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People often think that looking after your lawn is easy. It’s just a case of watering it in the summer and cutting it from time to time. If you do that and nothing more, you’ll still have a half decent lawn. But you’re way more likely to get bald patches or off-color yellow patches. Some people might not be bothered about that but if you want a lush green lawn all year round, you need to put a bit more work into it. Here’s everything you need to know about looking after your lawn properly.
Get The Right Grass Seed
A good lawn starts with the right grass seed. You might be confused if, like a lot of people, you thought that grass was just grass and it doesn’t matter what type you get. In reality, there are quite a few different types that are suited to different types of garden. That’s why it’s so important that you’re getting the right grass seeds for your needs. There are some which are hard wearing making them ideal for family households where the kids will be playing on the grass a lot. Others are best for gardens that don’t get a lot of sunlight. There are a lot of variables involved in grass including the thickness of the blades and how often they need to be watered and mowed. You need to look at your garden and consider the various uses for your garden so you can choose the right seeds. If you get it wrong, looking after the lawn and keeping it nice is going to be a lot harder than it needs to be.
Cut It Properly
Again, people don’t realize that there is a right and wrong way to cut the grass but there is actually a lot of things you can do wrong with a lawn mower. The blade on the lawn mower can make a big difference because if it isn’t that sharp, you’re going to get split ends on the grass which makes it more likely to turn yellow.
The direction that you cut your grass in is important too. If you do it in the same direction every time, it’ll start to lean that way. Over time, this means that you’ll be more likely to get bald patches in the grass and you won’t have an even coverage.
Cutting the grass when it’s wet is another big mistake. You’ll get an uneven finish and the blades are more likely to get damaged. You can also clog up your lawn with clumps of wet grass.
Always leave the grass cuttings on the lawn after you’ve mowed it as well (unless they’re wet because this will cause damage). They act as a natural fertilizer and you don’t have to bother picking it all up.
Weed Killers
If you cut the lawn properly, you should be able to stop a lot of the weeds from growing in the first place. But you’re still going to get some from time to time. In that case, you’ll have to use some weed killer to sort it out. You’ve got to be very careful here because the chemicals could damage your grass. It’s also important that you don’t use any chemicals that are harmful to the environment so you can keep your garden eco-friendly. Always do plenty of research into the different weed killers before you use them and only use it on the lawn if absolutely necessary.
Watering
It goes without saying that watering the lawn properly is one of the most important things. As a general rule, most lawns need about 1 to 2 inches of water each week. However, that does depend on the garden. Sandy soils will drain quicker than clay based soils so they’ll need more watering. Obviously, if you live in a drier climate, you might have to water it a bit more often than that. It’s important that you take the weather into account as well so you’re not over or under watering. If you’re really keen on keeping it nice, you can get some automatic sprinkler systems that link to the internet and reads the weather forecast to adjust watering.
Aerating
Aerating is an important aspect of lawn care that most people don’t know about. It basically just means poking small holes in the lawn. It helps water and oxygen get deeper into the soil which improves the health of the grass. You can buy some aerators that attach to your shoes so it’s a case of simply walking around the garden for a bit. You should do this when the grass is at peak growth, which depends on the grass seed you’ve chosen. It’s a good idea to use weedkiller afterwards as well so no weeds grow in the holes.
If you follow these simple lawn care rules, you’ll have lush green grass all year around.
