7 Best Ways to Maintain Your Lawn and Garden

By Mountain Publishing @mountainpublish

The beauty and joy of a small garden home cannot be fully appreciated without the outlay of the lawn being scrutinized, and a perfect lawn is only achieved when special care is given to it using special lawn care procedures. If you have a home garden, then you are probably also asking questions regarding the best lawn care steps to take; here are a few tips that attempt to provide viable answers:

Scheduled Grass Cutting

If you have a grass lawn around your small garden, you would need to place a lot of attention on the most important aspect of maintaining grass, cutting it. How you do this is entirely up to you, all though it's equally very important that you apply the easier but more effective techniques. Cutting the grass regularly makes it possible for grass blades to get thickened and entwined to form a sleek carpet form; you create the perfect relaxation tone on the lawn.

When cutting the lawn in your home, it is more beneficial that you focus on little areas at a time and clearing them off as they grow, waiting on the whole lawn to get grown out before doing it all at once would present a bigger (and more stressful) task. Do not use a mower on the lawn if you only recently planted new grass, as the grass may not have been fully rooted enough to withstand the pressure (it may be uprooted). Never mow a wet lawn and per time, try not to focus on only one-directional movement with the mower so that the grass blades are pressed in different directions.

Apply the Best Fertilizer Available

When you start cutting the grass on your lawn, it is important to understand that nutrients are lost in the process. Replacing these nutrients can best be achieved by applying fertilizers, of which Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium are vital components. A standard fertilizer bag contains the three elements in the ratio 3:1:2 (Nitrogen being the most important), the lawn should be fertilized at least once every 4 weeks. Add Mini Storage Buildings for storage purposes where you can put all the equipment and fertilizer safely.

A mixture of 40% slow-release fertilizer and 60% fast release fertilizer will give an instant effect on your lawn, all though nutrients will still be added slowly over the coming weeks. There are also synthetic fertilizers that are useful to grass on the lawn, but organic fertilizers are definitely better as they also improve the soil. Two basic methods are available when it comes to fertilizing your lawn; they include the use of the broadcast spreader (used efficiently on large lawns) and the drop spreader (better used on small lawns).

Watering the Lawn

To create and maintain a lawn that's green and rich all year round, watering the lawn must be taken seriously. The schedule for watering the lawn, however, should be decided per time based on the weather conditions of the area and the grass variety. In order to reduce water loss through evaporation, water the lawn every morning and evening. The small garden and lawn can be watered by hand, water pipes, or automated systems such as sprinklers. When a lawn is newly planted, watering must be done at least once a day to allow the seed to grow within the soil and develop a good root system

Weed Control

Removing weeds from your lawn can easily be avoided if/when the grass is routinely cut, but when this isn't the case, there must be measures taken in order to fight weeds. The look of your lawn, when overthrown with weeds, is never as ugly as the damage which the grass specie and the soil may undergo.

Fighting weeds with chemical solutions can cause damage to the grass as well as pollute the soil, so it would be a better option to apply the old method of hand-pulling weeds as soon as they are spotted. When using herbicides to tackle a serious weed problem, a lawn spreader will be useful equipment to get all angles of the lawn covered. Knowing the specie of weed present on your lawn per time will prove to be useful as it will assist you when seeking professional help on the best lawn care to apply.

A basic improvement in lawn care patterns can sometimes discourage the growth of certain weed species, also the use of nonspecific herbicides should be done carefully in order to avoid killing your lawn.

Aerate the Lawn

The air going through the soil and grass on your lawn is really vital to the appearance. The grassroots need air to grow so the best practices include digging holes on the lawn and placing coarse sand in them, this allows water to flow into the soil and provide oxygen to plant roots. Other practices include removing patches of soil using a lawn aerator; dig deep to about 3 inches, and do this all over the lawn until you have around 7 or 8 plugs per square foot. The flow of air in the soil will be increased appreciably after this is done.

Eliminate Pests and Harmful Insects

When your lawn is been attacked by insects and pests, there's a good chance that your lawn care methods need to be improved on. Pest control services must be applied but done with great care so as not to kill off soil microorganisms that are useful to the growth and performance of grass on your lawn. Some pests and insects will cause damage not only to the grass on your lawn but also to the soil. When applying pesticides, ensure to use protective gear because your health could also be affected if not well applied; wash properly all equipment used afterward and ensure not to eat or drink during this process.

Adjustment in the Soil

Sometimes the soil on your lawn may not be good enough in terms of meeting the pH level required to maintain it. An overly acidic soil would require calcium carbonate lime applied to it on a scheduled basis in order to balance the pH levels. A pH of about 7.0 is the ideal standard you may want for your lawn soil, so tests must be carried out to know which nutrient deficiencies are in your soil as well as its pH level.

Examples of nutrients that their deficiencies can be detected and adjusted include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (by applying a different fertilizer); If the soil has too much alkalinity, then applying sulfur gardening products will create a balance in pH levels.

About the Author

Lucerin Saldana writes for topics like Home Improvement, Kitchen decor, Garden or travel-related topics additionally; he has a passion for the metal building industry for more than ten years, Lucerin Saldana has become an experienced building specialist in this industry. His goal is to help people with his vast knowledge to assist them with his best suggestions about different metal buildings such as Metal Carports, garages, barns, DIY buildings, and commercial structures.