How do you take care of a lawn? Becoming the new owner of a lawn can be daunting. Homeowners are often surprised and even overwhelmed how much work goes into keeping a lawn healthy and green.
The truth is, it’s a lot more than just buying a bag of fertilizer at your local store and tossing it down. There are so many small tweaks and adjustments that need to be made along the way that end up having an enormous impact on your lawn care results.
Unfortunately, when lawn care mistakes are made, it can really set you back. For that reason, you want to be sure that everything is done right.
If you’re someone who has found yourself with a lawn in need of care — whether that’s because you’ve bought a home for the first time or you’ve moved somewhere new — then you might be looking to understand the basics of lawn care.
We’re here to help!
In this article, we’ll cover our best lawn care tips for beginners including:
#1: Lawn Mowing Basics
#2: Watering Your Lawn Correctly
#3: Fertilizing for a Healthy Lawn
#4: Controlling Weeds Before They Spread
#5: Aerate to Improve Soil Health
#6: Overseed to Fill in Bare Patches
Keep in mind the best lawns are the result of a combined effort from homeowners and lawn care pros. We’ll be including advice on what you should tackle, and what tasks are best handed over to a pro.
Mowing is one of the basics of lawn care. Everyone wants a nicely manicured lawn. Most homeowners handle lawn mowing, whether they do it themselves or hire a landscaper, and that’s certainly reasonable. But it’s important that your lawn is mowed properly.
Mowing seems like such a basic task that most people assume they can’t do it wrong. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. In fact, when a lawn starts to look yellowish or has weeds break through, a lot of times these problems can be traced back to improper mowing habits.
Here are the lawn mowing basics.
The vast majority of the time, homeowners (or even professional mowers) cut their grass too short. When a lawn is mowed too short, you create an environment that is more prone to weed growth. We recommend a mowing height of at least 3.5 inches, but the taller the turf, the better when it comes to choking out weeds. A lawn that is mowed too short will also be more prone to yellowing as the grass struggles to recover from such a drastic cut.
In addition to cut height, you’ll also need to pay attention to the condition of your mowing equipment. This includes the sharpness of your blades and the state of your tires. Mowing your lawn with a dull blade can put it under a great deal of stress. You also want to make sure the tires are well-inflated so that you aren’t leaving ruts in the grass. Finally, make sure the mowing deck is level to ensure an even cut.
There is also proper edging to think about. Be very careful not to scalp the edges of your walkways or driveways when edging or you risk creating areas where crabgrass will start growing (and can then spread to your lawn). Crabgrass is an opportunistic weed that will seek out thin areas of the lawn and can quickly spread.
Another really important task amongst the lawn care basics is proper watering. People often underestimate how important watering is to the overall health of their lawn but it’s absolutely imperative. If you are newly in charge of a lawn, you would do yourself a great service by implementing proper watering techniques from the start.
Since homeowners handle this service themselves, it’s important to understand these watering tips or hire an irrigation expert who can help manage a sprinkler system.
The best time of day to water your lawn is in the morning. This gives your grass plenty of time to dry before nightfall and to absorb as much water as possible before it evaporates. This is especially important when night temperatures are over 70 degrees and day temperatures are above 85 degrees.
Established lawns need one to two inches of consistent water per week during the growing season. During certain times of the year, Mother Nature may provide enough rainfall to keep your grass growing. However, it’s common to have dry spells for several weeks or more. When this happens, lawns can go dormant and brown if you don’t keep up with watering. While lawns can handle a little bit of this, after a few weeks it could lead to thinning areas that may not bounce back. On top of that, anytime that you have declining turf, it will create an opportunity for weeds to creep in.
The basics of lawn care should also include fertilization. Fertilizer helps supply your lawn with vital nutrients that it needs to perform its best.
As far as what type of fertilizer to use, homeowners are often confused by the numbers that they see on the bag. This can lead to some common myths, such as assuming the higher the numbers on the bag, the better the quality (which is not how it works).
In understanding how to fertilize grass, it’s also important to know that the optimal amount of nutrients for your lawn is going to change throughout the seasons.
While fertilization is something you can do yourself, it can get really confusing. That’s why we recommend letting a lawn care professional handle this task. Not only will they use high-quality, professional-grade fertilizer, but they’ll know exactly how much to apply (and when to apply it) so that you get the best results.
Lawn care for beginners can lead to mistakes - fertilizer burn is one of the most common. If you accidentally apply too much fertilizer, you can burn a hole in the lawn.
Let a pro tackle fertilization for you and feel confident you’re getting the best results.
Lawn care basics should also include a strategy to tackle weeds. Weeds are often one of homeowners’ most-hated lawn care foes as they can really take away from the beauty of a lawn.
Weed control is another task that can get complicated. Different times of the year can mean different weeds are growing. That’s why the best weed control strategy is multifaceted, using different products as they’re needed. This includes both pre-emergent (those that prevent weeds) and post-emergent (those that address existing weeds) control methods.
While there are store-bought products available for weed control, they are usually not highly effective. Homeowners also sometimes make mistakes with weed control products, inadvertently killing a lot of the surrounding grass. It’s best to work with a lawn care professional who will use professional-grade products and know exactly what, when, and how to treat weeds.
Aeration is the process of pulling out small soil cores (also known as plugs) to allow water, oxygen and nutrients to penetrate the root zone. This is a highly beneficial service that can help you achieve amazing results. When lawns are well-aerated, it improves overall soil structure and they grow thicker and healthier.
Some of the main benefits of aeration include:
Relieving soil compaction giving grass better access to oxygen and water
Improving root development and filtration
Thatch reduction
Overall improved lawn care results
Another one of the basics of lawn care is overseeding. This is best performed at the time of aeration so that the seeds can fall into the holes made by the aerator. Seeds need seed-to-soil contact in order to germinate and grow.
Fall is truly the best time to seed your lawn. This is typically anytime between late August through the end of October, though the exact timing is dependent on weather.
By waiting for the fall, you provide more than enough time for grass plants to mature, so that crabgrass control can be applied to your lawn the following spring. When you attempt to seed in the spring, you will not be able to apply crabgrass product (as it will kill your new grass).
Seeding can be performed by a lawn care professional at the time of aeration. This will ensure the best results.
Even basic lawn care for beginners can feel overwhelming. There’s a lot to figure out. But when you partner with a lawn care professional, they’ll take over a lot of the more complicated tasks and even give you advice on the tasks you’re handling yourself. You won’t feel like you’re on your own!
Here at Oasis Turf & Tree, we would love the chance to help you discover how you can be successful in caring for your lawn. We want to help you get the lawn of your dreams.
By choosing Oasis Turf & Tree to care for your lawn, you know that you are making a wise investment in ensuring your lawn has everything it needs to thrive. That means truly letting go of your worries and gaining peace of mind that your lawn is in good hands.
Want to learn more about professional lawn care services for your Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, or Northern Kentucky home? Request your quote, choose the lawn care program that’s right for you, and then sit back and relax as the pros help you get the lawn of your dreams!
Image Sources: lawn mower