The summer season is the prime time to use your lawn for outdoor picnics, barbeques, and entertaining. The best lawns require regular attention in order to produce a lawn that will beautifully match your new home. Follow these 6 quick tips in making sure that your lawn stays lush all summer long:
1. Give It Air
If your lawn is well watered, summer is a great time to aerate the lawn in order to fight against thatch buildup. Rent an aerator from the store or consider aerating the lawn yourself with a pitchfork and some elbow grease. Other aeration tools are available like spiked boots that can be worn while walking all over the lawn. Aeration is important for lush lawns as it loosens the soil as well as provides the grass with important air flow.
2. Feed It
Feeding your lawn during the summer is the perfect time to give it the nourishment that it requires following aeration. Consider going natural by adding energy from your compost pile or pick up a bag of fertilizer from the store that is good at feeding the type of lawn that you have. Avoid a heavy dose of fertilizer during the summer to keep from burning the lawn but instead apply a light coat of fertilizer a few times during the growing season to get the maximum use of the added energy.
3. Let It Drink
A lush lawn obviously needs hydration during the hot summer months but knowing how to water is important as well. Avoid light daily watering that won’t reach down to the grassroots. Doing so can encourage a thirsty lawn that doesn’t ever get the full benefit of watering. Consider watering for a longer amount of time a few times a week in order for the lawn to soak up as much water as possible and reach the important root system.
4. Cut Just the Top
Keep an eye on your lawn and be willing to cut it when it needs it, not when it works into your schedule. Your lawn may need to be mowed every few days during the height of the summer growing season. Remember that grass cuttings should only take off the top third of the blade in order to boost growth. Removing more than that can damage the grass. Shorter grass has a tendency to dry out quickly and can be easily scorched by the summer sun.
5. Prevent Weeds
Just like everything else that grows well in the summer, so do annoying weeds that want to take up residence in your lawn. Kill weeds before they have a chance to grow by applying a weed preventer to your lawn on a regular basis. Take care of those weeds that have already appeared by doing spot treatments in areas of your lawn that have more weeds than others. Consider planting new grass seed in bare spots to encourage grass growth instead of allowing the space to become a hotspot for weeds.
6. Keep It Maintained
There is nothing like a broken sprinkler system to put a damper on a lush lawn. Make sure that your tools and watering systems are in top notch condition in order to avoid any mishaps during the summer. Delaying watering or cuttings, even if just for a few days while you fix a maintenance issue, can turn into a dire situation during the hot summer weather. Make sure that everything is in great working order before the heat of the summer arrives.
Growing a lush lawn during the summer takes some time and energy. Make sure to keep your lawn maintained with regular mowing and watering. Add some weed preventer and new grass seed to discourage weed growth. Aerate and fertilize your lawn as well in order to create a healthy lawn environment.
You might think all of this is excessive and expensive. However, consider the cost of replacing a lawn, and what a beautiful lawn can do to curb appeal. As with all things in property ownership, it is important to budget for maintenance costs so that you can make investments in what matter. Investing a moderate amount of of time and money into these simple lawn care tasks will help in making sure that your lawn stays lush all summer long and healthy long term.
Timothy Johnson is a green living and landscaping writer. He can often be found hiking with his two dogs or in the lavish garden he curates in his backyard.
