There are one million acres of lawn across the country.
Many homeowners aspire to having a lush, green lawn as the showcase of their properties. The front lawn can make a statement and indicate to passersby the property owners’ personalities and design preferences.
Lawn care takes some dedication and hard work, but there are certain ways to cut down on the amount of effort required to maintain a landscape. By employing a few different shortcuts, you can have a healthy, lush lawn without spending all of your free time cutting the grass or pruning the trees.
- Stop weeds at the start. Weeding is one of the most time-consuming parts of maintaining a lawn. Weeds can proliferate throughout the lawn if not addressed in a timely manner. Once weeds take root they can become a nuisance, so it’s best to treat weeds before they even have a chance to sprout. Apply a preemergent weed control product as soon as possible in the spring and then reapply it about three months later to ensure weeds are eradicated. That equates to much less tedious lawn maintenance during the season.
- Plant a urine-resistant grass. Having a dog and maintaining a lush lawn has always been a particular conundrum for homeowners. Dog urine is high in nitrogen. While nitrogen, when applied in the correct ratio, can be a lawn-growth stimulant, in the large concentration that occurs in pet urine, it causes the grass to dry up and burn, resulting in bare spots. Replanting with urine-resistant grasses can help cut down on the level of damage to the lawn from your own pet or pets that happen to make potty stops on your property. The grasses most resistant to urine tend to be perennial ryegrasses and fescues.
- Wake up and water. Watering in the early mornings saves time and energy in the long run by fostering a tougher, more drought-resistant lawn. If you water early in the day, less water will be lost to evaporation. Limit watering to a few times per week, and less if you have had adequate rain. Avoid watering at night, which can expose the lawn to bacteria and attract insects.
- Let clippings fly. Mulching mowers, or those that just distribute clippings on the lawn as you go, can be healthier for the grass. They will serve as fertilizer and redistribute nutrients to the lawn as they breakdown into the soil. Leaving clippings on the lawn will fulfill about 25 per cent of fertilizer requirements.
- Mow less often. Raise the mower’s blade so that the grass is longer in between cuttings. The taller grass will shade the soil and block weeds from germinating. It also helps improve soil’s moisture retention.