A healthy and beautiful lawn is the key to unlocking the full potential of your entire property. It’s like a background on a painting – you don’t focus on it as a standalone feature but the entire piece would be different without it. Keeping a healthy lawn and allowing it to enrich the surrounding of your home is not an easy task. Sure, it takes watering and mowing but there are several other tasks worth mentioning. Here are eight easy ways you can improve your lawn.
1. Pick the right grass type
First, you need to pick the proper lawn type for your yard. Do some research on the overall aesthetics since this is the primary purpose of the lawn of your property. A beautiful lawn will keep you motivated for gardening, which will make your landscaping project a much smaller hassle. Second, make sure to pick the right type of grass for your own area, soil type and climate. This will reduce the overall effort that you have to invest in order to keep your lawn lush and healthy. You can always take your soil to a lab for analysis in order to get exact info and some advice regarding the future course of action.
2. Reduce it in size
The next thing you need to do is try to reshape the layout of your lawn and reduce it in size. Why? Well, this will make the maintenance less arduous, seeing as how it will give you less to work with. One way to handle this issue is to pave a path through the garden. This will increase the functionality of your backyard and make traffic easier during the muddy part of the year. The cost of pea pebbles (the most frugal option) is about $6 per square foot. You could also make a deck or raise flower beds in order to reduce the area of the lawn, as well.
3. Aerate the lawn
In order to be healthy, a lawn needs enough air. The simplest way to provide it is to punch holes three inches deep across the entire lawn in order to allow it to penetrate the soil more efficiently. This process is also referred to as the aeration of the lawn. This is an inexpensive project that requires a relatively high level of landscaping skill. The tools required, however, are fairly basic. You can do it all with a rake and a shovel. Also, this is not a task that you will have to repeat quite often (unlike watering and mowing).
4. Proper irrigation
Depending on the area that you live in, rain may or may not be enough to provide the lawn with all the moisture it needs. This is why you might want to look for various methods of lawn irrigation. The old-school hose can do the trick. According to experts behind Hoselink, all you need is a sturdy hose, a hose reel, and some hose nozzles. Depending on the time of the year, the humidity, the number of days since the last rainfall, you might want to water the lawn on a regular basis. Deep watering 2-3 times every week is more than enough. Those who want to cut their work short might want to invest in sprinklers or a different irrigation system.
5. Smart irrigation
If you really want to make a difference and cut your work short, you might want to consider smart irrigation. With Wi-Fi-controlled sprinklers, you can program the irrigation system to fulfill all the needs of your lawn. This way, you get to program the best part of the day for watering the lawn (before 10 a.m.) and program the exact quantity of water that you want to be used in the process. Keep in mind that this method not only keeps your lawn saturated with water, it is also eco-friendly, seeing as how it prevents the waste of resources.
6. Fertilize the lawn
Fertilizing your lawn can be a challenge, as well. First, you need to water it a couple of days before in order to keep the blades of grass moist. Second, you need to get the right spreader. The two types of spreaders are the rotary spreader and the second one is the bag spreader. You should also start by fertilizing the perimeter and then slowly move in towards the middle. Picking the right fertilizer is also quite important, yet, this is a topic for another time.
7. Lawnmowing
Mowing the lawn is a concept that only sounds simple, yet, requires quite a bit of technical knowledge. Cutting too much can ruin your lawn, the same as cutting too often. Remember, the entire blade of the grass is used for food generation. This means that if you cut too much, you’re hurting the regeneration process by starving your grass. Even the direction in which you mow may affect the direction in which the grass grows. This is something that can help the grass grow straighter (more visually pleasing) and healthier (better in the long run). All in all, there’s much for you to learn.
8. Neutral pH
When it comes to the health of the soil beneath your lawn, ideally, you would keep the PH around 6. If the soil test shows unfavorable results, you should perform an acidic test. Ashes (from a stove) can also be a great substitute for lime. When compared, however, it is one-third as strong, so make sure to take it into a consideration during your calculation.
In conclusion
Finally, be realistic about how much time and effort you have to dedicate to your lawn. You see, landscaping is arduous work and if you just can’t see the benefit, you will grow tired of it rather quickly. The problem is that lawn care takes consistency above all else. Watering it most efficiently and cutting it right to the millimeter makes no difference if it’s done only once. By learning how to do all of this properly, however, you will get the satisfaction that comes from performing the task at the highest level of skill. In other words, knowledge is the key.
