For better or worse, lawns are the first thing most visitors see
when they visit our homes.
For better or worse, lawns are the first thing most visitors see when they visit our homes. And like clothing, furniture or the vehicles we drive, our lawns reflect our personalities. Some lawns may be flawlessly groomed with razor-straight edging and nary a weed in sight, while others may be more casual and comfortable, such as a suitable play area for kids.
No matter what type of lawn you have, there are some common-sense tips to keep lawns looking their best. For instance, weeds are the bane of a lawn’s existence. Control weeds before they take control of your lawn. Pull or cut out weeds, and spray if necessary.
There are herbicides, such as RoundUp or Finale, that will kill anything they touch. Usually, you should avoid these types of contact weed killers in lawns because they will simply kill too much of your grass – even if you direct the weed killer only on weeds. There are also herbicides, such as Ortho’s Lawn Weed Killer, that can be sprayed over the entire lawn. It will not kill the grass, but only broad-leafed weeds like dandelions.
After a long, wet winter that lasted well into our spring, it might be hard to think about watering. But lawns need at least 1 inch of water per week. It’s better to water deeply rather than sprinkling daily, because deep watering leads to deeper, healthier roots. Water in the early morning or evening to reduce evaporation.
If you have automatic sprinklers, take a morning to check out the spray angles of sprinkler heads. Some may be pointing the wrong way, or worse, some may be broken. Replace damaged sprinkler heads, unclog clogged ones and re-angle others. Also, if your sprinkler system is on a timer, make sure to change the timing to every other day or so for at least 15 minutes per station.
Fertilize your lawn at least two or three times a year. This time of year, it’s usually still safe to use high-nitrogen fertilizers like sulphate of ammonia to instantly “green up” your lawn. Don’t forget about so-called “weed-and-feed” products that fertilize your grass and kills weeds at the same time. Organic fertilizers are usually longer lasting as well.
If you haven’t aerated your lawn in at least two years, it’s time to do so. Aeration provides air holes that allows water and nutrients to reach the roots. You can hire the job out or rent a power aerator and do it yourself.
Finally, try to mow your lawn once a week during the growing season. This will remove only the top third of grass with each cutting rather than “scalping” your grass.
Also, mow in different patterns to avoid permanent ridges. Mowing diagonally instead of straight across also creates an “estate” look even with the smallest lawn. There are even so-called “lawn striping” devices that attach to the back of most mowers to create the stripes in lawns that we see at ballparks.
Keep mower blades sharp, and try to leave grass clippings on the lawn. The latter is easy to do if you have one of the newer “mulcher” mowers. Grass clippings decompose quickly and put nutrients back into the soil.
