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A good-looking garden can be the pride and joy of the home. It can be the perfect place to relax, a major boost to curb appeal, and may even be a good investment in the worth of the home. The foundation of any good garden is, of course, the lawn. Your neighbors might seem to have it handled so easily but the truth is that lawn care can involve going up against all kinds of opponents. We’re going to lay out the worst of them here so that you don’t have to fret about how green your grass is anymore.
Keeping it neat
The first and most vital aspect of lawn care should go without saying. You need to invest some time in your garden and get used to the habits that result in some healthy, thriving grass. A good lawn mower can save you plenty of time when keeping it nicely trimmed. Removing between one-third and a half of the grass’s length is perfect. Follow this up with a pair of edging shears that can allow you to match with the hard-to-reach bits on the edge of the lawn. Avoid mowing the lawn when it’s been raining, or you’ve just watered it, and this can mess up the grass’s growth and your lawnmower.
Open it up
If your grass has trouble growing, one of the reasons might be that the soil is compacted and it’s not really allowing moisture and air to reach the roots. Aerating the soil can be the perfect way to open it up and foster a much healthier lawn. All you need is a pitchfork, but there are specifically-designed aerator tools that can do the job much better if you’re willing to invest in one. Aerating isn’t something that needs to be done regularly, but instead should be done every few years. If your grass has the same problem year after year, there may be another problem with the soil instead.
Watch out for pesky pests
As mentioned, opening some holes in the soil can help the grass grow, but if there are too many, then you might have a pest problem. Digger wasps prefer open areas like lawns and, as the name suggests, will dig into them. A few digger wasps are no big deal, but if you have too many of them nesting in or near the garden, they can end up digging lots of holes and giving your grass little room to grow. If you see a lot of digger wasps in your garden, it might be worth calling out a pest control surface to safely remove them from the area. They’re not the only pests that can ruin your lawn, but they are some of the most common.
Don’t share it with the weeds
The constant enemy of everyone who wants a picturesque lawn, weeds can appear anywhere at any time. Bird dropping may contain seeds, but so to can your clothes and your own pets. Constant vigilance is needed. If you already have a relatively weed-free lawn, then pulling out any that appear by hand or by using a weed-pulling tool should be enough to keep the issue in check. If you have a garden that hasn’t been too well tended to and is overgrown with the blighters, however, then low toxicity weed killer can be the perfect tool. You can make your own that are organic and won’t harm the grass or any of the beneficial wildlife that might explore your garden.
Toss the moss
Moss is somewhat less common than weeds, but it can be much more devastating when it comes to the health of your lawn. If your lawn contains a lot of moisture, is shaded by a wall or a fence, or the soil isn’t particularly healthy, this could make it the perfect location for moss to make its new home. As mentioned before, cutting a lawn too short isn’t good for the grass, and moss is precisely the reason why. If the soil isn’t aerated enough, that can be a big issue too. Seeing moss may also be an indicator that your grass is starved. Not every lawn needs it, but if you’re seeing moss, grass-feeding products could help clear it away.
Drainage doesn’t have to be drain
As mentioned, moisture can be another significant concern where moss is concerned. Having easily-waterlogged soil can be a concern for many other reasons, including the fact that it will drown plenty of grass seeds and the overall quality of the soil will be diminished. This can last for hours or even days after heavy rainfall If you have a waterlogged garden, there’s no real option but to improve the drainage of your lawn. Drainage has to do with the shape and topography of the garden. By fitting in draining such as gutters where the water pools, you can stop it from resting in the soil, clearing away the water and letting your grass thrive.
Don’t overdo it
You may be pursuing the perfect lawn with a zealous fervor like you’ve never seen before, but you have to ensure that you don’t overdo it. Too much of a good thing isn’t good for you nor is it good for your lawn. This applies not only to watering the lawn but to feed it as well. Planting too many grass seeds close together will result in very little growth at all. Similarly, using too much fertilizer in one spot can end up smothering growing grass. You can exercise moderation manually, but there are automatic fertilizer and seed spreaders that can help you approach the garden more evenly, too. These tools also work for weed-killer and other lawn products you might want to use in the garden.
It can take time to identify the problem and find the right solution for your lawn. You’re not likely to have all of the issues above or even too many of them. Hopefully, the tips featured get you a little closer to the perfect pitch you want.
