How You Can Afford Great Lawn Care
Keeping up with lawn care can add up, physically and financially, especially if you want the outcome to properly reflect your output. What if we told you the amount of work you put into lawn care didn’t matter nearly as much as the when and the how? We know, it sounds hard to believe at first, but it’s true. Your lawn doesn’t need as much work as you think it does, it just needs a few of “the essentials” and it will pay you back for years to come. Which is why we’ve compiled a list of our favorite trips to get you prepared for one of the easiest lawn care seasons you’ve ever had!
Adjust Your Mowing Height
The height of your grass tends to rely on where you’re located, but for cool-climates, you should use a 1 1/2 in. cutting height at the start of the season. This removes dead grass and allows proper sunlight to reach the grass. When summer comes around, raise the blade height to 2 in. and back down to 1 1/2 in. for the fall. If you’re in a warmer climate, each of the heights should be 1/2 in. lower.
Sharpen Your Mower Blade
Be sure to check your mower blades before cutting. A dull blade actually tears the grass rather than cleanly cutting it the way a sharper blade would. Damaged grass has a tendency to turn yellow and requires much more water and nutrients to recover, also making it more susceptible to various grass diseases. Sharpen and balance your mower blades three times a year to maintain a good cutting edge.
Practice Good Lawn Watering
Properly watered lawns only need to be watered at three or four-day intervals. Applying 1 to 2 in. of water each week at three or four-day intervals ensures your grass gets water where it needs it the most; in its roots. Watering your lawn for only short periods of times on a daily basis actually promotes shallow root growth. Properly watered lawns receive water 4 to 5 in. deep into its roots and are watered again when the topsoil dries out.
Timing Is Everything
When you apply weed killers and fertilizers to your lawn, be sure to take your grass type, weed type, location, and soil conditions into account. Also, some chemicals only work in the presence of moisture and some are useless when moisture is present, so be sure to read the packaging and safety warnings before applying to your lawn. Truthfully speaking, the best defense against unwanted visitors, such as weeds, is a thick and healthy lawn because it takes up all of the space and sunlight the weeds would otherwise need. Attacking weeds in the early spring and summer will stop them before they have a chance to develop root systems or worse, seed and reproduce.
Let Your Lawn Do the Work
If you’re really looking to minimize the amount of labor, and stress, you put into your yard, plant for the lawn conditions you already have. If you have an area of the lawn that tends to be shadier than the others, plant something that prefers shady environments rather than lots of sunlight. Rather than trying to change your environment, adapt to it. It may take some research, but if you plant for your actual conditions, you are not only left with a beautiful lawn, but also a lot more time on your hands.
Creativity Makes for A Great Looking Lawn
We’ve all heard the saying, “Work smarter, not harder.” Who would’ve thought that it would also apply to lawn care! Start taking a simpler approach to your lawn care and you might be surprised at how much time, effort, and money it saves you. We know you all want a beautiful lawn but it’s not something you need to stress over. You don’t have to extend your expenses to make a beautiful lawn; extend your creativity! Follow some of the steps above and make things easy on yourself.