces that could stain. You should also follow any instructions regarding how long you need to wait before walking on the lawn and letting kids or pets back onto it.
A well-fed lawn will be able to withstand the harshest conditions, including drought, scorching sun and heat waves. However, not everyone has the time to fertilize their own yard regularly. Fortunately, Lawn Love can connect you with local lawn care professionals who can keep up with the basics such as mowing, trimming and weeding or handle more involved tasks like aerating, seeding, edging and fungicide treatments for preventative maintenance.
Aerating
Getting enough air and water to grass roots is crucial. This is why aerating the lawn should be a top priority for any homeowner who wants lush green grass. Aerating relieves soil compaction and increases oxygen and nutrient delivery to the grass root system, so it can grow deeper and stronger. Aerating also helps reduce thatch build-up, which limits grass growth and leaves the surface of your lawn looking brown and patchy.
Soil compaction can occur when a lawn gets heavy use — whether from cars driving on it, kids or pets playing in it or outdoor entertaining. Even new construction can cause a lawn to experience soil compaction, as the topsoil is scraped away and the lawn established on compact subsoil. In addition, some parts of the country experience heavy clay soil that compacts easily.
Aerating punctures small holes in the lawn to release excess compaction, allowing the roots of the grass to absorb more nutrients and oxygen. This makes the lawn thicker and healthier, which can help it resist weeds and tolerate drought and heat stress. It can even increase the effectiveness of weed killers because a healthy lawn chokes out weeds.
You can perform aeration on your own or hire a professional. If you choose to aerate your own lawn, there are two methods you can use — spike aeration or plug aeration. Spike aeration involves poking holes into the soil with a tool that has solid tines or a fork. Plug aeration, on the other hand, uses an aerating machine that actually removes plugs of earth from the lawn.
Aim to aerate your lawn at least once a year. The ideal time is in the fall, but you can do it in the spring or summer as well. When aerating, work in a crisscross pattern, making sure that each pass slightly overlaps the previous one.
It’s best to aerate when the soil is moderately damp, but not overly saturated. It’s also a good idea to aerate before overseeding, as the process can help the seeds to settle and get established.