Governing your lawn is a taxing effort, especially without the knowledge of proper care for each season. Even though your grass isn’t visible in the winter, there are ways to prepare it for snow cover and cold weather. Read along to become a grass-growing guru!
Luxury Lawn
A lawn with weeds, dead spots, uneven trimming, and other unsightly characteristics is an eyesore for you and your neighbors. You don’t want a sad lawn that requires shoes to walk on. In order to have grass that’s worthy of bare feet and summer-time sprinkler fun, start your care regimen in the spring. First, we need to make sure you have the proper tools. The primary tool for yard care is, you guessed it—the lawn mower.
Before you fire up your gladiator of grass, you’ll need to give it a tune-up:
- Sharpen your mower blades. A clean cut is a healthy cut.
- Deep clean the undercarriage and the engine housing, making sure debris is removed from the fan and exhaust.
- Properly dispose of old fuel and buy new fuel.
Now that your lawn mower is ready, make sure your yard is, too.
Spring Slashing
Clear off leaves, twigs, pinecones, and anything else that might obstruct your mowing. Even though you might remember tidying up your lawn before winter, the wind and melting snow have a way of reintroducing that debris. Make sure that your yard is dry before clipping. According to this article, trimming while the lawn is wet can not only clog up your mower, but also spread diseases. The article also recommends taking these steps after your first cut:
Fertilize: If you live in the northern part of the United States, you should do your fertilizing in the fall. For the lower two-thirds of America, spring is the best time to fertilize. Follow your fertilizer’s application instructions for best results.
Aerate: Doing this pokes tiny holes in your soil, allowing water, fertilizer, and oxygen to reach the grass roots.
Apply Herbicide: Apply a pre-emergent herbicide, which prevents weeds and crabgrass from starting growth.
If you have no idea what any of these items are, you can buy them at your local hardware store and receive their recommendations. They might recommend different fertilizers and herbicides based on your location. If all of this work doesn’t sound like fun to you, there are some low-maintenance options too: rock landscapes, small gardens of herbs and vegetables, or wildflowers and ornamental grasses.
Summer Stunner
Stunning lawns don’t happen overnight. They require consistent care and attention. Just like any other plant, they need watering, feeding, trimming, and protection from pests. When early summer arrives, you’ll start the feeding process, which will help protect your grass in the later summer months when it’s hotter and drier.
Throughout the summer, follow these steps:
- Feed your lawn every 4–6 weeks. This will depend on what kind of grass and fertilizer you have.
- Trim your lawn as needed. Trimming your grass too short will prevent it from growing deeper roots and getting the water it needs.
- Leave the clippings. They will eventually reach the soil beneath the grass and break down, becoming extra food for your lawn.
- Spot-treat any weeds with a lawn-friendly weed killer or pull them by hand. Pull them at the roots or they will resurface quickly and in greater numbers.
- Protect your grass from pests. This article will tell you how to get rid of the various pests that are living in your law.
Keeping up with this routine and attending to your lawn regularly, will ensure that the grass is greener on every side.
If you’re not too keen on fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, because of their chemical components, check out this website. It contains a list of various pests and ways to combat them naturally. Got grubs? This site suggests using nematodes, which live in your soil and kill the feeding grubs. Angry about ants? One of the safe alternatives to insecticides, as recommended by the site, is cornmeal. The ants eat cornmeal but cannot digest it properly and it kills them. It won’t work quickly to kill the colony, but it is safe to use inside and outside the home. This website contains countless other suggestions like these.
Harvest Yard Artist
As the leaves and branches fill your lawn, it’s time to embrace your inner artist. Making your lawn beautiful in the fall will take some creative thinking. This season doesn’t last long, so it’s important that you tend to your turf quickly. To maximize your lawn’s potential for next spring, fertilize once in early autumn and once near the end. This article explains that your early fall feeding session will help your grass rebuild the roots that died during the hottest months of summer. It also mentions that fall is the best time to kill dandelions and clover, which means using a pre-winter fertilizer and weed killer.
Between feedings, complete these tasks:
- Repair bare spots with a heavy re-seeding, because some seeds won’t survive the winter.
- Mulch or remove the leaves from your lawn. If you decide to mulch them, make sure to do your second and final fertilizing after the fact.
- Mow your lawn one last time and cut it one inch shorter than usual. If you didn’t mulch your leaves, you can do your final fertilizing now.
- Clean and stow lawn care tools properly.
Pour yourself a hot cup of cider and marvel at another successful yard season. There’s not much left to do since snow will cover your masterpiece soon (unless you’re one of the lucky ones who lives in a warmer climate!).
Snowy Sanctum
While snow drifts down from the clouds and your lawn becomes less saturated, you’ll reminisce about all the wonderful work you did during the year. Don’t worry: Your work doesn’t need to end. You can still make your yard presentable. Whether it’s decorated with Christmas lights, snow people, or oversized candy canes, your lawn will remain a focal point. Whatever way you see fit to dress it up, enjoy the season of minimal yard work while it lasts!
If you’re itching for activity while you wait for spring to bring back your lawn, check out this blog.
