Lawn Care Basics

Beautiful, well-kept lawns are the pride of most neighborhoods. The appearance of your lawn depends on how you care for it. There are a few basic things you can do to help keep your lawn healthy and beautiful. Mowing, watering, feeding, aerating, and scarifying are important steps to take in basic lawn care. Well-kept lawns can also add value to your home if you're trying to sell. Exterior appeal is very important to homeowners, so read on to learn the basics of  lawn care hawaii.

Harvest

When mowing the lawn, the most important thing to remember is the height of the lawn. You should never cut more than a third of the height of grass blades. Be sure to always leave grass clippings in the yard as this will provide fertilizer for your lawn. You should mow your lawn at least once a week, but an ideal situation would be to mow your lawn more than once a week. Keep the mower blade sharp and never cut in the same direction. You should also not mow the lawn when it is wet. Wet cutting will cause clusters of clipping and this can generate bacteria. Choose your type of mower for the size of the lawn you have. A small lawn that can be done in half an hour or less is best done with a lawnmower. Larger lawns will require a lawn mower.

Irrigation

Watering the grass is important to keep the grass healthy and looking beautiful. When you water your grass, you should do it early in the day. Avoid watering your grass too often. When the patio is watered, make sure it's done so there's a good soak so it doesn't have to be done for a while. Look at the weather and if it is going to rain then you don't need to water.

Feeding

Lawn feeding is another important part of maintenance to keep your lawn looking beautiful and making it the envy of the neighborhood. Before feeding your soil, you need to analyze it to see what nutrients are missing from its structure and what you need to add. In the spring, you need to add a spring / summer fertilizer. This is a lawn food that is high in nitrogen and low in phosphates. In the fall you will use a lawn food that is low in nitrogen and phosphates. There is also a mixture of fine sand, ammonia, and iron sulfate that can be put in your garden to prevent the growth of weeds and moss. The sand is generally applied in late spring.

Aeration

Aeration is generally done with equipment known as an aerator. The lawn aerator runs on the lawn in the same way as a lawnmower, but instead of mowing, this machine actually pulls out dirt and grass plugs. Aeration will help your grass build a better root system and help with compacted soil and straw grass. An aerator is a good investment in caring for your garden and helping your lawn look healthy. Leave the earth plugs on the grass so they can provide fertilization as they decompose. Aeration can also be done using cleats on the lawn and simply walking.

Scarifying

Scarification is like exfoliating your garden. You are going to remove all the bad things and go down to the new, nice and healthy grass. Scarifying your garden is removing dead material from your lawn. You can do this using a rake, but a scarifier can go further than the rake and can remove more debris. The scarifier reaches between the blades of grass and removes decomposing matter without damaging the blades of grass. Using the scarifier is as easy as using a rake. Before you begin scarifying, you must remove live weeds, fungi, or invasive plants. You should also kill any moss that grows on the lawn. Autumn is the best time to scarify because the soil is moist and warm. The reason this should be done is because the dead and decaying debris found in the grass will eventually suffocate and kill it. Using the scarifier will keep your herb healthy and disease free.

Your lawn is the first thing a visitor to your home will see. This is their first impression of you, so it's up to you to make it good. It may take an investment of some time to make this first impression good, but it will be worth it. A well-maintained lawn shows that you care about your surroundings.