Tip No : Mow Only The Top One
The top one-third of a blade of grass is thin and leafy, decomposes quickly when cut and can contribute up to one-third of the nitrogen your lawn needs . While its decomposing, this light layer of clippings also helps slow water evaporation and keeps weeds from germinating. Check out these handy mowing tips.
But the bottom two-thirds of a blade of grass is tough, stemmy and slow to decompose, contributing to thatch. When thick enough, thatch prevents sunlight, air, water and nutrients from reaching the soil. Cutting more than the top third also shocks grass roots and exposes stems, which tend to burn in direct sunlight.
So if two inches is your target grass height, cut it when it reaches three inches. Since grass grows at different rates at different times of the year, every Saturday isnt necessarily the best time to mow. Sometimes you need to mow it more, other times less. The ideal length for cool-climate grasses is three to four inches for warm-climate, one to two inches.
Mow when the grass is dry and avoid mowing in the heat of the day when youre more likely to stress the grass and yourself.
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Prepare Your Lawn Well
Whether youre planting seeds or laying a turf, the preparation to your lawn will be the same. Begin by removing any stones, weeds or rubbish from the lawn area. Once this area is cleared, turn over the ground by using a garden fork to dig and rotate. Next, use a rake to level the ground, then firm it down to remove any air pockets that may have formed.
After waiting a few weeks for the soil to settle, you should rake a final time before sowing your seed or laying your turf. For more detailed instructions on both preparing and laying your lawn, check out ourPreparing Your Soil and Seeding Your Lawn andHow To Lay Lawn Turf blog posts.
Once your lawn is planted, laid and established, you can commence with your lawn maintenance routine.
Starting with
Pick The Best Grass Type For Your Area
Not all grass types are the same. They each require different climates, nutrients, and soil to flourish and grow well. Choosing the best type of grass for your lawn will make a big difference in the appearance and health of your lawn. Depending on where you live, your options may be limited in what grass you can grow, so be aware of what conditions are required of each grass type.
If you live in the Western region of the Carolinas, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, fine fescue, and Kentucky bluegrass will grow best. Homes in the Eastern Coastal region can easily grow bermuda, zoysia, centipede, and St. Augustine varieties. While the Central regions are able to grow all eight of these types.
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How To Get Your Lawn Lush And Green
Looking for the best tips on how to get grass to grow? Follow our advice to set your lawn on the right path.
Green, cool, and comfortable underfoot, turf grass is as versatile as an outdoor surface gets. But heavy foot traffic can leave it a bit ragged, though, and any missed fall maintenancethat last dose of fertilizer you were supposed to spread, any bare patches that should have been reseededmay have caused your lawn to look a little worn out this spring, with thin spots and less color than you remember.
Now’s the time to make amends with a proper feeding schedule and smart troubleshooting tactics to stop budding pest and weed problems in their tracks. Read on for what to do right now and in the weeks ahead to cultivate a hardy, healthy patch of green.
Shown: A thick, well-fed lawn is your best defense against weeds, which can’t compete for space and nutrients. Leaving the grass long, 3 inches or more, encourages roots to grow deeper, where they’ll weather drought better. Taller grass also casts shade, preventing weed seeds from germinating.
Tip No : A Few Good Soakings Are Better Than Lots Of Light Sprinklings
Deep watering helps develop deep roots that tap into subsurface water supplies . Light sprinklings moisten only the grass and surface of the soil, encouraging shallow root growth and increasing the need for more frequent watering. Lawns generally require 1 to 2 in. of water per week from you or Mother Nature, applied at three- or four-day intervals. But this varies drastically depending on the temperature, type of grass and soil conditions. Lawns in sandy soils may need twice as much water since they drain quickly. Lawns in slow-draining clay soils may need only half as much.
When your lawn loses its bounce or resiliency, or when it wilts, exposing the dull green bottoms of the blades, it needs water. In general, water until the soil is moist four to five inches down, then wait to water again until the top one or two inches dries out. To find out how much water your sprinkler delivers, set out a cake pan, turn on your sprinkler, then time how long it takes for the water to reach a depth of one inch .
The best time of day to water is early morning. Water pressure is high, less water is lost to evaporation and your lawn has plenty of time to dry out before nightfall. Lawns that remain wet overnight are more susceptible to disease caused by moisture-loving mold and other fungi.
Family Handyman
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Cut Your Grass Correctly And To The Recommended Cutting Height
Knowing what height to cut your grass is an important way to get your grass to grow healthy and strong. Setting your lawnmower to the highest or lowest setting is not necessarily the best thing for your grass. In fact, different grass species have different needs in terms of grass cutting height. Check out this guide to grass cutting height. Additionally, you should keep the blades on your lawnmower nice and sharp so that it cuts your grass effectively. Also, consider buying a reel mower, which actually cuts the grass like scissors rather than tearing it like traditional rotary lawnmowers. This makes for healthier grass in general. Read this guide to reel mowers for more information on the benefits of reel mowers and how to select one for your needs.
Clean Up After Yourself
Its a simple step, but one that is often overlooked .
Clean up after yourself.
Put the tools away, make sure nothing is left on the lawn , and dont leave your yard in a mess.
Not only is this good for your own psyche, but your lawn will be free to grow and thrive as its not being denied water, sun, and other nutrients thanks to something you left out there.
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Get Rid Of Yard Debris
Make sure that youre raking the dead grass out of your yard. Nothing screams unkempt like a bunch of brown dead grass in the yard. It will make your grass look instantly greener to remove this debris, and it will let the lawn dry out and breathe.
Be sure to rake up any piles of leaves in the fall, left in the yard they can decay and cause huge brown patches in the yard. It can significantly detract from the appearance in your yard.
Using Topsoil For Your New Lawn
The foundation of a healthy lawn is healthy soil. If you dont have enough high-quality soil in your lawn already, then you can use topsoil to grow grass better. Topsoil is a nutrient-rich layer of soil thats on the top layer of earth , but you can also buy some at any garden or home improvement store.
Its a good idea to get topsoil that matches the texture of the soil in your lawn, so its important to do a soil test and check whats in the topsoil product youre buying. You can get a topsoil test done professionally by sending off a sample to a testing laboratory, or you can do a pH test yourself with a home kit.
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The Best Mower For Hills
There is no doubt that having a good lawnmower is important for anyone who wants to take care of their yard.
However, when it comes to hills, things can get a bit tricky.
If you are looking for the best mower for hills, then you have come to the right place.
When it comes to choosing the best mower for hills, there are a few factors you need to take into consideration.
The first factor is the size of the hill. If the hill is too large, even the most powerful lawnmower may not be able to handle it.
The second factor is the type of terrain. If the hill is made up of loose soil, a regular lawnmower may not be able to get up it.
Take Care Of Your Lawn
After all that effort you put in to fix your lawn, youll want to make sure you look after your hard work. Here are some general guidelines for proper lawn maintenance:
- Remember to water your lawn as needed, depending on the weather.
- Mow your lawn when the grass is dry.
- When mowing, only take off the top third of the grass blades and never cut the grass shorter than 2 inches in height.
- Leave the grass clippings on your lawn since theyll provide some extra nutrients.
- Get rid of weeds, pulling them from the roots or using an appropriate herbicide.
Using topsoil and mulch are great ways to improve your lawn, and with a topsoil calculator and a mulch calculator, its easy to figure out how much of both you need. Get ready to have the best-looking lawn on the block!
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Apply A Lime Application
If your lawns pH balance is low, a lime application may be needed. Lime is a type of soil fertilizer made of limestone rock and contains compounds that help balance a soils acidic pH levels. A lime application can also help by making your lawn look more green in appearance, which is something every homeowner strives for.
What Type Of Lawn Care Service Do I Need
Mowing. If your grass is in good shape, it could be that all you need is basic lawn mower service. This might be either temporary or long term. Most grass cutting companies offer both short and long term contracts. A short term arrangement is more flexible, but a longer term will usually be a better deal in terms of price.
Troubleshooting. When you notice that your lawn is looking less than its best perhaps the grass is patchy or discolored its time to call in a good lawn care business to troubleshoot the situation. Lawn care experts are trained to identify the problems underlying unhealthy-looking grass, by processes such as soil testing.
Remediation. Based on their assessment of your yards needs, professional lawn companies should be able to offer an individualized remediation plan, which may include one or more of these treatments:
- aerating your lawn
- dethatching
- treatment of lawn pests and weed control
- eradication of lawn diseases
- fertilizing service
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Deal With The Shady Spots In Your Lawn
Occasionally, conditions just arent ideal for lawn growth. Maybe the lawn was growing around young trees, but as those trees grew, they created more shade, limiting the suns access to the lawn. Sun, water and nutrients are necessary for thicker, greener grass. Take one away, and you wont accomplish your goal.
Raising or thinning the tree canopy can increase the sunlight to these lawn areas, boosting sun exposure.
But maybe thinning the tree canopy isnt enough. You could have an area where grass just may not grow well. An alternative solution, such as a shade-loving groundcover, mulch, decorative gravel, or a hardscape area might be a better option.
Include A Mix Of Plants
Be sure to include a mix of many different plants and grasses in your lawn. A diverse landscape is better for the environment and can be easier to maintain, because it prevents pest problems from spreading to the whole lawn.
For places where it is hard to grow a lawn, try plants more adapted to the area. See Plant diversity for more information.
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Set Yourself Up For Success: Start With A Great Florida Grass
Not all of us have the luxury of starting from scratch with our lawn, but if you do so happen to have the time, the budget, and the will, we absolutely suggest starting with a fantastic Florida-friendly grass to really set yourself up for success.
Its no secret that Florida is weirdwhen it comes to landscaping and beyond that, tooso ensuring that your lawn is Florida-friendly from the start is hugely helpful for its overall success.
Our suggestion? Consider grass types like St. Augustine Grass, Zoysia Grass, Bermuda Grass, or Bahia Grass. If youre not totally sure about which of these makes the most sense for your lawn, worry not, weve got an entire blog post right here that outlines the pros, cons, and basics behind each and every one of these types. Go ahead, give it a read now if youd likewell be here when you get back.
Seed At The Right Time
Every lawn needs occasional reseeding, whether to fill in bare patches or thicken an existing lawn. For most varieties, seeding is more successful in early spring, though growth may be slow if the weather is cold. Fall is also an excellent time to seed. Autumn seeding gives young turfgrass plants an opportunity to establish themselves before winter dormancy, so theyll have a head start when spring arrives.
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Aerate And Overseed Your Lawn When Needed
Water and nutrients need to reach lawn roots in order to lead to thicker and greener grass. Over time, lawns can become compact, whether its from traffic or harsh weather, limiting this easy access of water and nutrients.
The solution is annual aeration. This practice breaks up the soil and enables the lawn to breath. Also, those small holes aeration creates can provide the perfect access for overseeding in thin, bare areas. Aeration and overseeding are key elements that shouldnt be forgotten on the journey to greener, thicker grass.
Check For And Identify Problems
Check your lawn regularly, so that you can find pests and other problems early. Make sure to identify lawn problems correctly, then decide whether action is needed.
- Plant damage may not be caused by pests. Plants can be injured by poor growing conditions, poor maintenance, road salt, or dog urine.
- A few weeds or insect pests in healthy lawns is usually not cause for concern.
- Knowing about the pest and its life cycle will help you decide if and when to take action, and how to prevent further problems. See Pest control tips for more information about controlling specific pests.
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Husqvarna Mz61 27 Hp Zero Turn Briggs & Stratton Riding Lawn Mower
This zero-turn riding mower is an excellent choice if you have a lot of lawns to cut and need something faster than a standard push lawnmower. It cuts through tall grass easily due to its powerful engine and cutting deck making it one of the best choices for hilly areas.
It has 7 positions height adjusting capability, 21 inches cutting width to enable faster cutting, 54-inch steel mowing deck with lap bars that enable easy maneuvering even on hilly areas.
It also comes with large wheels fitted with ball bearings which makes it extremely easy to drive even on hilly areas and has a 4-year commercial use warranty.
The Top 6 Lawn Care Tips For Florida Property Owners
Lets face the factsyour lawn matters to you. And you shouldnt be ashamed of it.
Whether youre a homeowner, renter, or property manager, its highly likely that you take a certain amount of pride in your lawns success. And why wouldnt you? Its probably no surprise, but as a landscaping company, we cant tell you how much we relate to that swelling sense of you done good, kid, when we stare at a top-notch lawn thats healthy and beautiful as can be.
We know its not just us, either. We like to think theres a good-lawn-appreciation streak in everyoneand we have a feeling that if youre reading this article, that most definitely applies to you.
But how exactly can you make sure that your lawn is the best on the block? How can you ensure that the TLC youre giving your beautiful landscape is the best of the best? How on earth can you be positive that theres not a vital ingredient missing from your carefully cultivated lawn-care recipe?
Thats why were here.
At Landcrafters, were all about equipping folks with the knowledge they need to put their best foot forward when it comes to landscapeso were dropping some serious, cant-miss know-how right here for how you can up your lawn game ASAP.
Looking for some super simple but very effective lawn care tips to keep your Florida lawn looking pristine? We thought so. Keep reading to learn how!
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You Dont Have To Slave Over Your Lawn To Keep It Healthy
If youre an average homeowner , you spend almost four hours a week on yard work and mow your lawn 30 times a year. And while you may not realize it, your lawn pays you back for all this hard work. It serves as a giant air conditioner to help cool your home. It releases a tremendous amount of oxygen and captures tons of dirt and dust to help keep you and your family healthy. It gives you a place to play croquet. And the healthier your lawn is, the better it keeps up its end of the bargain.
The good news is, you dont have to slave over your lawn to keep it healthy. In fact, to a great extent, its not the amount of work you put into your lawn its when and how you do it. The following six ingredients are essential for a healthy lawn. We focus on northern or cool-climate grasses like bluegrass and fescue, but most of the information applies to warm-climate grasses like zoysia and Bermuda grass, too.
