The landscaping of your yard is a key element in the overall aesthetics of your home. In addition to making a great impression, a well-kept lawn can increase the monetary value of your property. If you want to reap all the benefits a pristine lawn has to offer, here are some of the things you should never do when maintaining it.
1. Mowing Inconsistently
Rather than looking thick and dense, extended breaks between mowing can make your lawn shaggy and tall. Eventually, when the tall grass is cut, the gaps between the blades will be sufficient for weeds to take hold.
Additionally, in allowing your grass to grow tall, you run the risk that any subsequent trimming will scalp the lawn. This is cutting the grass so low that the stems of your grass blades are exposed. It is thus vital to establish a consistent mowing schedule -at least once a week.
2. Over-Fertilising
Excess fertiliser could result in severely dehydrated grass – referred to as burning the lawn. Furthermore, excess fertiliser could also increase the growth rate of the grass potentially resulting in scalping of the lawn upon clipping. It’s also essential that you scarify and aerate your lawn before fertilising it for optimal results. Some tools such as the lawn raker and scarifier by VonHaus have a two in one scarifier and aerator elements making it even more efficient and convenient for your lawn.
3. Overwatering
Not only is excessive watering profligate, but it also endangers your lawn. Overwatering significantly increases the likelihood of lawn diseases as well as the growth rate of the grass. This in turn upturns the probability of scalping next time you mow your lawn. In addition, excessive watering can wash away the fertiliser. There is always the risk of your lawn becoming water logged though, but again the dual scarifier and aerator feature of the VonHaus lawn raker could work in your favour, as it clears away excess grass and punctures small holes in the lawn to increase drainage.
4. Planting Bargain-Brand Grass Seeds
More often than not, these types of seeds have failed to pass inspection as they contain weed seeds mixed with grass seed. While a considerably inexpensive option, cheap grass seeds might jeopardise the integrity of your lawn as there’s a fair chance of introducing weeds to your garden.
5. Bagging Grass Clippings
Mulching the clippings is a better option to bagging them. Not only do the clippings conceal bare spots, they provide nourishment to the lawn. In fact, in addition to the clippings, mulch the fallen leaves in the autumn, as research has shown it prevents weed seeds from germinating on any bare spots all while providing nutrients to the lawn.
6. Cutting Wet Grass
The ideal time to mow your lawn is when the grass is parched. Dampness from rain or morning dew severely weighs down grass making it difficult to make a straight cut as the blades are bent. Additionally, it is not uncommon to slip on wet grass and the clippings have a tendency to bundle together and not spread uniformly. Albeit a better option to letting grass grow tall especially during the rainy season, disease can spread rapidly when mowing wet grass as freshly trimmed grass blades are more vulnerable to disease-carrying microorganisms.
With consistent care and adequately measured watering and fertilising, your lawn can represent a reasonable investment both aesthetically and in monetary terms.
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