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
Originally posted 2009-08-03 03:30:49.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on July 11, 2010 in
How to Fix, Landscaper, Lawn
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
Originally posted 2010-01-05 03:57:13.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on June 11, 2010 in
Backyard, How to Fix, Landscaper, Lawn
Create your favorite garden!
Whether the new season rolling around is spring, summer, or fall, it's always the time to think about your lawn. If you take a lot of pride in the way you treat your land and landscaping, but don't know exactly where to start in order to create a green and lush piece of property, this article is what you've been looking for. Preparing your lawn for the new season means knowing what your grass needs, how to avoid common mistakes, and making sure that you actually follow through with these tips. Let's take a look at how to best prepare your lawn for the new season.
Find a need and fill it. Different climates will mean different soils; that's why it will be up to you to find a need and fill it. Whether this means you inspect your lawn after winter to see where the weaker, dead areas are, or simply considering the quality of your soil and what it needs to become more fertile, you need to consider your weaknesses first. If your soil is dry, you might want to concentrate on sprinkler systems that can keep it moist throughout the dryer seasons. If the quality of your soil could be improved by adding more organic minerals to improve fertility, then buy some garden soil and spread it evenly in the most needed places.
Don't make the assumption that you'll know what your soil needs. You can head to a garden center and find ways to test the quality of your soil, and they'll be able to give you more tips for preparing your lawn in your specific climate.
Don't be afraid to destroy in order to re-build. This is especially true in areas where the winters are more severe; each season, there will be affected areas on your land that will be different from the rest of your land. If you need to dig, remove, or destroy some areas and replace it with different soil, then go ahead and make that change. Landscaping from year-to-year can include changes to keep up with your land; if you want to keep everything consistent, it still may be necessary to uproot before you start building again.
What are the places that might need a little bit of de-constructing before you start landscaping? Soil where dead grass seems persistent can need some uprooting and aeration. Borders that might include dirt or mulch could probably use re-freshening. Keep all of these tips in mind when you head to your local gardening center.
Photo Credits: katsniffen
Originally posted 2009-07-29 03:30:29.
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Posted by Fix Handyman on May 30, 2010 in
How to Fix, Landscaper
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