Dos and Don’ts of Lawn Care for Homeowners

Achieving a lush green lawn requires proper planning and consistency. The key to a thriving lawn is timing. It’s about knowing when and what to do.

For instance, your lawn should be prepared before summer arrives. Spring lawn preparation involves weeding, aerating, and fertilising the soil. This ensures that the soil, grass, and plants around the lawn are ready for the growing season.

To avoid pitfalls that come with lawn maintenance, here are some dos and don’ts to keep in mind:

Dos of Lawn Care

Here is the thing you should do:

Do Mow Frequently

It’s common knowledge that regular mowing is necessary for a lawn to thrive. An overgrown lawn is an eyesore. It attracts pests, takes longer to work on, overworks your equipment, and takes away the joy of having a lawn.

Consistent and proper mowing, on the other hand, helps maintain the ideal grass height for adequate nutrient absorption. It gives your lawn a manicured look, increasing your home’s curb appeal.

The question is: How frequently should the mowing be done? The answer is that it depends on your area’s climate, type of soil and grass, and time of the year. Typically, mowing your lawn once a week is best during the growing season. Doing it once every other week is also sufficient.

Do Fertilize Your Lawn Regularly

While lawn soil contains some nutrients the grass requires, it may not be enough to promote a healthy lawn. Turf grass basically needs three nutrients to flourish. Nitrogen is responsible for keeping the grass green, phosphorous to stimulate growth, and potassium to resist disease, drought, and weather conditions.

Regular fertilization, especially in the growing period, helps provide the needed nutrients for a thicker and green lawn. It also helps to reduce soil run-off during rains and storms. Moreover, a dense lawn with strong roots will choke out weeds and will be less prone to disease.

Do Change Mowing Patterns

As a rule of thumb, lawns should be mowed with varying patterns each time. Running your mower in the same areas and direction every time will create ruts and compact the soil. Compacted soil prevents proper grass growth by hindering the grass root from accessing water, air, and sunlight.

Alternating mowing patterns prevents grass from growing in the same direction, which is unappealing and makes mowing much more manageable. Rotating patterns by trimming the grass horizontally this time, vertically next time, and then diagonally or circularly will aerate the soil and give you the best results.

Do Always Use Sharp Mower Blades

Always ensure that your mower blades are as sharp as possible. Dull mower blades won’t produce a clean cut. They’ll tear off or damage the top edges of the grass instead of sharply cutting them off. Rough cuts create bigger grass blade openings which cause moisture loss and make the grass susceptible to disease invasion.

On the other hand, sharpening your blades will deliver a quality cut and do a faster job. Good practice requires that you sharpen your mower blades at least once after every 20-25 hours of use. This means that if it takes you two hours to mow your lawn, the blades should be sharpened after every ten mows. Replace mower blades that have been in use for long.

Don’ts of Lawn Care

Below are the things you shouldn’t do:

Don’t Cut Grass Too Short

Cutting your lawn grass too short to extend the time until the next mow is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Never mow your lawn more than 1/3 of the blade height, no matter how tempting. This will weaken the grass, create patches on the lawn, and make it vulnerable to disease, weeds, and insects.

If the grass is too long, cut it in steps, not all at once, or you’ll shock the grass system. The proper way is to cut approximately 50% of the grass height and wait a few days before trimming another 50 % off. If more cutting is required, follow the same procedure, noting to leave at least three inches of turf after the final cut.

Don’t Overwater

Water is critical to your lawn’s survival. To promote soft and lush blades, your lawn needs a deep soak of about 10-15 minutes once a week. This depends on the climate. Overdoing it can have serious consequences.

The excess water will saturate the soil and cause the grass to rot and wilt, eventually making the grass fade and seem lifeless. Moreover, the lawn soil will become muddy and suffocate.

Overwatering leeches nutrients from the soil, attracts weeds, and provides a conducive environment for fungi growth. Signs of overwatering include a spongy lawn, water run-off, and thick thatch (a dense mat that forms from shallow roots and partially decomposed plants).

Don’t Bag Grass Clippings

While raking your lawn clean after a cut can give it a picture-perfect look, you’ll be depriving it of readily available nutrients. Finely cut grass clippings are a source of nourishment and water for your lawn. When left on the lawn, they release nutrients and moisture back into the soil as they decompose. They also provide shade to the soil and help maintain the required temperature for the grassroots.

Bare spots on the lawn are covered by clippings, which also control the growth of developing grass by directing it back to the ground. Leaving grass clippings on your lawn will reduce the amount of fertilizer required by your lawn since a portion will already have been provided.

Don’t Mow Wet Grass

To get a clean and even cut, grass must be upright so the mower can neatly slice through the grass. This can’t be achieved by damp grass because it’s limp. Mowing wet grass isn’t only disastrous to the grass but also to the mowing equipment and yourself.

Mowing wet grass will result in patchy and dead areas. This is because damp soil tends to be softer than dry, so the lawn’s roots easily yield to pulling by the mower. Cutting wet grass takes more time and creates mats and clogs on the lawn.

Wet grass clippings will mess up your mower by sticking to its parts and clogging the blades. It’s much safer to cut grass when dry as there’s less risk of falling or being injured by the mower.

Conclusion

A lot of care and commitment goes into attaining a lush green lawn. But one lawn care mistake can frustrate your efforts by causing significant or irreparable grass damage. Lawn care involves more than just pulling your mower across your lawn. It involves knowing what should or shouldn’t be done.

To continuously maintain and enjoy lush turf on your lawn, it’s safe to acquaint yourself with the above dos and don’ts.