Lawn Maintenance: Tips On How to Make Your Landscape More Pleasing

Summer days should be spent sipping sweet tea on the porch, sleeping in a swaying hammock, and watching the kids play in the sprinkler. The last days of summer can still offer hot, humid weather, reminding homeowners that it will be several weeks before their grass receives a break from the sun’s punishing beams.

This means you shouldn’t forget about your lawn care if you want to enjoy it again next spring! Staying one step ahead of the scorching temperatures might be the difference between enjoying your lawn for the rest of the year and having to replace it in the spring. Here are a few pointers to keep your grass looking wonderful as the summer winds down.

Water Your Lawn First Thing in the Morning

Water your grass between the hours of 6 and 10 a.m., when temperatures are cooler. An early-morning watering also gives your lawn the moisture it needs to stay hydrated throughout the day. Watering at night increases the likelihood of fungus growing on your grass and you want to avoid that.

Maintain the Sharpness of Your Lawnmower Blades

A bench grinder is the quickest way to sharpen a lawnmower blade. Grind the edge of the blade against the rotating wheel while wearing safety glasses, earplugs, and work gloves. It will be loud and there will be sparks, but you will be able to sharpen the blade in a matter of minutes.

One of the best lawn care ideas is to never remove more than one-third of the entire leaf blade of your grass. The greater the surface area of your lawn, the better it can retain moisture. Raise your mower deck another half-inch to provide additional surface area for your grass to store moisture and nutrients for the winter.

Don’t Forget to Still Treat the Weeds

While your annuals, perennials, and grass may require continual watering to thrive, weeds appear to be able to grow swiftly under any conditions. Weeds may easily infiltrate driveways, sidewalks, and fencerows long after everything else has failed to thrive. Zap with a comprehensive weed management product, like a neat weed torch, that swiftly destroys weeds and grasses while causing no harm to the existing soil.

The torch enters the weed through the foliage and travels down to the root, becoming inactive once it comes into contact with bare soil. If you do decide to replant in the spring, a weed burner for controlling weed is an ideal solution for clearing the area and reseeding it in around three days.

A note on dandelions: Dandelions, a typical perennial weed in early spring, can be pulled up by their roots or simply enjoyed for their yellow blossoms. If you want to keep your yard chemical-free, you may always collect dandelion greens when they are young and fragile! If you don’t want more dandelions next year, cut off the heads before they seed.

Apply Your Grass Fertilizer

The optimal time to fertilize is in the autumn. This helps establish turf by providing grass plants with the food they require to develop their root systems. However, many people will fertilize in the spring. Use this as a reminder not to fertilize your lawn too early in the spring because this will cause the plant’s energy to be diverted too soon into leaf development.

Instead, phosphorus is required by the grass for root formation. Depending on the type of grass you have, you will need to fertilize your lawn in the late summer or fall. In the late summer, warm-season grasses should be fertilized, whereas, in the fall, cool-season grasses such as bentgrass, bluegrass, fescue, and ryegrass should be fertilized.

In terms of weed control, along with counting on a top-notch weed burner as your go-to tool, some types of fertilizers, like the weed and feed option, might be of help too in this case. Just remember not to fertilize before expecting heavy rainfalls as there would be no effect.

Consider Using Black Mulch

Mulch is a crucial supplement to a garden during Australia’s long, hot summer. Its role is to help the slowing of the evaporation of water from the soil, thereby maintaining a steady level of moisture. As a result, it lessens the requirement for watering during hot spells. And black mulch is the most popular choice among Australian homes.

While shredded bark may be the first thing that springs to mind when you think of black mulch, did you know that you may also utilize other materials? This could range from plastic to volcanic rock. Depending on your garden and what you plan to plant, one of these black mulch varieties may be the best option for you.

If the Soil is Compacted – Loosen It

Have you got any flower beds? Remove the thick layers of leaves that have accumulated on the evergreen ground cover beds. Leaves in thin layers in your gardens can be left alone and just mulched over later. They will decompose and contribute organic matter to your soil. Then, loosen the soil to allow oxygen to reach the roots of the plants.

Small portions can be worked on using hand tools, but larger areas may benefit from tilling. A grass lawn can also cause soil compaction, especially if people walk on it. If you notice moss patches or symptoms of decline, it’s recommended to oxygenate the grass. This allows water and air to reach the root zone more quickly, resulting in new growth and greater root development. Keeping up with late-summer lawn care will allow you to spend more time enjoying your outdoor space rather than working on it.