Thursday, November 19, 2015

Tips On How To Maintain Your Lawn

By Mattie Knight


The health and success of your lawn is determined by a variety of factors. Having a working knowledge of the elements that make up the support structure of your lawn can help you hugely, if you wish to do your own yard maintenance. However, if you have a busy schedule you can contract landscaping and lawn services Southlake TX to assist you.

The first thing you need to pay attention to is your soil. If your soil is not fertile enough, even the hardiest grass will not grow well. Conducting a soil test will point out any nutrient and mineral deficiencies your soil might have, thus giving you the chance to make the necessary amendments in the form of appropriate fertilizers or soil additives.

Water is both a nutrient on its own, and a vehicle in which minerals from the soil can be delivered to the grass. If the rainfall in your area is insufficient, you may need to provide irrigation for your yard. Manually watering a large yard can be both ineffective and time-consuming. A pop-up irrigation system can help you water an expansive yard efficiently and without effort. These systems can be calibrated to run at certain times of day, based on your climate and your needs.

How well you mow your grass has a huge impact on the health and appearance of your yard. A well-planned mowing routine can help your yard maintain its visual appeal for many years. For example, during rainy seasons, your grass will grow faster and therefore needs to be mowed more frequently. Failure to do so will result in your grass growing too long, taxing the soil nutrients heavily and requiring frequent applications of fertilizer in order to remain healthy.

Most varieties of grass go through a period of seasonal dormancy. During this period, the yard may not look its best. For example, Bermuda grass is a warm climate plant, and does not perform well in the winter. Do not let this discourage you, or lead you into thinking that your yard is deteriorating. It is a natural process. The root systems remain intact during this period, so once weather conditions improve, your yard will return to its lush state again.

Weed control is another important aspect of yard maintenance. If you are just starting out with a new yard, the easiest approach is to apply a herbicide that kills all existing plants in the soil, prior to sowing the grass. In an established yard, broad-leaf weeds are easier to control than narrow-leaf parasitic grasses. There are herbicides available that exclusively target broad-leaf weeds, but narrow-leaf weeds must be removed manually with the aid of specialized equipment.

Professionals recommend that you top-dress your lawn yearly in order to maintain its health and visual appeal. Top-dressing involves the application of a thin layer of soil and fertilizer over your lawn in order to encourage the growth of new shoots, thus keeping your grass thick and green. This procedure also helps fill in any patchy areas and remedy any erosion damage.

Some homeowners may find the thought of doing their own lawn maintenance daunting, or outright uninteresting. Even if you plan on tackling this task yourself, it still pays to consult a professional. Apparently simple jobs, such as applying fertilizer, can be potentially devastating to your lawn if done inappropriately, resulting in frustration as well as significant expense. Rather than risking costly mistakes, working with a landscape contractor can guarantee a positive outcome at a reasonable fee.




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