Five Lawn Care Tips

Archive for the ‘Other Tips’ Category

A lot of unpleasant surprises for your lawn can come from your dog. Its urine and feces are not especially good for your lawn due to their chemical characteristics. Large quantities of dog urine and feces can cause the lawn to become burnt.

How Dog Waste Affects Your Lawn

The high amount of nitrogen in dog waste is very bad for the lawn. Dog urine causes the most damage as it is released at a high quantity at a time, unlike feces that can be slowly absorbed in the ground. Also, dog feces can be removed quickly because they are very visible, but urine is not so easy to clean.

Another cause for lawn damage is a dog’s habit of marking all surfaces with urine. Lawn experts call the brown spots that appear on the lawn where the dog has released its waste, the “female dog disease.” There are types of lawn grass that are more resistant than others to the action of nitrogen in the dog waste. For instance, it is preferable to use Festuca grass rather than Cynodon grass when the owner has a dog.

Dealing with the Problem

The best thing that a dog owner can do to protect his lawn from the catastrophic effects of dog waste is to teach his pet that the lawn is a playground, not a toilet. Another measure that can be taken is to build a small fence around the lawn to keep the dog off the lawn. Another solution is to change the dog’s diet to make the urine less concentrated with nitrogen, but this is not advisable, as veterinaries do not approve of it and the result is not always the desired one.

Treating a Damaged Lawn

When the lawn has been damaged by dog waste, it is advisable to take a little extra care for making the lawn return to its initial stage. There are intensive treatments for this, like using gypsum or lime on the burnt areas. This way, the burns fade in time and the lawn recovers. Other measures to take are supervising the dog when on the lawn and watering the urine spots right after they are made to dissolve the nitrogen. The affected areas can also be seeded again.

In order to solve the problem, it is recommendable to use, in the same time, a training plan for the dog and to undertake the appropriate measures for the affected lawn.

It is common knowledge that people who own lawns need to face a lot of issues prior to seeing their desired output.  Therefore, before doing any work related to the lawn care of your personal home garden, certain factors need to be attended to first.

The most basic requirement is identifying if you have sufficient area for your lawn. The journey does not end here. Even when this requisite is fulfilled, you are still faced with a lot of issues, most of them are related to lawn maintenance.

Knowing Your Way around Lawn Care

The fact is there are no shortcuts in working around some basic projects.  The trick in minimizing the amount of work needed is to concentrate on the major lawn areas that are most noticeable to people.  If you are vying for “Lawn of the Month,” invite out-of-towners over. Otherwise, you might just be wasting your time looking for grass overgrowth.  Also, consult your lawn care service provider.

In creating a layout for your lawn, cut around the yard once to make the outline visible.  Then, cut lengthwise, strip by strip, until the other end is reached.  Next, start edging as this would make your lawn look manicured.  You may use a manual or automatic edger to make the job quicker.  Be sure to clip the greenery, like shrubbery, bushes, and trees, in your yard that us mostly visible from the street.

Use of Fertilizers rather than Pool Water

A lot of easy ways are available to address lawn care problems.  For the purpose of watering, never drain all the pool water into your lawn.  Doing so is a big mistake because chlorine will totally destroy the grasses. In lieu of this, you may use fertilizers that are comprised of potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus.  These chemicals help your lawn increase and maintain its green color.  After all, the measure of lawn quality is largely dependent on its color.

Lawn care is not exactly a very simple task and, therefore, some piece of advice on taking care of the lawn can be very useful. A beautiful lawn can be obtained after many efforts and work, but the result can also be a well grounded reason of pride. Lawn care consists of many activities that are scientifically based.

Tips for Mowing

When mowing the grass, it must be noted that the height should remain about two thirds of the original length. Leave the clippings because they contain many nutritious substances for the lawn. The tool used for mowing must be of good quality; use a mower with a sharp blade because a mower with dull blade can shred and tear the grass, exposing it to pests and diseases. Change mowing patterns to make the grass grow better and more healthy.

Tips for Watering

Watering is very important in lawn care, as the grass requires a certain quantity of water per week. Watering should not be performed in the same way all around the year, but it must be done alternately depending on the season conditions. When raining, excess of water makes the lawn prone to disease. For better irrigation, using automatic devices is best because the lawn will receive consistent watering. If this operation is done too frequently, the grass may become weak.

Tips for Weed Control

The problem faced by every type of lawn is weed. Weed grows in almost any conditions. To control the weed in your lawn, mow, water and filter your lawn properly. If the mowing process leaves the grass too short, if watering is problematic or if fertilizing is not done the way it should, the lawn can be covered by weed. Some herbicides can help keep the lawn free from such problems.

Tips for Fertilizing

As watering and mowing, fertilizing must be carried out in the right conditions and in the appropriate amount. When handling such an operation, keep in mind the needs of your lawn. Watering after fertilizing increases the positive effects. For better result, spread the fertilizer all over the lawn’s surface.

A healthy, green looking lawn is the result of proper care. Regarding pests and diseases, it is best to use pesticides at the right moment and in the right amount.

Most landscapers and lawn owners today want more than conventional lawns. As a result, putting of shrubs in the lawns is becoming a trend.

How to Plant Shrubs

Shrubs that may be placed in your lawn come in different types, such as red twig dogwood, shrub roses and hydrangeas.  In planting them, you need to dig deep holes in the ground to provide room for plant roots to spread and gain access to water beneath the soil.

While planting and after placing the plant in the hole, soil may be mixed with peat moss and the opening may be filled up with loose soil, respectively. The now planted shrub should be adequately watered, especially in dry season. To achieve the desired effect, you may hire an expert to trim and form the shrubs into different shapes.

Shrub Care and Management

Basic care for shrubs usually includes proper watering, fertilization, controlling pests and trimming or shaping. While still young, shrubs need more water as their roots are not large enough to reach for water beneath the ground.  Their need for water goes down as they age. Also, shrubs grow well with the help of some fertilizers. An effective shrub fertilizer is mulch.  The use of this supplement, however, can be minimized if the soil in your lawn is of quality.

Shrubs, by nature, are pest resistant. When planted around the lawn, they may also act as pest repellants. Sometimes, shrubs themselves may be afflicted with pest problems. In such case, organic pesticides may be used.

On another note, trimming depends on the kind of shrub in the lawn.  Flowering shrubs, for example, need to be trimmed a month after blooming.  Fortunately, there are shrubs that are inherently shaped in a delightful way.  This fact, however, does not limit you from seeking expert advice regarding trimming.  In addition, some plants from other locations may be directly replanted in your lawn.

Positive and Negative Effects of Shrubs

Shrubs, like anything else, bring both advantages and disadvantages.  They break the monotony of conventional lawns by providing your space with an enhanced look.  They can also properly define the borders of your lawn.

On another side, shrubs require tedious care and management.  When situated in the wrong place, they may invite pests in and create unwanted shade, which, in general, can be hazardous to your lawn.

With proper care and management, however, the benefits of having shrubs in your lawn will outweigh the negative effects, therefore providing you with a picture-perfect lawn.

We have always dreamed of owning a beautiful house one day.  This wish comes with ideas on its design, structure, interior and landscape.  As it is the most noticeable feature, landscape will significantly enhance the beauty of the dream house especially if it features a well-planned lawn.  If appropriately taken care of, the lawn will certainly boost the attractiveness of an abode.   Outlined below is an array of tips and procedures in taking care of the lawn to make it look at its best.

Methods

1. Research

Different species and classes of grasses are used in the lawn.  Among these are coarse grasses, finer grasses and softer grasses.  Having adequate information about them will help you identify the best ways in caring for these grasses and avoid mishandling.

2. Proper maintenance

Maintenance includes the following variety of ways and processes to achieve optimum lawn care results:

* Mowing. This process involves the use of various mechanical lawn mowers to cut the grass at even heights.  As a result, your lawn will look cleaner. Because longer shrubs tend to resist drought and compete with weed growth better than shorter ones, cut grasses should never be discarded. Instead, they should be composted and used as a high nitrogen compost activator or as mulch around trees, shrubs or vegetables.

* Scarifying and Raking. These processes involve the removal of dead grasses from the lawn.  As a result, tufting is effectively prevented.

* Rolling. Concerns leveling the ground and tillering (e.g., branching of grass plants) are addressed by this process.

* Top Dressing. This uses sand, soil or other materials as decorations and ornaments of the lawn.

* Spiking or Aeration. This is a method utilized to help reduce the effects of soil compaction.

* Watering. Water is an important requirement of plants as it prevents them from getting dormant and turning brown.

* Fertilizing. Fertilizers promote growth and health of the grasses in the lawn.

* Pesticide Application. The use of pesticides assists in the management of unwanted weeds and pests.

Lawn care can be both exciting and enjoyable when you utilize the right methods.  In the years to come, wouldn’t it be nice to have a garden where you can spend the weekends with your kids and reminisce your childhood days?

Composition of Fertilizers

The chemicals nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium make up a lawn fertilizer. Nitrogen is chiefly important as it enables the grass to get its green color and to grow. Further, it paves way for grass to thicken, to become brawny and let off density in order to aid in fighting off weeds and driving away pests.

Phosphorus, on the other hand, is mainly used to enhance grass root growth and founding. In times of new planting and renewing old lawns, an increased level of this chemical is evident.

The third element, potassium, is used to boost the lawn’s ability to withstand diseases, drought, wear, and cold weather. During fall and winter, and even in times of new planting and renewing old lawns, one may observe an increased level of this substance.

Different Chemicals for Different Seasons

The lawn should be carefully maintained and given the essential nutrients in order to keep it at its best shape. For optimum development, the lawn needs to be treated differently on different seasons. In spring for example, it needs a fertilizer with nitrogen as this brings about the green color of the grass, which is pleasing to the eye.  When used excessively, however, such would result to outrageous growth and will be detrimental to the lawn. Thus, the action of phosphorus is needed to keep the roots strong.

Nitrogen is also found to more likely burn your lawn during summer than during other seasons. This action of the said chemical is aggravated with a drought-damaged lawn. Because of this, it is advised that we utilize “slow-release and a combination” of fertilizers as these have better effects and are less costly compared to “fast-release fertilizers.”

A fertilizer that is washed off is considered a waste and is harmful. Also, it is not advisable to fertilize the lawn during the rainy season. This is so since rain pushes fertilizers into the drainage system causing them to be applied again. We should also refrain from using water-soluble and quick-release nitrogen solutions such as ammonium nitrate, urea ammonium phosphate and potassium chloride.

Chlorine in Lawn Fertilizers

Chlorine is a popular element for pool sterilizers as it effectively kills most microorganisms in the pool. Since pools and lawns have different compositions and have dissimilar functions, one should exert proper care in applying chlorine to the latter.

When introduced to the lawn, chlorine level in the pool does not result to real damage. In fact, combination with nitrogen to create chlorine compounds interferes with the chlorine’s ability to sanitize. Diluted pool chlorine does not create much of a problem, as concentrated levels do. Such levels can destroy essential bacteria that help plants get nutrients from the soil and damage grass in the lawn in general.

In addition to giving your home a classic aesthetic advantage, lawns are gaining more popularity because of their important role in conserving greenery in urban areas. Their being environment friendly and their ability to help prevent soil erosion also result to more and more people wanting to own turfs.

An Assessment of Important Factors

Professionals in the lawn care industry initially consider important areas prior to giving you advice on how to achieve that lush green effect for your lawn.  First, they guide you in choosing the kind of grass that you will use in your lawn.  Decisions on this largely depend on the size of your area and your budget.  For some, this small but important task can be a daunting one.

Second, they provide professional lawn care tips and solutions related to weeds and mushroom invasion. These unwanted guests grow rapidly and end up using the nutrients that would have been essential to the grasses.  They also spoil the smoothness of the lawn and invite different kinds of pests and insects. Thus, it is important that lawns are freed from these weeds.  Many experts advise the use of phosphorus-free fertilizers to nurture your lawn as this kind is more environment friendly.

Lastly, the natural approach to lawn care, like mowing and shaping, are also recommended to make your turf look glowing.

Tips in Caring for Your Lawn

Experts recommend these simple tips to keep your lawn lush and healthy:

* Choose quality lawn seeds as these provide little room for weeds from growing at all.  Also, at their onset, you should get rid of these weeds immediately.

*  The importance of watering, especially early during the day, need not be reiterated as the hot sun may rob the grasses’ moisture.

* In mowing, professionals recommend that you purchase a high quality mower to make your job more efficient and easier. Grass blades should only be cut up to one-third of its height to allow roots to spread out.

* Alternate your mowing pattern as doing it in the same particular way may leave unwanted wheel marks in the grass.  Also, remember to leave the clippings on the grass as they convert themselves into useful nutrients when decomposed.

* Make sure that in your effort of maintaining your lawn, you do not sacrifice the environment as a whole.  Refrain from applying excessive fertilizers and ascertain that your mower doesn’t pollute the atmosphere.

In summary, maintaining your lawn only involves an interplay of a little care, understanding and patience.

To protect yourself from potential hazards, you must wear protective clothing when engaging in services related to lawn care.

Certain work in the lawn requires you to wear protective clothing.  This is especially true when you are working with pesticides as direct contact and exposure to them can cause mild to serious problems, which include temporary dizziness, coughing and some kinds of skin allergies.

Usually, the recommendation of the kind of protective clothing required is stated in pesticides labels. Long shirts, trousers and mask are mostly preferred.  In addition, protective clothing must be washed every after application so to spare yourself from trouble, it is best that you keep a number of these wardrobes.

Environmental factors such as the sun and extreme coldness also call for the need of protective clothing.  Sun hats and lotions are recommended to protect you from the sun, while warm overalls are employed to ward away chill.

Protective clothing is usually classified into two: regular work clothing and protective equipment.  The former is comprised of a long shirt, long pants, hat with brim, socks and weather-resistant shoes.  The latter includes waterproof or chemical-resistant gloves, and sometimes, a respirator.

The kind of protective clothing required is highly dependent on the pesticide’s level of toxicity.  The higher it is, them more protection you need.  Pesticides marked with “danger” require coveralls over regular clothing, while those labeled with “caution” only needs the so-called regular work clothing.  In some cases, the use of a headgear is advised.  The best protection against the harmful effects of pesticides, however, is the use of a combination of both types of clothing.

Caring for your Clothing

Caring for your protective clothing comes in many ways.  These include washing them with running water and laundering them.  The kind of soap used for washing these clothes should be effective enough in eliminating all traces of fertilizers and pesticides.  Some even recommend the use of hot to warm water to achieve maximum cleaning.

On another note, disposable clothing, though more expensive, is available to save you from the troubles of cleaning.  It is also advised that protective clothing are washed, stored and kept separate from your everyday, normal clothes.

The use of protective clothing helps you work in your lawns without fear and apprehension, thereby resulting to more efficient output.

Imagine a beautiful evening with the company of your loved ones and a cup of coffee in your lawn.  Such a beautiful thing, right?  Every one of us, at one point in time, has dreamed of having a beautiful lawn where can sit, chat and spend some quality time with our family. Having such lawn is not actually difficult to achieve.  With the exercise of easy maintenance procedures, you can easily have a lawn that is envied by neighbors and passers-by.  This article will provide you with pieces of useful information and simple tips on lawn care.

First Things First

Lawn care, as a process, can be simplified by considering a few things while planning to “build” it.

1. Create the border of your lawn with the use of bricks and plant beds.

2. For easy maintenance and cost efficiency, choose to have a smaller lawn.

3. consult experts to help you choose the most suitable grass for the kind of soil in your lawn.

Tips in Fertilizing

* Different types of grasses need to be fertilized on different parts of the year. Warm-season lawn grasses are best fertilized in May, while cool-season ones in March or April.

* Choose a fertilizer that is slowly absorbed for better grass growth.

* Always read instructions and precautions that come with every fertilizer.

* It is best that you apply fertilizers when the grass is wet as moisture will enable granules to better stick to the turf.

* Prior to using fertilizers, check if rain won’t come in the next 48 hours.  Rain will wash out fertilizer granules and put your efforts to waster.

* Water the lawn before applying fertilizer and avoid doing it for the next 24 hours after such administration.

Tips in Mowing

Mowing is a process that entails cutting grass in even heights to make the lawn look neat.  This can be done by using a mechanical lawn mower.  Outlined below are a few tips in mowing:

* Before buying a mower, make a study and an evaluation of your current mowing needs.

* Mower blade height is dependent on the type of grass in your lawn.  Therefore, consider this point first before your set the height of your blade.

* To easily set the preferred blade height, position your mower on a flat surface.

* You can also raise the height of your mower blade up to one-third of the recommended setting if you want.

* Leave chopped grass in the lawn.  They convert themselves into useful nutrients when decomposed.

With these simple tips, you can efficiently keep your lawn beautiful.  Investing at least an hour of your weekend to lawn care will help you maintain a turf that everybody will appreciate.

Also called “South’s Shining Star,” Atlanta is famous for its natural beauty, for the living standards and for its prosperity. Atlanta is a city full of green spaces and the inhabitants really love nature and its benefits. This is one of the reasons many of them, especially those with large properties, like having a very well taken care of lawn. Not only the houses have lawns, but also companies, hospitals, condominiums and apartments, that populate the city due to its high development rate look much better with a lawn in front of them. Of course, the large number of lawns leads means that lawn care services and companies are thriving.

How to Maintain a Beautiful Lawn

Due to the large number of lawns in Atlanta, those in lawn care services do not have much time to spare. It is known that a company in such a field is a thriving business. Packages offered by companies include year-round maintenance with fertilizing, trimming, edging and weed control services. Other packages may include pest control and pruning. Those services, being much difficult then the others, are carried out by specialists who use pesticides and fungicides in order to keep the lawn in perfect condition. You can choose between a large range of packages offered by lawn care companies. The price depends on how many services are assured or on the company’s reputation in the field.

What to Ask a Lawn Care Professional

It is important to keep in mind that a particular lawn needs particular attention. So, to make the right decision when hiring someone to take care of the lawn, ask several questions.

What you must find out from you lawn care taker is, in the first place, the frequency of services like mulching, fertilizing and pruning. Then, it is good to know what kind of weed is controlled, how is the pesticide chosen, if the chemicals used are nature friendly and without toxic effects for human beings. Also, you must find out if the lawn care company contacted has all the necessary documentation and license and if someone from the company will evaluate your lawn before signing the papers.

In order to choose a good company to take care of your lawn, you can check other aspects about them from the Better Bureau site, where you can see if the customers are happy with their services. Other sources to obtain information about companies are the Lawn Care Business directory and, of course, the Internet.