C
Cormac Reynolds
Guest
Most well-maintained yards have a carpet of lush green grass and such maintenance may at times requires some extra measures to ensure that the garden is in peak condition.
Giving a lawn that looks tired all the care and attention it needs is the secret to restoring its dwindling beauty. For instance, watering the garden during the summer when rains are a no-show helps keep a green lawn from turning brown. Aerating trampled sections of the yard that have dead grass can get a new cover of grass. Even raking can do wonders for lawn care; it helps to remove the dead growth promoting a threadbare lawn to be a soft carpet of green grass.
1. Avoid Compaction
When too much grass grows in a small area, the limited space means that the grasses compete for the meager resources in the ground and this results in stunted development that leads to bare patches. The patches become mud baths during the rainy and winter months and dry and dusty spots during the summer months. Use a garden fork to correct the compaction.
Push the fork about ten centimeters into the ground as you rock it back and forth then pull it out and do the same after a spacing of about ten centimeters. The prongs of the fork break up the ground so that the roots of the grasses can breathe and find it easy to regrow. If the field is heavy as is the case with clay soils, then pour a bit of horticultural grit of sharp sand into the holes created by the prongs; this will help improve the aeration and drainage while preventing further compaction.
2. Edging
You can keep the grass from growing into the edges by trimming them, which you can do using long-handled shears. The result should be something that makes the garden look neat and well-maintained. Use a half-moon edger to chip-off and reshape the lawn if it has grown into the border. You can as well consider putting a permanent edging that the grass cannot encroach.
3. Feeding
A wheeled lawn feeder is the best option when it comes to ensuring that you have well-fed grasses in your yard. The feeder is accurate and gets the job done fast. The feeding should be done during the onset of rains so that the fertilizer can be washed down the soil to reach the roots preventing it from burning the grass blades. If the rains fail, then run the garden sprinklers. The result of this is a lawn that looks green and healthy within a short period. Spring and mid-summer are the ideal times to add fertilizer to your yard.
4. Reseeding
Growing fillers for the bare patches in your lawn is not hard. You can use the strips you get when reshaping the edges of your yard, lay them on a seed tray filled with compost ensuring that the pieces are 5cm apart. Play the tray outside and tend to it so that the grass can grow. To reseed the bare areas, cut out a rectangle or square in the ground and dig up the soil in the size and depth of the new turf in the tray. Lay it down in place without pressing too much on it and ensure no gaps are left, or the fresh grass is lower or higher than the rest of the lawn.
5. Mowing
During the summers, have the lawn with a growth of about 5-10cm so that you reduce the risk of having dried grass. Shading it garden can also help, and it lowers the risk of moss and having bare spots. The mower you use should be well maintained and with sharp blades. Moving should be once a week during the summer and once a fortnight during spring, autumn and the warm winters. Mowing encourages the roots to grow and spread. It also reduces the risk of having weeds in your yard.
6. Watering
Budding lawns need a bit more watering than those that have years to their existence. Unless there is a hosepipe ban, then you should leave the sprinklers running for a few hours during the evening so that the young grasses can have their fill. But even then, the established yards also need to be watered during the hot, dry months.
It also is advisable to do a bit of watering before mowing, and the mover should have the blades raised a few inches during the summer so that the longer grasses are the one that gets a trim. If irrigation will be having some logistical problems, then it is wise to plant tough fescue that has deep roots and spreads by rhizomes, and it will fill up the bare sections of your lawn.
7. Weeding
Dandelions and plantains can be a nightmare when they decide to invade any lawn because they have flat leaves that smother the grass. Troweling them out can be one way of dealing with these weeds. Buttercups, clovers, and the yellow medick are yet another menace since they spread fast. You can rake the lawn, and then run the mower to that they blades trim off the leaves or weeds, weakening them so that they die off.
Waging chemical warfare against the weeds can be expensive and may even affect the health of your lawn negatively. Proper and timely feeding, as well as regular mowing, can prove to be useful and eco-friendly solutions for dealing with the weeds.
The post 7 Lawn Care Tips For A Green And Healthy Garden appeared first on Gardening Know How's Blog.
Continue reading...
Giving a lawn that looks tired all the care and attention it needs is the secret to restoring its dwindling beauty. For instance, watering the garden during the summer when rains are a no-show helps keep a green lawn from turning brown. Aerating trampled sections of the yard that have dead grass can get a new cover of grass. Even raking can do wonders for lawn care; it helps to remove the dead growth promoting a threadbare lawn to be a soft carpet of green grass.
1. Avoid Compaction
When too much grass grows in a small area, the limited space means that the grasses compete for the meager resources in the ground and this results in stunted development that leads to bare patches. The patches become mud baths during the rainy and winter months and dry and dusty spots during the summer months. Use a garden fork to correct the compaction.
Push the fork about ten centimeters into the ground as you rock it back and forth then pull it out and do the same after a spacing of about ten centimeters. The prongs of the fork break up the ground so that the roots of the grasses can breathe and find it easy to regrow. If the field is heavy as is the case with clay soils, then pour a bit of horticultural grit of sharp sand into the holes created by the prongs; this will help improve the aeration and drainage while preventing further compaction.
2. Edging
You can keep the grass from growing into the edges by trimming them, which you can do using long-handled shears. The result should be something that makes the garden look neat and well-maintained. Use a half-moon edger to chip-off and reshape the lawn if it has grown into the border. You can as well consider putting a permanent edging that the grass cannot encroach.
3. Feeding
A wheeled lawn feeder is the best option when it comes to ensuring that you have well-fed grasses in your yard. The feeder is accurate and gets the job done fast. The feeding should be done during the onset of rains so that the fertilizer can be washed down the soil to reach the roots preventing it from burning the grass blades. If the rains fail, then run the garden sprinklers. The result of this is a lawn that looks green and healthy within a short period. Spring and mid-summer are the ideal times to add fertilizer to your yard.
4. Reseeding
Growing fillers for the bare patches in your lawn is not hard. You can use the strips you get when reshaping the edges of your yard, lay them on a seed tray filled with compost ensuring that the pieces are 5cm apart. Play the tray outside and tend to it so that the grass can grow. To reseed the bare areas, cut out a rectangle or square in the ground and dig up the soil in the size and depth of the new turf in the tray. Lay it down in place without pressing too much on it and ensure no gaps are left, or the fresh grass is lower or higher than the rest of the lawn.
5. Mowing
During the summers, have the lawn with a growth of about 5-10cm so that you reduce the risk of having dried grass. Shading it garden can also help, and it lowers the risk of moss and having bare spots. The mower you use should be well maintained and with sharp blades. Moving should be once a week during the summer and once a fortnight during spring, autumn and the warm winters. Mowing encourages the roots to grow and spread. It also reduces the risk of having weeds in your yard.
6. Watering
Budding lawns need a bit more watering than those that have years to their existence. Unless there is a hosepipe ban, then you should leave the sprinklers running for a few hours during the evening so that the young grasses can have their fill. But even then, the established yards also need to be watered during the hot, dry months.
It also is advisable to do a bit of watering before mowing, and the mover should have the blades raised a few inches during the summer so that the longer grasses are the one that gets a trim. If irrigation will be having some logistical problems, then it is wise to plant tough fescue that has deep roots and spreads by rhizomes, and it will fill up the bare sections of your lawn.
7. Weeding
Dandelions and plantains can be a nightmare when they decide to invade any lawn because they have flat leaves that smother the grass. Troweling them out can be one way of dealing with these weeds. Buttercups, clovers, and the yellow medick are yet another menace since they spread fast. You can rake the lawn, and then run the mower to that they blades trim off the leaves or weeds, weakening them so that they die off.
Waging chemical warfare against the weeds can be expensive and may even affect the health of your lawn negatively. Proper and timely feeding, as well as regular mowing, can prove to be useful and eco-friendly solutions for dealing with the weeds.
The post 7 Lawn Care Tips For A Green And Healthy Garden appeared first on Gardening Know How's Blog.
Continue reading...