Just as we don’t give a second thought to keeping the inside of our homes clean and pristine often enough so that it stays that way all year long, the same needs to be done for our lawns. It’s easy to neglect the outside area of your home because you either don’t have time or you simply don’t know enough to do it right. This is why we’ve created the perfect guide to teach you how to keep your lawn healthy and beautiful all year long.
Throughout the Year
Aeration
There are times where the soil becomes too tightly packed, and this is not good for the lawn at all. Grass and plants, in general, need the soil to be aerated and loose to the point where water, oxygen, and nutrients can pass easily to the roots. This is why throughout the year, you need to make sure you aerate the soil to have it at the right consistency.
Professional Care
While you are fully capable of taking care of your lawn year-round, it’s important to acknowledge that bringing in professional help every once in a while will take a load off your shoulders. North Carolina locals in the US for example, have specific landscapers that they turn to for help in jobs that are too long-winded for them to do on their own. So when it comes to lawn maintenance Charlotte, NC residents always contact the professionals to give them a hand. This is something you need to do as well. Jobs like pruning and irrigation management are better left to the pros. Professional help should also be sought out if you simply do not have the time to tend to your lawn.
Water
You always need to water your lawn. However, you need to learn how much you need to do so in different seasons so you’re not under or overwatering the grass, plants, and trees in your backyard.
Mowing
It’s important to make sure that the grass doesn’t grow to be too long, otherwise, this affects how the nutrients and water are distributed and you’re going to end up with uneven patches.
Summer
How to Water in the Summer
Because this is the hottest season of the year, and also keeping in mind that with every year that passes, the temperature is only rising more and more, it’s important that you know exactly what is the best way to water your lawn. Early morning and evening are the best times because you can guarantee that the water won’t evaporate at the fastest rate during these times.
Early Fertilization
For the same reason as watering early in the morning, you want to add the fertilizer during this time as well. You want to ensure that the fertilizer gets taken in and that the lawn gets as much of the nutrients as possible.
Take Care of Bugs
Summer is when all the pests come out to play, so you need to ensure that you either use a pesticide or a fertilizer that has organic ingredients that aim to keep the bugs away. While insects are more or less a part of the natural ecosystem, you don’t want to have them eating away at your lawn and destroying it, so make sure you learn more about what kind of bugs are the ones you need to take action against.
Fall
Seeding
The best weather is that which is neither too hot nor too cold, so it only makes sense that fall is when you need to focus on seeding your lawn to plant new grass and plants. Naturally, as you seed, this means you also have to add fertilizer.
Raking
With fall comes the falling leaves, so make sure that you keep your lawn nice and clean. Grab a rake and gather all the leaves and debris so that they don’t interfere with the health of your lawn and prevent sunlight and water from reaching it the way it should.
Weeding
During the summer you went all out to make sure that the grass was watered enough- this means that along with growing grass, weeds have found themselves a resting place. Fall is the best time to get rid of them.
Winter
Aerate Before Frost
To ensure that your lawn stays as healthy as it can when the frost comes in, you have to remember to aerate the soil. The grass doesn’t need much during the winter, but it doesn’t mean that it’s okay for the soil to be packed up.
Make Sure the Grass is Short
It’s important to mow the grass right before the winter frost hits so that there’s no risk of fungus building on the longer blades of grass. And if it gets covered with snow or frost, you won‘t really have a chance to mow it at all.
Keep off the Grass!
Just because the grass is dormant during the winter, doesn’t mean it’s dead. So make sure that you create some sort of boundary to ensure that no one steps on the grass during the winter and end up killing it.
Spring
Clean Dead Grass
Once the frost and ice are all gone and the harsh winter has passed, you can get back to caring for your lawn. The first thing you need to do is remove any residual dead grass and any other leaves or weeds that stand in the way of your lawn looking brand new again.
Start Over
Then what comes next are all the steps already mentioned. You need to aerate the soil and fertilize it, water it well, and mow it if need be.
There you have it! Make sure that every season has your attention and if you notice, the steps are not difficult to carry out at all. It’s just important that with every season in the year, that you make sure you pay attention to what needs to be done and that you do it with care and attention to the state of your lawn. It’s also important that you get a professional to have a look every now and then to make sure that you’re doing everything right.