Archive for the ‘Lawn’ Category
Gopher pokes head out.
Many of us are familiar with the work of Bill Murray in the film "Caddyshack" - the slow-witted groundskeeper waging a personal war against a gopher who's decided to make the golf course his home. But if you really have a gopher and/or mole problem around your lawn and garden, you don't want to go the Caddyshack route and plant plastic explosives in the ground. So what's a do-it-yourselfer like you to do? For starters, all you need to do is keep reading.
Your first option to consider is fencing. If you have an easy garden and lawn to fence in from the outside world, you should be able to fence it off relatively easily. You might even simply want to isolate your garden so that you have to do as little work and fence purchasing as possible - this isn't a bad idea. If your gophers start to realize that the work involved with getting in your garden isn't worth the food present, they'll probably stop trying to get in. Keep in mind that gophers can burrow quite deeply into the ground, so a surface fence probably isn't enough; and having a fence might not solve all of your problems.
Another option to consider will remind you of "Caddyshack": flooding. If you know where the gopher or mole has been gaining access to your garden, you can "flood" it out by spraying water in there through a hose. Some people don't like to do this to gophers or moles, so it will be a personal decision for you to make. If you choose not to flood the gopher out, remember that you have to be thorough in the other methods you use in order to solve the gopher problem.
You can also find "sonic spikes" that can be installed in the ground, though some people have found these devices bothersome; if you live very close to your neighbors, for instance, there's a good chance they might complain about them.
Keep in mind that you can ask around about gopher traps if you want to make sure that you've actually gotten a gopher from the ground and under your control.
A gopher problem isn't a fun thing, especially if you recently put in a lot of work into your lawn or garden. But if you're diligent, you should be able to get the gophers out of your turf.
Photo Credits: ingridtaylar
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Posted by Fix Handyman on January 7, 2010 in
Backyard, How to Fix, Landscaper, Lawn, pests
Mulch. Mulch. Mulch.
Mulch. It doesn't sound like much, but there's a reason it's such a popular item to use around the home and garden. Mulch can help lock in temperature and moisture in soil, prevent weeds from going, keep unwanted critters out, decorate an area, and even improve the quality of the soil by enhancing nutrients (in the case of "organic" mulch). So if there's been something missing from your lawn or garden, there's a good chance that the answer to your problems is as simple as laying down some mulch. Here's how to do it.
First, mulching will depend on the kind of climate you live in. If you live in a cold-weather climate and your winters will see a thick layer of snow for months at a time, you'll want to apply cold-weather mulch before winter and make sure you replace it every year. If you live in a warm-weather area where temperatures are pretty stable year-round, you'll also want to annually replace mulch, but you probably won't need to apply it for the sake of the seasons.
Mulch can work in both temperatures, however, to keep the soil at a better temperature. In warm-weather areas, mulch can block out a lot of sunlight and keep the ground cooler - after all, you know how warm blacktop can get when it simply sits out in the sun all day. For cold-weather areas, mulch will have an insulating effect. For this reason, you'll want to apply mulch different: just a 1-2 inch layer in the warm weather areas, and more insulating mulch for colder areas, which means an even thicker layer.
You'll also want to plot out where you use your mulch. Mulch can make a great border between grass and garden; just remember that you probably won't be walking on it much. Take a look at your landscaping and ask yourself where the borders should go. Don't go overboard with them; simply realize that borders can really augment and improve the look of a great landscape design.
In general, the best idea for using mulch is to KISS, or "Keep It Simple, Stupid." Use mulch to help keep the soil protected and also provide a landscape border. Don't overdo it with the mulch; simply lay it, inspect it, and then leave it. You'll find that this approach will work just fine, and it will only take on Saturday afternoon of work.
Photo Credits: knitsteel
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Posted by Fix Handyman on January 5, 2010 in
Backyard, How to Fix, Landscaper, Lawn
Got deer?
Many people love deer, but deer can get into gardens and eat the flowers, which means that not everyone will always want to invite them in. If you have a lawn including a garden that's been attracting unwanted deer, there are some ways to keep them out. Here are a few of them.
Build a fence. If you've been thinking about building a fence anyway, but needed something to fence out, you may be able to kill two birds with one stone here. Building a fence to keep out deer doesn't necessarily have to be expensive, but you will want to make sure to keep your whole lawn covered from deer if you want it to be totally effective. Chances are you'd be building this fence in a heavily-wooded area, so be sure to browse around for the best kinds of fences for these terrains.
Warn the deer first. You don't need to stand in a hunting tower rifle in hand in order to scare deer away. You actually should have a few options. If deer are plentiful during a particular season of the year for you, you can apply predator urine to trees around your area in order to scare deer off - this has to be applied on a fairly regular basis, so if you're out gardening frequently, you can make this a part of your routine. If handling urine isn't your style, you can also think about motion-activated noisemakers that can startle deer away.
Make your garden undesirable. If you don't want to attract deer, maybe you shouldn't grow such deer-attracting plantlife! Deer love some items that can be found in gardens, and if enough deer are getting into your garden that it ruins much of the plantlife, you can try some of the above-mentioned tactics or simply start growing plants that deer don't like. If this seems like too much to you, you could also try keeping a border around your garden that will keep deer out.
A border could include a natural border through plants, an actual fence that you post up, and/or placing the deer-unfriendly plants on the outside of your garden.
You don't necessarily have to remake your entire garden or lawn to keep deer away. You simply need to understand how deer can be deterred and give them one powerful reason for them to keep moving along.
Photo Credits: Lee Coursey
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Posted by Fix Handyman on December 3, 2009 in
Backyard, How to Fix, Landscaper, Lawn
Got a dry lawn?
Sure, you can read plenty of do-it-yourself articles that focus on home improvement and fixing different appliances and fixtures in your house, but what if your lawn is the thing that needs repair? If you've just gone through a dry month and need your lawn to go from brown to green in a hurry, this post is for you. We'll take a look at some tips and techniques for getting your lawn looking, well, alive again.
- First, be sure what the source of the problem is. If you're not sure that it's the dry weather that's making your lawn brown, you'll want to figure out if it's a shortage of water or an abundance of hungry insects that's making your lawn go brown. If your lawn is brown in patches, there's a good chance that it's something other than the dryness - or at least not the dryness totally - that's effecting your lawn. If your entire front and backyard are both brown, you're probably looking at simple dryness. Hint: a good way to test this is to take out a clump of your lawn and look for the roots. If the roots are eaten up, you have bugs to blame. If not, the weather is probably the factor.
- Next, you'll want to make sure you apply the appropriate amount of water to your lawn. Look up your individual grass type or at least climate and try to find out the typical amount of water your grass needs to look green. You don't want to under-water your grass, but you don't want to over-water it either. Note: making sure you water your grass the proper amount doesn't necessarily mean that you'll want to conserve water. It seemly means that you'll want to find the right amount of water for your grass type - it might be high or low.
- Finally, you'll want to make sure you have strong blades of grass with strong roots. This is achieved by mowing your lawn with a high setting, meaning that you'll leave tall blades of grass. Why? The shorter the blades, the less need they have for strong roots to provide them with strength and nutrients. If you have longer blades of grass on a regular basis, the roots will grow strong and give your grass blades a healthy, attractive look. Remember that the more roots there are, the more water they'll need.
Photo Credits: Bill Hails
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Posted by Fix Handyman on September 28, 2009 in
Handyman, How to Fix, Landscaper, Lawn
How to Fix and Maintain Your Yard
Maintaining a great lawn isn't only about cutting it every week or so. Depending on the climate and area you're in, maintaining great lawn turf can mean a lot of different things. But the principles at play will remain the same: understanding your lawn, how to fix problematic areas, and following through with excellent lawn-maintaining habits. Once you learn how to maintain your lawn turf in the best ways, you can develop those good habits and keep them for the rest of your life. With that in mind, let's take a look at some great tips for maintaining great lawn turf.
Mow the grass at the right height. What's the right height? You'll have to do your own research on this because I can't predict what kind of turf you have. But looking up various types of grass and lawns, you'll be able to find the ideal heights to promote healthy growth and make sure that weeds and other problems don't develop. If you want to maintain a short lawn for its own sake, that might be a good idea, but you'll have to make sure that it's good for your grass, as well. If you want full, lush green grass, you'll have to consider your mowing height as a variable depending on the type of lawn you have.
Aerate your lawn after the dry or winter months. If you've been through a long winter, for example, your lawn will probably be hard and compact. Maintaining a good lawn means that you'll have to at least aerate it at the beginning so that you can both loosen up the soil and get more healthy air around the entire area. This will promote the recovery of your lawn back to its original lush green quality. In dryer states, this might not have the same effect, but you'll want to looking into aeration anyway.
Monitor watering time closely. Watering your lawn should also be a variable that depends on the type of grass you have. Dry states might need a lot more moisture than wet states, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep track of when your lawn is watered and how. For example, if there's been a plentiful rain fall and your grass looks lush a few days afterward, you can probably hold back on watering it. If there hasn't been any rain in weeks, you might have to keep a pretty strict schedule yourself. Remember that maintaining a good lawn means keeping up these habits in order to keep up with nature. If you make watering your lawn a part of your to-do list, you can keep tabs on your lawn without much thinking.
Photo Credits: SharkeyinColo
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Posted by Fix Handyman on August 3, 2009 in
How to Fix, Landscaper, Lawn
How to Grow Your Lawn Thick and Green
For some people, keeping a good lawn simply means installing a sprinkler system and making sure that it is mowed nice and short every few days. But the experienced lawn caretaker knows that growing a lush, thick green lawn needs a little more work than that. Even if you won't be putting in extra hours on your lawn, you can make sure it grows nice and green through some common-sense knowledge and a few useful tips. Here are some of the best ways to fix a lawn than grown brown and ugly.
- Mowing your lawn properly.
Some people think that the height of the blades of grass aren't very important - that the shorter you cut them, the better: this means you will have to mow it less. People who put a little more care into their lawns know that mowing it properly might mean a little extra work, but it will have day-to-day rewards that you can see.
In order to mow your lawn properly, you'll want to keep the height of your blades up, usually three to four inches. Keeping the blades of grass long also keeps them healthy, capable of fighting off grass diseases and other disturbances. These longer blades will also utilize extra nutrients in order to maintain their size, which means that their color will become a deeper green. When you see a short, brown lawn on your block, you know one of the things they're doing wrong.
- Don't worry about weeds.
By mowing your lawn in the above fashion, you'll also help fight off weeds. To maintain a lush green lawn, you'll want to mow your lawn to keep the blades high, which means you'll also want to mow it often so that they don't get too high and look rough. Mowing your lawn in this fashion will also clip off weeds and help kill them - no pulling necessary. If you want to fight your weeds, try cutting your lawn in the way just described for a week or two and see how long they survive.
- Water heavily when it needs it.
A heavy watering will make sure that your water goes deep into the ground, forcing the roots of your grass deep to retrieve all the moisture they can (remember, higher blades of grass will need more moisture!). That also helps starve out weeds who have to fight off the stronger blades of grass for the nutrients and moisture.
Growing your lawn thick doesn't mean a lot of work - it simply means doing things the right way, rather than working hard on something that doesn't make a lot of sense. Mow high, mow often, and water deep when the blades are thirsty, and you'll be able to grow your lawn thick and lush.
Photo Credits: Eric M Martin
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Posted by Fix Handyman on July 20, 2009 in
How to Fix, Lawn
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