Key Takeaways
During a summer of discontent about 20 ago , I cut lawn to survive . in reality , that was the occupation of Gary , Rick and Tony . I was more the Wench of Weed Whacking , the Pope of Pullingpoison ivy . Every morning time at 5:30 , I ’d drag my ache clappers out of bed , look out the windowpane and pray for rain . Rain mean no work and more sleep . rainwater also meant no money and thicker lawn . I could n’t win .
We never snub tiny stamp - stamplawns . Oh no , these were the lawns of the wealthy . You could smell the money and the plant food . On one particularly hot and steamy afternoon , we pulled up to an estate with a lawn the sizing of Rhode Island . Every week we came here . I turned to my good acquaintance Tony and rather glumly ask , " Do citizenry really call for lawn this big ? " The lawn was gorgeous , unripened and succulent . I consecrate never , ever to have a lawn that sizing . I hold on that hope — until last year .
My New England holding was once constellate with California fern , maple , ash and something I call the " noggin tree . " Over the years and the storms , trees tumbled and branches come down like World War II buzz turkey . Now I have nearly 2 acres ( 0.8 hectares ) of , um , lawn . I dilute it myself with a midget 24 - column inch ( 61 - centimeter ) mower ( I ’m not the brightest spark plug on the locomotive engine ) . Over the days , which include the heady days of work with Gary , Rick and Tony , I learned a few thing you should never do to a lawn . Here are 10 .
10: Don’t Use Salt to Melt Ice
wintertime can be rough . C. P. Snow , ice , sleet , freezing rain . Many mass in cold climes haveconcreteor stone walkways carved into their lawn . To keep these quick-frozen avenues of egress open , masses may put table salt on them . Whilesaltwill mellow ice , it also will damage the lawn when the methamphetamine hydrochloride dissolve and leaches into the ground .
When leaping comes , brown patches of dead Gunter Wilhelm Grass might appear where the saltiness has settled . In many case , spring C. P. Snow melt and rain often will flush the lawn of accumulate salts . Within six to eight weeks , your grass may green up again . If it ’s a ironic springtime , experts advocate water the damaged area three or four times [ source : Throssell ] .
9: Never Scalp Your Lawn
Cutting your lawn too short , orscalping , will damage the tooth root system of thegrass . Scalping happens when two - third of the foliage blade is removed and the fore is left standing . work show that bycutting your grasshigh , the tooth root grow deep , let them to take in more moisture and nutrients . As a resultant , the grass grows thick .
expert caution against take away more than the top third of the forage sword . A taller lawn will not only efflorescence better than a shorter lawn , but it also will snub down on the bit of weeds . Taller gage also shades the grunge , which signify the roots wo n’t dry out as loyal [ source : Dream Yard ] .
8: Do Not Bag Grass Clippings
I mow " Big Dog Farm , " the name I christened my property with when the landscape painting work was finished , every two weeks during the summertime . We have big dogs but not a farm in the Old McDonald sensation . The task take me about two hours to accomplish on a not - too - humid day . It would take me six if I bag the trim , which I do n’t . I mulch them or else .
small did I know that my slothfulness was helping my lawn stay green . Mulching clippingsprovides lawn with nourishment . I also determine the clippings embrace any bare spots . Moreover , bagging grass saves worthful landfill infinite and transportation cost to the dump [ reference : University of Idaho College of Agriculture ] .
Here ’s another bakshis : Do n’t rake leaves in the fall , mulch them with your mower . scientist from Michigan State University say mulching leaves into your lawn period weed seeds from sprout on bare spots , while allow for ample nutrients to the rest of the lawn . As an add benefit , you wo n’t want to diffuse as muchfertilizercome springtime [ generator : John Deere ] .
7: Don’t Cut Wet Grass
The best sentence to mow is when sess is dry . When moisture fromrainor the morning dew weighs grass down , the blades turn away , making a consecutive cut difficult . You also can slip on wet grass , and the snip tend to clump and not spread out equally . In add-on , diseasecan spread chop-chop when you mow wet sess . That ’s because a wet , freshly cut grass blade is more susceptible to disease - carrying organisms [ reservoir : BobVila.com ] .
However , there might be time when you have to pout cockeyed grass , especially when it rains a circumstances . Experts at Kansas State University say it is better to mow wet grass than let grass spring up too grandiloquent and then cutting it when it is teetotal . Conversely , do n’t mop weed during adroughtor full point of dry spells because mowing stresses the sod [ beginning : Lowe ] .
6: Don’t Overfertilize
Fertilizing is complicated . One slip and you could deform a lush lawn into a foul desert . That ’s why you do n’t want to overfertilize orfertilizeat the wrong time . Take nitrogen , a main ingredient in most fertilizers . Too much can burn the sens brown . Some nitrogen fertilizer liberate quickly into the ground . Others free slowly . verify you get the right type for your lawn .
Fertilizers also contain salt , which in small-scale amounts help grass to grow . But too much common salt , as we speak about in that first launching , can damage roots and finally drink down the dope [ source : Clark ] . If you ’re sound to fertilize , only do it twice a class in thespringand surrender . You might want to lend a chip of dolomitic lime every few years . That ’s because watering and fertilizing can turn the ground acidulent over time . calcined lime restores the pH level while adding authoritative minerals .
5: Don’t Mow With a Dull Blade
Every spring I take my lawn lawn mower into town where my good friends at the lawn equipment shop properly tune it up and sharpen the blades . keen blades are crucial to the look and health of a lawn . Grass that is cut sharply decreases pee loss and increase photosynthesis . As you ’ll echo from in-between schooltime , photosynthesisis the process by which green plants turn C dioxide and water system into carbohydrates and oxygen , using abstemious energy entrap by chlorophyll .
You ’ll know your machine needs a melody - up if you see white tissue sticking out of the leaf blades after you mow . A track from a muted leaf blade results in a nutrient insufficiency that will wreak mayhem with your growing lawn . Sharpen your lawn mower blade twice a year [ source : Family Handyman ] .
4: Don’t Use Poisons
Some expert advocate not usingherbicidesto kill weeds or pesticide to kill insects . These chemicals find oneself their way into the environment , and they also trammel the movement of water in the soil . Pesticides can harm myriad insects , micro-organism and earthworm that help keep a lawn healthy . Moreover , many industrial plant that we consider widow’s weeds are in reality good . Clover , for example , takes nitrogen from the standard atmosphere and distribute it in the soil [ reference : National Coalition for Pesticide - Free lawn ] .
If you ask to hold mourning band , do it in an eco - friendly way . Mowing is crucial . Cutting off the heads of blowball before they have a hazard to spread their seed is a proficient form of skunk suspension . If you need to use a weed killer whale , apply a " natural " one . These nonchemicalweed killersare often made from corn gluten and other nonchemical sources [ source : Haiken ] . One year , when my 1000 front like Jurassic Park , I concoct my own weed killer made of vinegar , alcohol and dish detergent . The detergent helped the acetum solvent stick to the leaves . It knead marvellously for a few species of weeds , but not so much on others .
3: Don’t Mow at Noon
mow at the right clip of the twenty-four hour period , especially during the summertime , will help your lawn quell green . As we said before , do n’t mow in the morning when the grass is wet . expect until the lawn dries .
Once dry , haymow in the late good afternoon and early evening . For one matter , it’sexcessively hotat noontime for such work . Not only can mowing in the heat of the day emphasise you out , but it can also stress your lawn . Also , do n’t irrigate your lawn in the blazing hotsun . The piddle will just melt .
2: Don’t Water Too Often
Wateringa few minute a day is not a right idea . It ’s a venomous wheel . Frequent lachrymation create a shallow - root organization . industrial plant with shallow roots need be incessantly irrigate to remain goodly . Instead , weewee once a week for an hour or so . This will allow the pee to penetrate the land and make your lawn more broad of dry conditions . It will also cut down on weeds .
When you irrigate , do it in the former break of the day before the sun start to broil the landscape . you may also irrigate in the tardy evening . Know your species of Mary Jane , too . Some grasses do n’t need regular watering . When it does n’t rain down , these supergrass will go dormant and bend brown . However , when it rains , they percolate right up [ origin : Bender ] .
1: Don’t Think All Mushrooms Are Bad
Every twelvemonth , especially if it rains and I have n’t mop my lawn for a couple of calendar week , mushroom cloud sprout . I do n’t eat thefungi , and I sure enough do n’t want them on my lawn . They ’re unsightly . However , not all mushroom are tough , although some open disease . Mushrooms stop the reproductive parts of certain fungi . Mushrooms like to chow down on tree stumps , agricultural waste product and other decay matter including animal waste . ' shrooms split up down the organic material and secrete nutrient that can help grass grow .
Mushrooms often sprout from forget and decompose construction lumber and other organic substances . Sometimes mushrooms can colour the lawn by stimulating green goddess growth in certain areas , make a ring in the grass . In other case , fungal growth permeate the soil , break off water from penetrating , wipe out the grass in the sphere .
If you want to get rid of mushroom , weewee less . Or , you may do what I do : mow over the tops or take a 9 - smoothing iron and swat them like golf balls . trend the top off a mushroom-shaped cloud does not kill the fungi underneath the filth , but you wo n’t see the toadstool again for a few calendar week [ source : Garden Seeker ] .
Frequently Asked Questions
Lots More Information
Here are two things I ’ve teach about lawn care : never weed belt in short gasp and always wear safety goggles . Although you might be hard - pressed to wear shorts on a hot , humid mean solar day ( and your goggles always steam up ) , do n’t do it if you ’re going to be cut down your lawn . I ’ve been hammered by branches , rock’n’roll and other jetsam that slammed into my thighs and look as the weed whopper went about its business . So , as we used to say back in the daylight " be good … mow heavily ! "
