Its that time of the year again when the grass is growing and warmer weather is drawing you outside. During the summer you enjoy being outdoors and you would like to have a nice lawn. With some time and work you can have a beautiful yard you can enjoy all summer. You can start in the spring by planting grass and aerating you lawn. Then continue through out the summer with normal mowing maintenance.
The first thing to do to have a nice lawn is the grass. You can purchase grass seeds at different stores. When picking a grass seed try to pick the highest quality seeds you can find and afford. Some seeds that you can purchase may have more weeds type seeds than others may. So read the packaging first. But don’t expect to find seeds without any weed seeds because weeds are always present at least a little. You should also pick seeds that will work best in your lawn. If you have dogs that wear down the grass in certain areas then get some seeds that may last longer in these areas.
Once you have your seeds you need to scratch the soil where you are planting. You can use a rake to do this and you don’t have to scratch to deep into the soil. Doing this will loosen the soil so that the seeds can take root. Just throw out some seeds and you can rake them around in the soil if you wish. Then finally water the seeds and soil everyday or so until the grass begins to grow.
Aerating your lawn is an important part to having a healthy lawn. Aeration is basically making holes in your lawn. The holes should be at two-inch intervals. The two ways to do this is by pushing a solid or hollowed rod through the ground. Using a hollowed rod is normally referred to as coring since it extracts some of the soil leaving a hole. You can leave the plugs from coring on the lawn or rake them into the grass. Using a solid rod is not usually recommended because it pushes the soil down, compacting it, which defeats the purpose of aerating. The best time to aerate is in the spring or late summer or fall. When aerating be careful not to hit any shallow lines such as sprinkler or outdoor light lines. The day before you plan to aerate your lawn you should water it up to an inch. This will moisten and soften the soil so it will be easier to aerate.
The benefit of aerating your lawn is so that more oxygen, organic fertilizers and nutrients reach the root system of the grass. Water is able to soak through the soil better. It loosens up compacted soil so that the roots can grow more and spread out. Aerating also helps break up thatch, which is the brown layer between the grass, and the soil that seems spongy.
Mowing your lawn is something that has to be done to have a nice yard. There are some tips to cutting your grass that will aid in having a beautiful lawn. You shouldn’t cut your grass shorter than 3 inches. When you cut the grass shorter than 3 inches then the root system is shallow and you have a higher risk of the grass burning up and dying. It also increases the risk of insect infestations and weeds. A mulching mower is the best to use because you can feed your lawn while cutting the grass. Keep the blades sharp and use full throttle while walking slowly. The grass will be chopped finer the slower you go and you can leave the clippings on the lawn. If the grass is wet then the mulching process will not work. You will be left with clumps of grass. Now that the work has been done you can set back and enjoy your beautiful lawn.
