Essential Lawn Care
Tips
By
Ryan
Rynbold
Lawn care is essential if you want to keep your beautiful lush green lawn active through winter. Even the hardest of lawn enthusiasts will be facing these common problems. Why not take a minute right now and find out what these are so you can avoid them, or remedy your situation.
The most common lawn care dilemmas start with bad quality soil. Bad quality soil cause the grass to have a terrible foundation. You should take a soil sample to the garden center and let them test it. By testing, you can determine what organic materials you may need to place into it. If you have mud, or clay soil, then you can add some supplements to make it a better choice for growing. You may need to add start fertilizers to the soil to help promote your lawn to grow. Experts in the field know that the final step to preparing your lawn is to till it. Some call this aeration. This opens up the lawn and provides air so the roots can develop deeper, providing a much better environment for the lawn to grow in.
Having poor moisture in the soil is also another problem. Watering too much can be problematic, however it's almost better than not watering enough. When you're starting out a new lawn, water frequently, but not too much otherwise the roots will never establish themselves deep.
Watering less frequently whenever you can, but be sure that when you do water, that you water well so the roots are wet. Don't just water with a hose for 5 minutes. Let your hose sit on the lawn and go straight into the ground; you can skip the leaf watering. Early morning watering is the best use of your resources, because of evaporation. Watering in the evening can cause diseases.
There is no small doubt that some lawn care problems will happen to you. Yet, by following these lawn care tips you can avoid many of them. Lay a solid foundation from the start, and you can ensure a better lawn.
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Ryan Reinbold is an avid gardener and recommends Worx Yard Tools, and uses the Worx Hedge Trimmer for getting his landscaping duties completed with ease. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Rynbold |
How To Aerate And Seed
Your Lawn
By
Ryan Rynbold
Every season, lawn will be challenged by, varying temperatures, drought conditions or crazy insects. You should realize that even the best turf will stress and thin and this is why you need to aerate and seed annually.
Over seeding fills open areas and aeration protects and grows the roots. Complete these in early September, aeration first then seeding.
First thing, mow shorter this one time. This shortens the grass that may inhibit seed, fertilizer or compost from contacting soil. You may slowly drop blades 2 weeks prior to help eliminate excess clippings gradually.
What is aeration?
Aeration is poking holes in the soil of your lawn. A heavy machine, with spikes, pokes the ground removing 2"-3" deep cylinders of soil, placing them on the surface.
Why is aeration good for the lawn?
For a variety of reasons, it's relieves compaction, more water and fertilizer can enter the soil, more oxygen, compost can enter, and better root health.
Should soil be dry or wet?
Aerators alleviate compaction by removing soil, leaving an open hole which will collapse over time. The deeper the tines penetrate, the greater the effect on compaction. Aerating when the soil is wet, allows for greater penetration and more comprehensive results. Aerate right after a slow full day soaking rain or after the lawn is deeply watered. If you choose to aerate when the soil is dry and hard, you will not get far.
Organic matter in the soil determines how much water and fertilizer will be retained for plants to use and how much is allowed to filter through and move away to keep the plants from drowning. You should top dress after aeration but before you start seeding.
Start over seeding
After aeration and topdressing are complete, simply broadcast seed and fertilizer over lawn, flip a normal leaf rake over so pointy ends are sticking up and lightly rake entire lawn. This helps incorporate seed into the soil. If your lawn is extensive, use an old screen or anything you can drag across to lightly move soil.
Then water, water and water, everyday for quick germination
What if we are having a dry fall, should I seed?
Even if we have a dry fall, you should still spread seed over your lawn. The seed will eventually find its way to the soil and when it finally rains, the seed will be there to begin germination.
By not applying seed, you're not replacing any turf lost from previous years. Your thinning, weaker turf will then have to go thru another summer season of battling weeds that aggressively fight for any open space.
Don't waste your time aerating with dry ground, your results will be poor.
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Ryan Reinbold is an avid gardener and recommends Worx Yard Tools, and uses the Worx GT for getting his landscaping duties completed with ease. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Rynbold |