Houston Domestics

Posts Tagged ‘lawn care’

Oxygen, food, and water are critically important for the root systems of your grass and plant life. In compact dirt, however, these ingredients can have a hard time getting to the roots. In addition to compacted dirt, thatching is another common yard problem that can possibly choke the grasses in your yard. If either of these conditions endure, the air and moisture will slowly get squeezed out of the soil. Your plants and grasses in your garden will become progressively weaker at they begin to starve and eventually your grasses will die.

Over the years, if your yard goes through the normal wear and tear that yards do, it is bound to become compacted. Yards are constantly trampled on by people, animals, equipment, and so on. Over the years, unless something is done, naturally the soil will become more compacted and hard.

In order to help the situation, you basically have two options available to you. You can take on the big job of tilling the lawn, which will take you quite a bit of time. Or you can use a lawn aerator to create air pockets in your soil that will allow nutrients to reach the grass and plant roots.

Core aeration is one of the best fall lawn care advice. It is an intense technique of breaking down your soil and creating air pockets in it. Core aeration creates deep, finger sized holes in your lawn. In the process it breaks through the thatching and ventilates the soil. Core aeration is one of the more natural and beneficial things you can do for your lawn in order to give it additional air space and ensure that it remains healthy.

If you have a small yard, then a manual aerator will do just fine. Or, if you also want to get a good physical workout, you can invest in a pair of yard aerator sandals. These are simply sandals with spikes on the bottom so that as you walk around your yard or garden, you simultaneously poke holes in it. Of, if you don’t want to do it  yourself, get a pair for your children. They’ll love it. But any spiky type of shoes will do – even spiked golf shoes.

However, if you have a large yard, seriously consider visiting your local garden center and either renting or buying an engine powered aerator.

But don’t think that buying or renting a garden aerator is your only choice. Many lawn care services already have aeration equipment and will be more than happy to provide this service for you. In fact, core lawn aeration is becoming so popular that many lawn care services offer it as a regular part of their maintenance plans. If the price is right, you may get more value for your money by going this route. Simply check with your neighbors and local garden equipment supply shop for references.

Whatever you decide, just keep in mind that occasionally giving your lawn a good airing out, will not only make it look better, it will help to keep it healthy for years to come.

Earthworms have been on the planet for centuries and act as a natural control to other lawn pests and micro-organisms. Not only are they good for the soil, but their very presence indicates that the soil is healthy. If you find no earthworms in your soil, you literally may not have healthy soil.

If you’re into lawn care diy and are  sick of  using artificial chemical plant foods and poisons to card for your yard and lawn, perhaps you ought to have a look at one of mother nature’s oldest and most often looked soil conditioners – earthworms.

One of the most important things that earthworms do for your soil is to aerate it. Soil aeration is important for the root systems of most plants. If your soil is too compact, water and foods will have difficulty making their way to the root systems of your grass or other plants. As a consequence, the roots will either starve or travel to the surface, which is not good. Aeration has a plethora of benefits to the soil. It helps to reduce and eliminate thatching. It reduces water runoff and improves soil drainage. Aeration helps to loosen compacted soil, especially soil that has a heavy percentage of clay, allowing the soil to “breathe.”

Earthworms are nocturnal creatures and you won’t normally see them in the daylight hours. They hate the daylight, probably from eons of experience being eaten by early morning birds. They love the dark and that is where you’ll most likely find them on the surface. They also seek the surface after long periods of rain where they may come to the surface for air.

If you want to drive all the earthworms to your neighbor’s lawn, then use a chemical fertilizer that has a high percentage of nitrogen. Large amounts of nitrogen tend to make the soil acidic which earthworms do not like. If the soil becomes too acidic, your friendly earthworms will seek greener pastures elsewhere.

On the other hand, if you desire to help your earthworm friends, leave your lawn clippings on the lawn when you cut it. The grass clippings contain natural levels of nitrogen, which is good for the soil. In addition, lawn clippings are a good source of food for earthworms.

Many chemical fertilizers have trifluralin as an active ingredient. Trifluralin is a suspected carcinogen which the EPA put under special review in the early eighties because of the presence of a contaminant that had been shown to cause tumors in animals. If you use chemical fertilizers on your soil, you are possibly putting the health of your lawn’s earthworms in danger.

Eliminating poisons has other benefits as well. Domesticated dogs and cats often chew on grass, dandelions, and other plants in the garden. If the lawn and plants have been treated with pesticides, your pets are also eating pesticides. In the best case, they will not be harmed. But depending on the levels of pesticides used, they could end up with an upset stomach or worse, they could be seriously poisoned. The same applies to your kids if they play on the lawn and put things in their mouth as young kids will often do.

With these facts in mind, you have to ask yourself if using chemical  fertilizers is worth it, even if they offer a much easier way of keeping your lawn looking good. If, however, you are willing to try natural means of lawn care, you may find that the lowly earthworm is your lawn’s new best friend.

Less than 200 years ago, grass was trimmed using a scythe. And most people didn’t see the need to cut the grass back then. Landscaping has progressed considerably since that time. There are more kinds of lawn and garden tools than you can count that are considered critical for maintaining a luxurious landscape.

If you have a lawn, you unquestionably need a lawnmower. It’s a strange concept that your lawn has to be ruthlessly chopped off in order to thrive; nevertheless, that’s the way it is. A lawnmower will likely be your most expensive purchase when it comes to lawn care. But if you tend to it well, it will provide you with many years of good service.

Unfortunately, a lawnmower alone won’t keep your yard trim. You’ll also need a lawn trimmer for hard to reach places. You might choose to use the traditional hand operated model that looks like a giant pair of scissors. The other option is an electric device that uses a plastic string to chop off grass and weeds. This string rotates at an extremely high speed. It’s not only strong enough to cut grass, it can also injure your body, so use caution.

Another piece of equipment you’ll need is a spreader. They are useful for the even distribution of granular products such as fertilizer, weed killer and grass seed. You can purchase a spreader in a push style with small holes and a mechanism that releases the contents as you go. Alternatively, you can get a hand held unit. This is most often a boxy plastic cup that, when you turn its handle, empties its contents onto the lawn below. These are appropriate for smaller areas that might need a little reseeding or spot fertilizing.

A rake is essential for gathering up the fallen leaves in the autumn. If you don’t rake them, these leaves might cause damage to your lawn over the winter. In the springtime, as the snow starts to melt, your grass will be suffocated and dehydrated by this covering of leaves.

You will discover that even though you carefully raked your leaves last fall, the grass has still become compressed throughout the winter. This thatching effect will prevent oxygen and other essential nutrients from working their way into the soil. Reviving the thatched grass is yet another task for your rake.

Shovels are also important tools to have around. A shovel with a narrow head is good for attacking clumps of weeds. Larger square or rounded shovels will also be required if you’re digging up plants, moving around soil and for any number of other jobs.

Buy the best equipment you can afford and maintain it well. This will make your lawn care much more enjoyable. You’ll also be the envy of your neighbors.

The type (i.e. species) of grass seed you select plus how it accommodates the surroundings of your lawn will in large part decide the outcome of your attempt to reseed parts of your lawn. For instance, the tag on your grass seed package may say that it needs full sunlight, which translates to at least 8 hours of sun. If your lawn is situated in a shaded area, then this type of seed will probably not do well in your yard not matter how well you treat it. Re seeding grass isn’t a hard thing to do at all.It simply requires matching the right seeds with the right environment.

If you’re not in the lawn maintenance field, you might be shocked to find out how many different kinds of grass seeds there are. You can buy reseeding grasses for almost any need. You can get them for shady or sunny areas. You’ll find specialised grass blended to kill and obliterate all weeds in their path. In addition, you’ll find grasses that come in a variety of shades – from dark green to light green, and you’ll want to choose a shade to match close to what you already have.

If at all possible, reseed your lawn in the Fall. Seedlings do not do well in extreme heat or extreme cold, making both summer and obviously winter, bad times to plant. After the hottest of the summer months have passed, the temperatures will have cooled to the perfect range that seedlings love. They’ll have until frost hits to start their growth spurt and become accustomed to the soil and environment in your yard. The second best time to plant seeds is in the Spring. Spring is also a good time because in addition to the cool weather, in most places, Spring tends to be a raining season which cuts down on the amount of watering you’ll have to do.

Although reseeding the lawn is a thing that many home owners will need to do periodically, after the first time and after obtaining the right yard tools, you’ll find maintenance almost no trouble at all.

Air, nutrients, and water are extremely important for the root systems of your grass and plants. In dense soil, however, they can have a tough time reaching the roots. In addition to dense soil, thatching is another common lawn problem that can potentially choke the grasses in your garden. If either of these conditions persist, the air and moisture will slowly get squeezed out of the soil. Plants and grasses in your garden will become progressively weaker at they begin to starve and eventually your grasses will die.

It’s inevitable that at some point in time, even in the greatest of circumstances, that your lawn will become ever more compacted. Gardens are forever damaged by people, animals, equipment, and so on trampling over them. It’s inevitable that at some point in time, unless something is done, this will happen to your lawn as well.

To improve the situation, you have two main options open to you. As part of your fall lawncare, you can till the lawn which will be a big job, even in a small lawn. Or you can use a lawn aerator to create air pockets in your soil that will allow nutrients to reach the grass and plant roots.

Core aeration is an intense process of breaking apart your soil and creating pockets of air in it. Aeration creates deep, digit sized holes in your grass, as it relentlessly rips through the thatching and breaks up the ground. Core aeration is one of the most natural and healthful things you can do for your lawn to give it more air space and to ensure that it stays in good shape.

If you have a small yard, then a manual aerator will do just fine. Or, if you also want to get a good physical workout, you can invest in a pair of yard aerator sandals. These are simply sandals with spikes on the bottom so that as you walk around your yard or garden, you simultaneously poke holes in it. Of, if you don’t want to do it yourself, get a pair for your children. They’ll love it. But any spiky type of shoes will do – even spiked golf shoes.

However, if you have a large yard, you might seriously look at taking a visit to your local garden center and either renting or buying an engine powered aerator.

But, buying or renting a garden aerator is not your sole choice. Many lawn care services already have aeration equipment and will be more than happy to provide this service for you. In fact, core lawn aeration is becoming so popular that many lawn care services offer it as a regular part of their maintenance plans. If the price is right, you may get more value for your money by going this route. Simply check with your neighbors and local garden equipment supply shop for references.

Companies that provide lawn care products are not standing still either. For the really lazy gardener, and in what sounds too good to be true, some companies have come up with spray-on lawn products that they claim will aerate and dethatch your lawn with no physical effort on your part what so ever.

Whichever route you end up taking, realize that periodically giving your lawn a good airing out, will not only improve its appearance but will help to keep it healthy for years to come.