Staying home because of the pandemic comes with its perks – no more commute means there’s more time to sleep, you can wear sweatpants during video meetings, and you can finally tend to your neglected backyard.
An Object of Pride
A nice, green backyard lawn will be perfect for gatherings when they can finally happen or just days when you want to enjoy the sun. You can use these tips to take care of your backyard and have a backyard lawn void of itchy weeds and brown patches. It’s all about the best practices for when and how to mow, water, and feed the grass.
10 Tips for a Healthy Lawn
After the hard toil of reviving your lawn from the dead and ridding it of weeds, you can keep your lawn green with these tips:
- Don’t forget to feed your lawn regularly.
Be sure to replenish your lawn every six to eight weeks – the time it takes soil to process the nutrients. A healthy, thick lawn crowds out weeds and keeps the soil cool in the heat.
- Mow your lawn when the grass is long.
Especially in shady areas, wait until the grass is long enough so that you only mow one-third of its height –set your motor height to about 3 inches. Letting your grass grow allows for deeper roots that can reach moisture on hot days.
- Don’t mow frequently.
Mowing your grass too frequently can scalp your lawn, which makes it more susceptible to growing weeds.
- Water your grass.
A shorter lawn needs frequent watering. Longer grass can last longer without watering and an inch of water every week will keep your lawn green during a hot summer – but you can also do this once a month to preserve water.
- Sharpen your blades.
It’s important to keep your blades sharp for the best results every time. Dull blades tear grass leaving holes and openings for pests to enter and cause diseases that will kill your lawn.
- Mow the lawn dry.
For your mower, grass is best cut when it’s dry since wet grass can clog the cutter deck and will make your lawn uneven.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
You don’t need to pick up your grass clippings anymore. Leaving the clippings on the lawn can provide up to 25% of your lawn’s fertilization. This’ll save you time, money, and work!
- Change up your pattern.
Make sure to switch up the direction you mow each time. Mowing in the same direction each time can risk compacting the soil and making ruts that both harm grass root health.
- Opt for a battery powered mower over a gas-fueled mower.
Most battery powered motors are sufficient enough to cut most lawns and unlike gas-fueled motors, which are fume-free. This makes it much better for your health as well as the lawn’s health.
- If an herbicide fails to remove weeds, rake them out with a garden fork.
Pesky weeds that survive herbicide should be removed and a post-emergent herbicide should only be used under your discretion.
