Complete Guide to Creating and Maintaining Your Lawn

If you have a sizable property right in front of your house, you’ve most likely thought of having your very own lawn. After all, this addition provides an aesthetically pleasing place for you, your family, and even your pets to relax right in the comfort of your home.

However, the thought of starting one on your own might have made you turn your back on this idea. Luckily for you, we’ve gathered each and every piece of information necessary to establish your own beautiful and evergreen lawn in no time. From the seeding process right down to lawn maintenance, we have the right article for you.

The first step in establishing a lawn is all about grass seeds. Depending on the type of soil, the best grass seed for your lawn could differ from that of your neighbor’s. Once you do pick the right grass variety, you need to know the characteristics.

How long does grass seed take to grow fully? Moreover, do grass seeds go bad if you don’t follow all of the guidelines?

Your seeding operations might have factors other than lack of sunlight and irrigation. For example, there could be pests and rodents that constantly trespass your lawn. In fact, you should also know how to keep birds from eating grass seed.

Once you’ve planted the grass seedlings, it’s time to ensure that they will grow through proper irrigation. When you are watering grass seed, you need to have both relevant knowledge and the right equipment.

The water depth to be applied in the soil is influenced by several factors such as the local temperature and the age of the seeded grass.

Even if you know how often you should water your lawn with a sprinkler system, this won’t lead to optimum grass growth if you do not have the right lawn sprinkler. Likewise, you can opt to use a long and sturdy hose for your lawn watering needs. Even with this choice of gardening equipment, you should still not settle for less. Thus, make sure you get the expandable garden hose.

Aside from watering your lawn, your property also needs to be applied with fertilizer. In this aspect, there is a lot you can learn to ensure you’re doing it right. For one, some people prefer using the good organic fertilizer while others don’t mind synthetic fertilizers, which are essentially man-made variants.

Moreover, fertilizers can differ based on their nutrient ratio. Some will have more phosphorus than nitrogen and potassium than others to accelerate root establishment of new plants. You could see a 15-30-15 fertilizer or even a 10-10-10 fertilizer.

A winterizer has a noticeably different unusual nutrient ratio, so you should be aware when to apply winterizer fertilizer. Here’s a hint: It’s not meant to be used during the winter season. Moreover, remember to check out any reviews before buying fertilizer. We have Lesco Weed and Feed fertilizer reviews to help you make the right decision.

To efficiently distribute the nutrients, using the best lawn fertilizer spreader will prove to be valuable. You must take the weather into consideration so you don’t waste any of the contents. Knowing whether it’s best to fertilize the lawn before or after the rain will save you a lot of money in the long run.

Once your newly seeded grass has started to establish its root systems in the soil, it can concentrate on developing its grass blades. Thus, learning when to cut new grass is important. You would not want your grass to experience shock due to excessive mowing – this can lead to discoloration and the spread of weeds.

You should identify how to cut tall grass to provide ample shade even after the operation. Not every grass variety will thrive if the cutting length is at two inches. The mowing height for warm-season grasses will not be the same as cold-season grasses.

Some lawn owners prefer to directly plant grass seeds without digging up the soil or the turf in a process called overseeding. If you do this, you must determine when to mow the lawn after overseeding. And just like with irrigation, discerning if cutting grass after rain is a good idea must be considered.

Your lawn can be the next target of unwanted weed grasses that spread fast enough if you don’t take action fast. Organic lawn care and season lawn care can significantly prevent the growth of these undesirable grass varieties. Still, prevention strategies like applying crabgrass preventer can’t always stop the onset of weed grasses.

Once the weed grasses arrive in your lawn, you must be well-prepared. You must be aware of how to get rid of bahiagrass, dallisgrass, pampas grass, and pokeweed. On a related know, applying a Roundup weed killer and knowing if bleach can kill grass.

Sometimes, your lawn might also require some much-awaited trimming. Whether you are trimming ornamental grass or trimming monkey grass, you must know how to pick up grass clippings. These clippings can be used as natural compost or to simply reduce moisture loss.

Finally, you must practice proper use and maintenance of essential lawn maintenance tools such as lawn mowers, lawn trimmers, and lawn tractors, among others. All of these pieces of equipment will keep your lawn neat all year long.

While a lawn mower greatly speeds up the process of cutting down the grass, it can face various problems. Sometimes, a lawn mower won’t stay running. It can even have problems with either having too much oil or when the lawn mower is not getting gas at all.

Speaking of oil, it’s essential to know how much oil a lawn mower can take and what kind of oil it should exactly utilize.

A specific type of a lawn mower can have its distinct problems. For example, a riding lawn mower won't turn over or it can turn over but won't start. Occasionally, the riding lawn mower blades won't engage. Ideally, these problems can be avoided if you’re informed of the best time to buy a riding lawn mower.

When repairs and replacements have proven too costly, however, it can be wise to get a new lawn mower altogether. Of course, you must know how to dispose of an old lawn mower and where to get rid of it.

Moving on to lawn trimmers, you should know the difference between types and brands. Comparing an Echo trimmer and a Husqvarna model will help you choose the right one for your lawn. Additionally, you should check whether a brush cutter is better for your lawn than a grass trimmer.

On the other hand, finding a garden tractor will vary on the size and appearance of your lawn. Thus, a better question could be what size tractor your lawn requires, or whether you should pick a zero turn or a lawn tractor.

Apart from these pieces of lawn equipment, you can better take care of your lawn by buy a wheelbarrow, a lawn sweeper, and a garden composter. You can also experiment with using a lawn roller or a commercial weed eater if you have a huge lawn.

In conclusion, creating and managing a lawn will indeed require time and effort. With the right tools and sufficient knowledge, however, your lawn can be maintained and kept in its best state with relative ease and efficiency.