If you have a yard with the whole landscaping shebang, it’s important to engage in effective family friendly lawncare. If you have pets and children you’ll need to keep up with pet friendly lawncare and make sure you don’t use fertilizers or pesticides that could potentially harm them. Even if you don’t, it’s probably a good idea to still use organic lawn care so it’s better for the environment. Here are a few tips to keep up with basis and safe lawn care.
- Getting the Soil Ready
When you are first planting your new long, you need to prepare and plan properly. Wherever you are going to be planting needs to have all weeds removed and the soil tested for pH levels to make sure you can actually even plant anything there. Once you know you can, before planting, begin by removing any drainage and compacted soil. Loam and compost do a great job of enriching the soil. Sloping the ground slight will help with drainage and pooling. Use a roller to pack the soil back down and then you can use a metal rake to grade the area. - Deciding Between Sod and Seed
Although rolling out a carpet of sod is definitely the fastest way to get your lawn started, it can get pretty expensive if your yard is a decent size. If you don’t want to shell out those kinds of prices, you can seed your garden yourself by hand or by hyrdoseeding. You’ll want to make sure the type of seed you get is appropriate for the season and the environment in which you live. There are actually different seeds for winter and summer that will sprout accordingly. - Keeping the Right Length
Family friendly lawncare really does have a lot to do with the length of the grass. So many people mow their lawns too short for various reasons; the main one being that they don’t want to have to do it again to soon. As fast as grass renews itself, this is pointless anyway. Short grass is also very damaging to the grass itself. If you want to keep a nice lawn, you don’t have to cut it so often. Taller grass is better for root development and also saves water because longer grass essentially traps the water into the soil. It will also block the sun from helping weeds to grow. You should only cut the top third of the grass when you are mowing. This is much more effective than trying to cut it so short, so often. - Watering Effectively
You should only need to water once a week but make sure that you water a lot during that time. Soaking your lawn once a week will help the roots to reach out deeper in to the soil. It can also repel bugs which are attracted to dried and stressed out lawns. Keep in mind that sandy soils dry out faster than clay soils which can hold moisture for much longer. Because of this, you’ll have to do a little research to find out exactly how often your particular lawn should be watered in order to do it properly. Also, remember that if your grass is taller, it will require less watering than if it’s too short. - Feeding Efficiently
To continue with nice, rich family friendly lawncare, you will need to feed your lawn. Not often and not a lot but at least twice a year. This is also known as fertilizing. Use as organic and natural a fertilizer as possible, so it’s more like giving your lawn a multivitamin than anything else. This will keep it safe for pets and children to still play on after you have fed your lawn. This is what makes for good family friendly lawncare; the careful usage of organic products. There are some intense chemicals that can be used on lawns but if you want to keep your yard safe and your family protected, then stay away from those.
Keeping to these tips will give you a beautiful lawn that everyone can safely enjoy, year round. Grass is something that everyone loves and it really can make a house a home if it’s taken care of properly and maintained efficiently.