The first thing everyone sees when they look at your yard is not your flowerbeds or your whirligig yard ornaments. They see the grass on your lawn and how well you take care of it. You can improve the overall appearance of your home by simply taking care of your yard. A well-kept lawn will make your yard a beautiful asset to your home and your neighborhood. Here are 10 tips to help you have an amazing yard and cut down your maintenance time.
- Let’s start over. Don’t be afraid to completely re-do your yard. Sometimes the best thing for your yard is to give it a fresh start. This gives you the chance to create your yard from a clean slate. It will require several weekends’ worth of work, though. You will have to tear out old sod and replant, but in the long run, it will be worth it.
- Know your stuff. Grass for your yard comes in all different types — seeds, sprigs, plugs and sod. Each type is better suited for different needs, requires varying amounts of upkeep and is better suited for different climates. Check with your local extension office before you make any decisions or purchases.
- You get what you pay for. If you want a nice yard, you will probably have to pay a little more for it. Grasses and mixes like tall oat grass, timothy, meadow fescue, orchard grass, and annual ryegrass may give you a less expensive yard but are much lower quality.
- Use the right mulch. If you live in a dry area and want to mulch the grass seeds, be sure you mulch with clean mulching straw, burlap or agricultural fleece. These will help keep the seeds in place and will not inhibit your yard’s growth.
- Keep off the grass. Try to keep people off the grass for at least three weeks. This can be a difficult task, but it is necessary for the seeds to germinate and grow so your yard will have a chance to really take off.
- Water right. Too much watering and too little watering are the leading causes of new yard death. New grass seeds need to be misted about four times each day, and sod should be watered at least twice each day, with one watering in the middle of the day. The ground should be moist, but not sopping wet.
- Mow carefully. Wait to mow newly seeded, sprigged or plugged yards until the grass has grown to at least three or four inches. Wait to mow sod until it has taken root and started to grow on its own. It is best if you mow your yard with a rotary mower, rather than a mulching mower, because the mulching mower could uproot the grass. If you want to use a mower other than a rotary mower, set the height as high as possible and the throttle low for the first few cuttings.
- No fertilizer? Believe it or not, you should not fertilize your yard after you have put down new turf for at least the first six weeks. After that, you should only use a light nitrogen fertilizer.
- Save water. Your yard will actually look best when you water it like nature waters it. Some people may need to water twice a day or twice a season. Watch your yard. When the grass loses its spring—when you walk across it and you leave footprints—it is time for a watering. Give your grass enough water to soak through to the roots.
- No scalping. Don’t cut your grass too short. When it is cut down to the crown, it could end up causing damage to the grass. Also, grass cut about two inches long grows faster than grass cut three inches long. By cutting your grass to three inches, you can save about eight hours in yard maintenance each year.
By D. Blair Thompson