A lush, healthy yard is achievable with a little time and dedication. It’s even possible without using chemical fertilisers or toxic pesticides. Through proper lawn care techniques and good maintenance practices, you can have a beautiful green space that is safe for your family, pets and the environment.
While enlisting the help of a lawn care or landscaping company is always a wise option, you need to equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to maintain your own yard. In that spirit, here are seven lawn care tips to help you boost the health and appearance of your outdoor space:
1. Think of the Soil as a Living Unit
To cultivate a vibrant lawn, you must think differently about the soil. The organisms in the ground have the same needs as all other living things. That is, they need to breathe, eat, drink, digest, propagate and excrete to maintain good health. When the soil is in good health—uncompacted and enriched with natural materials— grass health is also optimised.
Experts recommend that you feed your soil with gentle, low-toxicity fertilisers to nourish beneficial soil microorganisms and other helpful creatures such as earthworms. This is because alternative fertilisers with extensive chemical content feed only the plants directly and can run off into water resources, thereby contaminating groundwater, rivers, lakes and the ocean.
Grasses and plants that live in healthy soil are more disease-resistant, drought-tolerant, and maintenance-free. So, make sure to treat your soil with natural soil enhancers instead of depending on chemical treatments.
2. Test Your Soil Before Feeding
Do not feed the soil without testing it first. The result of the soil test will inform you how much nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, sulphur, lime or other nutrients to add. Using the right amount of the right substances will save you time and money and best enhance your lawn.
There are important environmental reasons for testing your soil, too. Adding too much phosphorus and nitrogen to your lawn will contaminate rivers, lakes, oceans and even your drinking water. Other excess nutrients will weaken or kill your grass and other plants.
3. Cultivate the Right Grass
Did you know that there are more than 10,000 species of grass? Most will not be suitable for your lawn, however. This is because not all grass varieties are created equal. Some grow small, while others grow tall. Some also prefer full-sun exposure, while others can tolerate shade, drought or foot traffic.
Newer grass varieties are cultivated to grow slower and lengthen the time between cuts. These newer varieties are also bred to be more resistant to diseases, thus reducing the need for pesticides.
You can consult a local lawn care professional or a landscape maintenance service to help you choose the right type of grass to grow in your yard.
4. Fertilise With Compost
Kitchen and yard waste, or compost, can provide the nutrients your lawn and garden need to stay healthy. In fact, you can easily make the best compost for lawns from your natural food and garden waste.
5. Consider a Gentler Approach to Pest Control
Today, there are plenty of commercial pest control products that you can easily buy from garden stores to keep pests at bay. But a lot of these products contain chemicals that can pose a danger to your family, pets and the environment. What’s more, as mentioned earlier, killing all insects in your lawn is not a good idea.
Experts suggest avoiding synthetic fertilisers that have higher levels of nitrogen because when insects see a burst of growth, they will attack the grass and plants in greater numbers. You can opt for products that use food-grade materials because they are proven safe when used around children and pets. You can also try some natural pest control solutions like traps for apple maggots.
6. Listen to the Weeds
Weeds are often viewed as the messengers sent by Mother Nature to teach you about your soil’s condition. You can kill the messenger using a tarp, a blowtorch or a tool, but this does not change the message. The weeds will still grow back until you change the condition of your soil.
For instance, if you have lots of dandelions in your yard, your soil might need more calcium and less magnesium. But if you have plenty of plantains, your soil may be compacted.
Research how to identify weeds and know what message they are trying to tell. This way, you can implement the proper measures to keep your yard looking beautiful and healthy.
7. Aerate
With frequent foot traffic, applications of fertiliser and mowing, your soil can become compacted. This is where aeration comes in.
During aeration, you use a hand tool or specialised machines to cut cores out of your soil, leaving behind holes through which water, air and fertiliser can easily enter. Your lawn might not look its best for several days, but aeration offers long-term benefits.
If you notice that your soil is compacted, it’s important to take action. One option is to rent a core aerator or consider hiring lawn care professionals to aerate your soil for you. Alternatively, if you use natural fertilisers, the soil organisms may be able to self-aerate and do the job for you.
Transform Your Lawn, and Your Home
Caring for your lawn naturally helps minimise disease and promotes a thriving soil ecosystem. Just like opting for nutritious food, eco-friendly lawn care benefits not just your property but also your family, pets, and the overall ecosystem.