How to properly take care of a lawn
Every house owner wants his lawn to be healthy and good-looking. But a healthy lawn is not just a sight for sore eyes. A healthy lawn helps cool the air and enrich it with oxygen.
A novice gardener may think that caring for a lawn is a hard and energy-intensive job. The truth is, with proper technique and good timing, a lawn takes little time and effort. Proper cutting, regular watering, seasonable aeration and fertilization are the 4 pillars of a healthy lawn and its time-saving treatment.
The seasonal care of a lawn always starts with a clean up and lawn mowing. This is where shears, hand trowels, and an electric lawn mower come in handy and help refresh a garden after winter. A mower should be blade-sharp and well-adjusted, otherwise, it won’t cut the grass, it will shred it. As a result, grass will look scruffy and be more susceptible to disease.
The frequency and the correct mowing height are also important. They vary with the type of grass and the time of the year you cut it. As a rule, to prevent grass from overgrowing and keep the lawn neat, cut it once a week in spring and summer. Keep in mind though, grass shouldn’t be too short, otherwise, the soil and grassroots will dry out fast.
When it comes to irrigation, deep watering is always better than short and frequent sprinkling. Being more specific, the properly watered lawn is moist 12 cm in depth. When the top 5 cm of soil dries out, the grass should be irrigated again. The speed of drying and the frequency of irrigation depends on the type of grass and the season of the year.
As for the time of the day, it is better to water in the early morning (from 6 to 10) when the water pressure is high and there is enough time for the lawn to dry out before night. Lawns that are left wet overnight suffer from mold and fungi more often.
As well as every person needs to make up the deficit of vitamins after winter, every lawn and garden needs to refill with essential nutrients: nitrogen, iron, phosphorus, etc. When fed regularly, grass, plants, and flowers grow faster and healthier. Which fertilizer to choose (granular, liquid, or tonic) is mostly a matter of taste and convenience of use. But they say that slow-release and organic feeds have more gentle treatment because they don’t burn the grass. These fertilizers also break down nutrients slowly thus increasing the time between feedings.
Aeration is the most effective way to enrich the roots with oxygen. Plus, water and fertilizers penetrate the aerated soil better and the roots have more place to grow. For aeration, some gardeners use a gas-powered aerator for large areas, but a pitchfork works just fine on small lawns. The best time to aerate is early spring before fertilization and from late summer to mid-autumn before planting new grass.
In autumn every gardener cleans their lawn after the final aeration and sowing and before the first winter snow. The thing is that autumn debris smothers grass causing the formation of bare spots all over the lawn in the future. So cleaning it from tree limbs and dead wet leaves isn’t a waste but a guarantee of a healthier lawn in spring.