Maintaining a beautiful lawn is not easy. It requires time, money, and knowledge about the best practices for keeping your property looking fresh and green all year round. But if you are tired or overwhelmed with all your house duties and don’t feel like you can keep up with upkeeping your lawn, we totally understand! Thus, for this month’s blog post, we’ve put together the ultimate guide to maintaining your lawn! If you're tired of spending several hours each week trying to keep your lawn looking nice, here are 10 tips and tricks to help you keep it looking great with minimum effort!
TIP #1: Mow early.
Lawn mowing should always begin in the early morning when it is cool outside. If you wait until later to start your lawn maintenance routine, dust particles will be carried into the air by wind and make grass appear dryer than they usually are. This can leave dried-up clumps of dirt on your lawn which are difficult to cut evenly and cause your mower to malfunction.
TIP #2: Don’t stick to one direction.
Mowing your lawn in a straight line may be the easiest and most efficient way to cut it, but doing so would cause the grass to slant in one direction. This is because grass blades naturally grow toward where they're being mowed. Thus, when mowing your lawn, it’s best to have alternating patterns so as to avoid the task from being mow-notonous! Kidding aside, though, adopting this practice would help them grow straighter and healthier and return to a more upright position. Sticking to this routine would eventually result in a thicker lawn.
TIP #3: Never cut more than one-third of the length off at a time.
Always be sure that you give your grass enough room to grow back after being mowed so that it does not get too short and die. Cutting more than one third off of your grass length at a time will cause the blades to get thinner, which can result in dead patches on your lawn that are difficult or impossible for you to fix yourself.
TIP #4: Water regularly but never excessively.
Keeping up with regular watering is essential if you want your grass to remain green and lush at all times. Try to remember when you last watered your lawn so that you can maintain the right balance of moisture in the soil without overdoing it or not doing enough.
TIP #5: Maintain a regular mowing schedule.
If you are looking for ways to make mowing more convenient, easy, and enjoyable for yourself this summer season, simply take time out of your day to make mowing your lawn a priority. The more effort you put into maintaining your beautiful, green grass now, the less work it will be for you throughout summer and fall!
TIP #6: Use your left-over grass clippings as compost or fertilizer on your garden.
Grass clippings are an excellent source of nitrogen for the soil. When you cut the length of your grass with a mower, they accumulate in the bottom chamber and are then thrown back into the. While some people choose to rake them in an attempt to keep their lawn “clean”, we actually advise otherwise! This
is because opting to leave grass clippings behind after you mow provides you with a free, organic fertilizer that adds nutrients to help keep plants healthy and alive. The explanation for this is because doing so allows the clippings to just decompose, thereby releasing its water and nutrients back to the soil and ultimately resulting in grass that’s greener and thicker.
TIP #7: Keep your lawnmower blades sharp and clean for more even cut and healthier grass.
Mowing is exhausting, and it's easy to let your lawnmower blades get dull from neglect. By taking the time to clean your lawnmower blades after each use, not only will you extend their life but also make sure that they're always clean and ready for action.
If you’re not so keen on performing the task, though, doing it either just at the beginning or end of the mowing season is also acceptable. A few general things on your lawnmower maintenance to-do list are: clear out all the grass and debris on the undercarriage; sharpen the blades, which is something you can do yourself, but we recommend that you take it to lawn maintenance professionals instead; and not to forget, be familiar with the manual first before attempting to do anything because accidentally doing more harm than good is probably the last thing that you’d want for your mower.
TIP #8: Avoid over-fertilizing your lawn for greener grass and healthier plants.
We fertilize plants with the goal of helping them grow as fast more productive. Ironically, though, too much fertilizer can be detrimental to your plants! Seedling mortality, withering of lower leaves, darkened weak roots, defoliation, and little to no growth are all signs of overfertilization. If your plants show these indicators, don't be alarmed just yet! Most overfertilized plants may still be salvaged by simply removing as much excess fertilizer as possible and flushing it away by frequently watering the soil. Furthermore, true to the saying, prevention is indeed better than cure. Just by getting to know your plants and their needs a little bit better, you would be able to spare yourself from all the trouble of reversing the effects of overfertilization.
TIP #9: Remember to apply sunscreen and bug spray as needed.
As summer is just around the corner, it is important that you protect your skin from insects and harmful UVA/UVB rays every day if you plan on spending time outdoors for long periods. The same goes for your plants too! Even though most don’t mind a little more extra sunshine, they become a victim of bugs and other insects, even more so than usual in the summer. This is owing to the fact that insects are poikilothermic—simply put, cold-blooded—and are typically more active in warmer temperatures. So, it’s not just you who keeps getting annoyed by these pesky insects, but also your plants! Thus, make sure that you’re equipped with some sort of defence to keep both yourself and your plants insect-free this coming summer!
TIP #10: Hire a lawn care company for weekly upkeep and maintenance.
If you do not have the time, energy, or desire to maintain a beautiful lawn yourself, consider hiring a professional lawn care company to take on the task every week so that everything is taken care of in one easy visit. A lawn care company will have the right tools to keep your grass looking healthy, green, and lush all year round. A lawn care company like…Inside Out Landscaping, of course! We’ve got the tools, the passion, and the expertise to maintain your lawn and more. Give us a call now at 1300 916 767, and let’s get your lawn ready for summer!