Everyone loves to have a beautiful yard, and like other places, lawn care Atlanta is important for all homeowners. Taking care of a lawn takes time and work, but with a little knowledge, lawn care isn’t hard. This beginner’s guide to lawn care will show you how to maintain a beautiful lawn.
Mowing the Lawn
Mowing the lawn sounds like a simple task, but there are right ways and wrong ways to mow the lawn. Mowing the lawn properly will go a long way to having a healthy lawn.
Make sure your mower’s blades are sharp. Dull blades will tear the grass instead of cutting it. Dull blades will leave the end of the grass shredded giving the lawn a pale or white look. Shredding the grass like this can also invite bugs or disease into the lawn.
Mowing at the right height is important. Cutting the grass too short can put stress on the lawn, which can cause the lawn to dry out quickly. It is best to cut only the top 1/3 of the grass each time you mow. As a rule of thumb, the best height for a lawn is about 2 1/2 inches. During very hot and dry weather, you might consider raising your mower’s cutting level.
Do not mow when the lawn is wet. Wet grass will be weighted down making mowing uneven and could leave clumps of uncut grass. Dry grass that is free of moisture is much easier to mow and will cut evenly.
Fertilizing the Lawn
Choosing the correct fertilizer is important since there are different types to choose from. Regular fertilizer will feed the lawn while weed and feed type fertilizers will feed the grass and kill weeds.
If you use a weed and feed type, be careful that no fertilizer gets into garden areas. Using weed and feed usually requires no watering and no rain for 24 hours after the application. Regular fertilizer should be watered in right after the application.
There are certain times of the year that fertilizing works best. When to fertilize can be different depending on location, for example, lawn care can be different in northern cities as compared to lawn care in Atlanta. Spring is the best time to fertilize, but not until the soil temperature has risen to 55 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
Midsummer is another time of year to fertilize when the grass is under stress from heat and foot traffic. In the fall before the grass turns brown is another good time to fertilize, getting the lawn ready for winter.
It is best to apply fertilizer using a broadcast spreader. This will ensure the entire lawn is covered and will prevent unfertilized lines appearing in the lawn that other spreaders can cause.
Proper Watering
Watering is tricky, as too much or too little water isn’t good for the lawn. Depending on the weather conditions, watering every other day or every third day should be fine.
How you can tell if your lawn needs watering. If you can see footprints in the lawn after walking on it, the lawn is too dry and needs to be watered. And if mushrooms are growing in the lawn, it is too wet.
An average lawn needs about 1.5 inches of water per week. Using an inexpensive rain gauge will show how much water the lawn is getting each week.
Lawn Care Conclusion
Whether a person is interested in lawn care Atlanta or upstate New York, these lawn care guidelines should help everyone have a beautiful green lawn.