Planning, designing, and maintaining your lawn is a wonderful thing. After all, the spot for your many barbeques and frisbee games needs to be taken proper care of.
To create and maintain a lush lawn, you have to consider a few things first, like planning what to do with the lawn, choosing the design, placements, deciding on the type of grass, and even getting a lawn care insurance. All these things affect maintenance costs, water use, and installation costs.
In this article, we are going to give you 10 tips to help you plan, design, and maintain a healthy lawn.
1. Decide what to do with the lawn
A lot depends on how you want to use your lawn. If you have pets and kids, then it would be best to have an open space enough to play a game of catch.
If you are someone who travels a lot, then you would want a smaller place with just enough grass to occasionally set up tables and enjoy the weather. Your decision greatly influences costs related to installation, decors, and even equipment. You can visit I Love Lawn Care to get a better idea about lawn equipment like yard tools, lawn sweepers, and lawnmowers.
2. Test the pH of the soil
This is something a lot of people do not consider. Testing the soil’s pH gives you an idea of whether the soil is too acidic or alkaline. If the pH is under 7, then the soil is too acidic, and if it is above 7, then it is too alkaline. If the soil is too acidic or alkaline, then nutrients will take longer to dissolve and reach your plants. pH lower than 4.5 can give rise to fungal issues.
This is why you need to test the pH of the soil and take measures against it. You can buy a pH test kit from the nearby garden supply store and test the soil’s pH.
3. Adjust the soil’s pH
For a healthy lawn and greener grass, the pH of the lawn needs to be 6 to 7. After the test, you can see if your soil is too alkaline or too acidic.
If the test proves out to be alkaline, then you have to bring the pH value down. To do this, you will need sulfur. To reduce 1 point of pH(i.e., from 7 to 6), use your garden spreader to spread 20 pounds of elemental sulfur for 1000 square feet of lawn area. After that, wait for three months, and then test the soil’s pH. If it does not lower it to the desired levels, then add sulfur again.
If the soil is too acidic, then you have to raise the pH value. This time, you will need to spread crushed limestone at 50 pounds per 1000 square feet rate. The amount needed can vary from soil to soil. So it is best to consult with an extension service about the number of ingredients needed to adjust the pH.
4. Decide what type of grass you want
You might be wondering that all the types are the same, but there are many different types of grasses and even installation methods. Weather and temperature have drastic effects on different types of grasses. There are warm-season grasses like bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, or the centipede grass. For cold seasons, you have Tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and Perennial ryegrass.
Then you can even decide whether you want sod or seed. Sod is a ready-to-install roll of grass and soil that can be easily set up in your garden. Sod can give you an instant lawn but at a hefty price. Seeding is the most inexpensive method but will need proper maintenance and time to grow.
Now that you have prepared the soil and decided what type of grass to have, you can move on to the next point.
5. Installation and maintenance cost
The cost greatly depends on what type of grass you use and how much space your lawn takes. If you have a big lawn, you will need more fertilizing, edging, mowing, overseeding, weed, and pest control. As for the type of grass, choosing sod or artificial turf will cost you significantly more than seeding. Depending on the size of the lawn, you will also need m0ore sprinklers.
All of these factors will affect your cost and budget.
6. Choosing the lawn design
Designing a lawn can be amazing. While the looks are important, make sure not to go overboard with the designs and shapes in the garden. That will only make it harder to properly take care of the lawn.
You can create a natural landscape look in the lawn by adding berming and rolling mounds or even boulders that are used for edging. Enhance the aesthetics by making a pathway in your lawn using slates, pebbles, crushed concretes, or even bricks. You can even use solar fairy lights in the pathway, walls, and other important parts of the lawn.
Make sure not to choose a design that makes mowing and irrigating your lawn difficult. You can go with simple shapes like rectangular or square and still make it look amazing.
7. Use Pre-emergent Herbicide
This type of herbicide works great in preventing crabgrass and other weeds. Weeds and crabgrass can be eliminated once they begin to sprout, but it is best to take preventive measures to stop these weeds way before they even gain a foothold in the lawn.
8. Set your mower blade high
You might think that cutting the grass short is better since it will take more time to grow, meaning you won’t have to mow it frequently. That is actually harmful to the grass.
It is good to let the grass grow a little. The ideal length would be about 3-3.5 inches in the summer. This height will allow the grass to give shade to the soil and reduce evaporation. You can shorten the grass in the next fall, but be sure not to make it too short. You should only be removing 1/3rd of the grass blade.
Final Thoughts
It is vital to first make sure the piece of land you are using for your lawn is up to the standards. Only after making sure of that should you proceed to add other installations and decor. By following the above measures, you will be able to plan and maintain your beautiful lawn.