Thursday 17 June 2021

Five ways you can take care of your lawn this summer


Usually, the first thing that attracts anyone to a house is the lawn. Everyone likes a lush green lawn which boosts a house's appeal and makes it look lovelier. Summers are the ultimate time for a yard to bloom in its full might. However, heat and scorching summer sun pose a mighty challenge to keep lawns healthy and sprouting.

If you neglect your lawn during summer, heat can wreck it. Every day practices like not mowing correctly, not applying pesticides, and inappropriate watering methods can render your garden either soft and squishy or barren and dull. Therefore, high maintenance is required to have a healthy and beautiful garden throughout summer. You can easily keep your lawn in good condition if you adhere to these five lawn care tips:

1.    Trimming overgrown trees and bushes:

It is essential to ensure that the trees, hedges, shrubs, and bushes are pruned and well maintained to give the green landscape a beautiful look. No one likes overgrown hedges and messy tree branches - they diminish your garden's charm and pleasantness. But, unfortunately, large tree branches and heavy growth of wild bushes are common problems that house owners face during the warm season.

It is important to trim and cut off all the extra growths regularly. Clipping away the green clutter in front of your house will get you a neat and healthier-looking lawn all summer long.

However, before attempting to start the pruning regime, make sure to have sharp tools with which you can work. Pruning saws, looping shears, dull clippers, trimmers, and hedge shears are some standard gardening equipment, but you must exercise extreme care while using them as they are pretty sharp and dangerous. Also, follow safety guidelines religiously. If you reside in Round Rock, search terms like tree cutting Round Rock TX and you should find a suitable option to call in a professional to help you with trimming. The experts can also guide you on how many inches you should trim and at which angles.

2.      Mowing at the right height:

Generally, the grass in your lawn should be about 2 1/2 inches. You should only remove about the top 1/3 of the grass blade at each mowing. Therefore, a good time to mow lawns is when your grass gets about 3 2/3 inches high.

Also, don't mow the lawn while the grass is still wet as it could develop different diseases. Cutting immediately after a shower or early morning when the grass is still wet with dew is not a good idea either. Wait for the grass to get dry before mowing. But don't start cutting when the sun is directly overhead. It causes stress to the grass, and you'll exhaust yourself too. Wait until late afternoon or early evening to mow your lawn.

3.      Water your lawn the right way:

A lovely, green landscape needs sufficient water. But if you're negligent while watering, it can prove to be disastrous for your lawn. It can quickly wither in the hot weather. Regular watering during a dry spell is very beneficial for the roots. Try using sprinklers to water your lawn. Sprinklers allow the grass to absorb water slowly and thoroughly. Be careful not to overwater your garden. Soil can become saturated, leading to waterlogging.

Water your lawn at least three to four times a week, not every day. The grass should get only one inch of water. Early mornings are ideal for watering your lawn; it gives your turf ample time to absorb the water. Since the sun is not so strong early morning, it prevents water evaporation between 6 to 10 am. The sun, when watering, is vitally essential for the process of photosynthesis to take place. If you water your lawn at night, the grass will not be able to absorb water successfully. Besides, excess water will remain in the yard, which can quickly develop certain water-related diseases.

4.      Managing weeds:

Weeds can cause hindrance in plant growth by blocking airways. They stop nutrients from reaching the roots. You can quickly identify weeds if you see flowers, especially dandelions, growing on your lawn. Another sign that your yard has weeds is the irregular patches of different textured and colored grass that look nothing like the rest of your yard.

There are many ways in which weeds can creep into your yard, through air, birds, animals, one's clothes, and shoes. A large variety of weeds are commonly found in lawns that either grows as flowers or seed heads. The right approach is to pull weeds along with their roots by hand or use a weeding fork. Besides this, you can also use a herbicide spray with low toxic levels to better control these pesky, persistent things.

5.      Aerating is essential for a green landscape:

Aeration is crucial for your lawn in dry summers because it oxidizes the soil, improves soil water uptake, penetration of nutrients, and oxygen absorption. It keeps the fertilizers and pesticides intact within the plants, preventing them from washing away into the sewers. Specific conditions of your lawn show it needs aeration. For example, thin patchy grass, or if the soil looks like thick clay.

Timing is also significant in the aeration process. The lawn must be moist but not sopping wet when aerating. You should water your garden one day and then aerate it the next day to have the best result. The simplest and budget-friendly way of aerating the lawn is to use a garden fork. The trick is to push the fork almost one foot into the ground to form aerated holes. Aerated holes allow the lawn to 'breath' and better absorb water. While this is easy for small gardens, you can acquire professional help from an aerator to make the process easy for large ones.

In a nutshell:

Gardening is quite relaxing and therapeutic. A wonderful, green sight refreshes you and connects you with Mother Nature instantly; it becomes, as John Keat said, a thing of beauty that’s a joy forever. 

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