Taking Care of Grass
Many people feel that the grass is always greener on the other side, but what if for you it is literally true? It can be frustrating to look across the street and see your neighbor’s green grass practically glowing in the sunlight. You may be taking care of your grass and wonder what you are doing wrong. There are a few landscaping tips that may help you discover what you can do right.
Taking Care of Grass
First, when it comes to watering the lawn, less is more. Too much water can cause damage to your lawn. In fact, brown patches on the lawn can be caused by over watering. Most lawns only require approximately 1-1.5 inches of water per week. Over watering can actually leach valuable nutrients from the soil. These nutrients are essential to making your lawn a lush, green color.
Another important tactic for keeping your lawn green is to ensure that you are mowing it properly. Cutting your grass too close to the ground and cutting with a dull blade can both cause problems. For example, ripped grass is more vulnerable to pests.
Pests that can damage your lawn can be divided into two categories – soil inhabitants and thatch inhabitants. Examples of soil inhabitants are mole crickets, white grubs, and billbugs. Examples of thatch inhabitants are spittlebugs, clinch bugs, and sod webworms. It is best to figure out what kind of pest you are dealing with before spending any money on the problem.
Weeds can also deteriorate the beauty of a lawn. It is best to nip a weed problem in the bud before it gets too serious. Weeds can spread quickly throughout your lawn. A liquid spray weed killer would be best to spot treat weeds on a lawn. However, it is important that you read the label and do not purchase a weed killer that will do damage to your grass as well.
Then there is the issue of fertilizer. Most experts recommend using a fertilizer on lawns but they may disagree on how often. The frequency of fertilizer use and what type of fertilizer to use can depend on climate. The best option would be to ask your local lawn care supplier for his or her advice on the matter.
If you are still not satisfied with your lawn after changing your landscaping techniques, then sod is always a possibility. Laying sod takes a little work but it is not difficult. It would require you to rip up your existing lawn to make room for the new one. The process of laying sod generally takes two or three weeks. Sometimes putting your current lawn out of its misery might be the better option than continuing to watch it struggle.
There is obviously hope for even the worst lawns. Changing your lawn for the better is often just a matter of figuring out if you are doing something wrong or if there are other forces at play. It could be a problem with how you are watering your lawn or maybe it is just an unknown pest that has invaded. After some research and some changes, your grass can be among the greenest on the block and you’ll need to get the best lawnmower you can.