When it comes to lawn maintenance during the summer months, many Hamilton area homeowners look to the experts to help them determine how to keep their lawn healthy all season. There is a ton of information out there that provides tips for achieving a beautiful carpet of green grass but maintaining it during the hot summer season requires a few tricks for success.
Here are some guidelines to help you achieve a beautiful lawn, but more importantly, keeping it lush, healthy and well maintained all season long.
Weeding
Weeds are a fact of life in lawns, but you can improve its appearance by being proactive. Pull weeds, roots and all with a handheld weeder. You might have to use chemical herbicides if weeds are out of control. By controlling weeds, you give your lawn a chance to improve its appearance because grass pushes weeds out.
Dethatching
When a matted accumulation of debris sits on your lawn, it is smothered and unable to regenerate new growth. By dethatching, you remove the dead patches in the turf and allow more air circulation and sunshine to get through. Your lawn will look lousy for a couple of weeks, but it will recover.
Aerate Your Lawn
One of the best thing that you can do for your lawn is to aerate it. In the long run, your maintenance will be easier because aeration allows for the grass to get more space for development, push out weeds and provides openings for air, water and nutrients to be absorbed more easily for better growth.
Apply Grass Seed to Bare Spots
When you have lush, thick lawn, maintenance is easier over time. By applying grass seed to bare spots, you fill in those areas that might develop a bug problem or weeds. Early spring or early fall is a good time to apply grass with warm days and cooler nights, so moisture is maintained for germination.
Reseeding
For older lawns, reseeding helps to achieve a thicker lawn; thereby maintaining it more easily. Older lawns may have grass varieties that just can’t handle the heat, but there have been developments in new grass varieties that can handle scorching heat and still look good.
Feed Your Lawn Regularly
Feeding your lawn on a regular basis provides a constant supply of microbes and nutrients to your lawn. A well-fed lawn grows in thick, crowding out weeds and cooling the soil, which helps it handle the heat. Also, if you feed your lawn with a 30-0-3 and 25 iron mixture, you don’t have to worry about the temperature.
Mow at the Right Height
It’s important to mow your lawn at the correct height or you’re short-changing your lawn. Longer grass allows the growth of longer roots, which can reach down for moisture even on hot, dry days. A healthy lawn is denser and better able to resist weeds, so do not scalp your lawn.
Remove only about one-third off the top of the grass, leaving about 2 ½ to 3 inches left. You can also alternate your mowing pattern and remember to keep your blades sharp. Just set your mower on one of the highest settings and see the difference this simple step can make.
Water Appropriately
Many homeowners think that they have to water daily, but this is a falsehood. Though watering that much only saturate the lawn and you end up drowning it. Frequent, shallow watering encourages grass to grow short roots, causing the grass to stress out during droughts.
An inch of water a week serves as a good rule of thumb for keeping your lawn green during the hot summer. Just be sure to water as early as possible in the morning, between 6 AM and 10 AM, to help reduce wasteful evaporation.
Maintenance Can be Simple
By following some of these simple and sensible suggestions, you can have a lawn that is healthy, denser with fewer weeds and overall easier to maintain during the summer months.