When it comes to lawn care, prevention s the best care and cure as well. The best lawn care practice should start when you are already planning a landscape garden around your home.
Since a lawn surface is an integral part of the entire garden, planning spaces as per the nature of activity will greatly reduce the pressure of maintaining a lawn surface.
For example if the garden has a space for outdoor coffee table with four seats it's a good idea to have a separate surface prepared where the coffee table, the chairs will stay. Also the path that leads to this arrangement can also be "paved" with suitable themed material. The biggest advantage of this is that the lawn surface around this is easy to maintain otherwise over a period of time the surface of lawn around the pathway and the furniture will get patchy and eventually the lawn will stop growing in these areas giving a terrible look in the garden.
So planning is a vital part of lawn care when it comes to designing and a growing a new garden. But what if you have already have a lawn around you home and are looking to tips for maintaining it. There are some real simple rules for this.
1) Fertilizers- Do you eat food everyday, same is true with lawn. Apart from direct sunlight and water, fertilizers are great way to feed you lawn with healthy diet to give an extraordinary look
2) Mowing- Very important for a lush look. A Lawn mower is a great tool for this purpose. The real secret of using a lawn mower is the height of the blade that will be used while mowing.
3) Watering- The frequency of watering will greatly affect the final outlook of the lawn surface. Automatic lawn sprinklers are used to automate the process of watering with great results.
4) Aerating the soil- Due to frequent use of lawn by pets, children, etc. the soil that holds the lawn gets compacted beyond limits, that's why lawn care experts always recommend aeration of lawn soil to help the growth of lawn.
5) Amount of direct sunlight the lawn surface receives- This aspect is not a must but can have some degree of effect. You just have to look for the path of sun travel in your local area. Where does direct sunlight come from in your garden. As the day passes away the degree and intensity of sunlight changes. Does your lawn remain in shade all the times of the day? This can happen if the sunlight is getting obstructed by tall trees or even home building structure.
Or does your lawn remain in harsh sunlight most of the times of the day? This will decide the amount and frequency of water your lawn will require.
So lawn care and what you should do to take care of it is also dependent on the specific problems and circumstances of the individual owner. Your job as the homeowner will be study lawn surroundings/movement patterns/natural conditions and go for the best solution that is easy to implement and affordable to your needs.
I hope this article was helpful to everyone.
Copyright Shrinivas Vaidya
|
About The Author Shrinivas Vaidya is the webmaster of http://www.landscapingdatabase.com Looking for care for a lawn information? visit my website to learn some cool tips on landscaping design and some great tips to create a lush green and amazing lawn in 4 days flat! Mowing The Lawn - Do
It The Correct Way
Without mowing the lawn, a beautifully manicured yard can
easily turn into an overgrown forest. Ignoring the proper
techniques according to the type of grass you possess can
also lead to damaging problems that are be rather difficult
to hide. As you approach the task of lawn mowing, there are
a couple of factors to consider, which can either make or
break the appearance of your grass and overall presentation
of the yard.
Debating Height As a rule of thumb, grass generally responds best when selecting one of the higher lawnmower settings, especially during a heat-filled summer day. If the blade is set too low, scalping is often the result, which is highly undesirable. When the blade is set too low, a gouging of the soil may occur, which pulls up the grass and in particular, turf that is dry and straw-colored. If you find yourself falling behind the growth of your lawn, you may mow the grass at a higher length, and then lower the blade for a mowing that takes place after a couple of days have passed. A common rule is that you should never cut off more than 1/3 of the length of grass in a single mowing. Recommended Mowing Heights Your location by region usually determines the type of grass in your yard, which is based upon selections better suited for various climates and temperature levels. Below you will find a few recommendations based on minimum and maximum heights for an assortment of common grass types: Fine Fescue (1½"; 2½"); Tall Fescue (2"; 3"); Kentucky Blue grass (1½"; 2½"); Rye grass (1½"; 2½"); Bahia grass (2"; 4"); Bermuda grass (1½"; 2"); Buffalo grass (2"; 3"); Carpet grass (2"; 3"); Centipede grass (1"; 1½"); St. Augustine grass/Floratam (2"; 4"); and Zoysia grass (¾"; 2"). Mowing Frequency Typically, individuals should mow their lawn once per week. Sometimes, seasonal and weather changes may also affect the frequency of mowing. For example, grass tends to grow at a more rapid pace during the springtime. This means mowing the grass twice a week may become necessary in order to avoid having to remove more than 1/3 of the length. Blade Sharpness Keeping the mower blade sharp will produce the best results when it comes to keeping a yard looking fresh and clean. When the blades of a mower become dull, grass blade ends are torn in such a way that a raggedy appearance is the result. These jagged ends usually turn brown, causing the grass to look dried-out. This type of blade damage also promotes the spread of fungus and disease. Additional Lawn Mowing Tips Before mowing your lawn, there are additional tips that may increase the prosperity of a lawn. For instance, mowing in different directions helps to prevent the look of leaning grass blades. Try diagonal, horizontal, and vertical patterns. When mowing, you should avoid making sharp turns. Also, it is important to never mow a lawn that is wet as it only invites fungus to attack.
|