Lawn Care
This time of year, in the fall, is the time to prepare a yard for winter.
Soil
Planning the yard starts with testing the pH of the soil. A pH testing kit can be acquired at the local hardware store. The soil should also be tested for basic nutrients, structure, and texture. Too much clay may make the soil too hard.
- Strip the area of weeds, roots, and identify any permanent fixtures in the lawn. The soil can then be turned with a rototiller. Rototill down six inches to improve drainage and loosen any compaction.
- Add loam, sand, and compost to your original topsoil. Incorporate a slight slope into your new landscape as you work. This will facilitate drainage and prevent pooling. Basic nutrients needed should be added at this point.
- Use a roller to pack down the soil and a metal rake is then used to grade the soil finally.
- Rolling out Sod is next is easiest. Seeding may be substituted for a cheaper, more reasonable cost. Hydroseeding is preferred by some. Hydroseeding is a mixture of virgin wood fibers, fertilizer, and binding agents blended with seeds.
- Water daily for 5-10 minutes in order to dampen the seeds without washing them away.
Mowing
Use the string trimmer/lawn-mower for grass cutting in your outdoor garden care. How lawns are mowed is the secret to its success or failure as a healthy turf. Mowings should be timed so that you remove 1/3 of the growth with each cutting.
Grass should never be cut too short. It causes the turf to be weak and vulnerable to diseases and scorching by the sunlight. This also makes it more susceptible to drought and hot temperature.
Mow when grass is dry. Mowing grass when wet causes clumps of grass cuttings that can kill the grass. Remove any such clumps after mowing. Clumps of grass also get stuck in the housing of the lawnmower, which causes the machine to lock up if you mow when the grass is wet.
Mow during the cooler part of the day to keep the grass from losing too much of its water.
Let clippings stay on the lawn after cutting. The clippings can add as much as 25% of your lawn’s fertilizer. This is called grasscycling.
Avoid mowing in the same pattern. You risk compacting the soil and creating ruts. Weeds thrive in compacted soil.
Water
Water only once per week but water deeply. The roots extend deeper into the soil with weekly watering. More frequent watering washes away nutrients and leads to a dry thatch. Watering deeply will prevent chinch bugs, a bug that attaches to dried thatch. Sandy soils require watering more often than clay soils.
Fertilization
Fertilize two or three times every year with a complete fertilizer that contains nitrogen-phosphate-potassium as well as sulfur, copper, and iron. Lime will restore pH after watering and fertilizing breaks down the pH but test your soil before adding lime.
Author Bio: My name is Angela Williams, I am the founder of outdoorgardencare.com, I adore gardening and I really enjoy to invest almost all of my time in gardening.
Author: Angela Williams
