A well-maintained lawn can be the joy and pride of the homeowner. Not only does the lawn look good but can also help increase the value of the property. There is a fair amount of effort that goes into maintaining a lush green lawn. Overdoing or underdoing any of these activities can damage your beautiful green patch. We at Certified Landscape Construction ensure that your lawn is maintained well and at a reasonable price.
Some of the main aspects that we undertake with our Lawn Maintenance are:
Watering
It is ideal to water the lawn heavily when needed, instead of watering the lawn lightly and frequently. Watering the lawn lightly won’t yield the desired results as the water may not make it into the soil and nurture the roots. Also, when watering lightly, you must factor the atmospheric evaporation of the water.
When watering the lawn, it is best to water it enough to soak six to eight inches deep. This will help the roots to run deeper into the soil. Watering recommendations can vary based on different types of soil. However, it is best to water until you see the water approximately an inch above the surface of the ground. The ideal time to water the lawn is early in the morning. There is less evaporation in the morning, compared to the afternoon. Also, watering in the morning will help regulate the temperature of the lawn as the day progresses and the temperature rises. We ensure that we use the best watering practices when we water your lawn.
Mowing
Mowing helps reduce the workload on the root system of the grass plant. If the culm above the ground is large, it will naturally require more nutrients and water from the roots. A smaller culm places fewer burdens on the roots. Mowing encourages the expansion of the grass plant. When the grass leaves are cut down, the plant grows new leaves for the absorption of sunlight. Growth of new leaves helps make the lawn healthy, thicker and denser. A healthy lawn has better resistance to disease and weeds.
Through the growing season, we at Certified Landscape Construction ensure that we mow the lawn frequently. We avoid cutting off more than one-third of the leaf of the grass plant while mowing. Losing its ability to photosynthesize all of a sudden may not be good for the health of the grass plant. The shade from the grass plant will also help keep the soil cool. We keep varying the mowing pattern. For example, we push the mower from North-South for a week or two and then switch to mowing from East-West for a week or two. When using a mulching mower, we leave in the grass clippings after mowing. These clippings help fertilize the lawn.
We at Certified Landscape Construction also undertake periodic maintenance that includes:
Fertilizing
Fertilizing the lawn adds essential nutrients to the soil, which are in turn provided to the grass. Regular mowing helps the grass grow quickly. This means it will require more nutrients compared to an average plant. We use natural fertilizers like manure and compost. Using water-soluble fertilizer acts directly on the leaves. Hence we opt for slow-acting granular fertilizer instead. We use granular fertilizer which will gradually release the nutrients over a period of several months. This will help strengthen the root structure of the grass plant and make it resistant to weeds and resilient to drought. We ensure that the lawn soil is fertilized at least two times a year.
Aerating
The soil in the lawn tends to get compacted over time. This prevents oxygen from reaching through to the microbes that help break down the organic matter which enriches the soil. To ensure good health of your lawn, we aerate (opening the compacted soil) the soil periodically.
Soil can be aerated manually or with power core-aerators. Aerating the soil involves removing small sections of soil, thus forming shallow holes. Organic material, water, and Air spread into the earth through these holes and help revitalize the soil. In case there is heavy traffic of footfalls on the lawn, the soil can get severely compacted. We then aerate the lawn every fall.
De-thatching
In the lawn, it is natural that material will gather around the base of grass plants. Contrary to popular belief, Thatch does not comprise clippings of mown grass. Grass clippings generally break down within a week or so. Thatch comprises crowns and culms that have worn off or died naturally.
Thatch collection in a small amount is useful as it blocks evaporation and helps water conservation in the soil. However, a heavy build-up of thatch (more than 1/4th of an inch in thickness) will prevent the water and air from reaching the soil. This can impact the overall health of the soil and grass plants. If the build-up of thatch on the lawn is too thick, we remove it with a rake or a de-thatcher.
Questions? Interested in getting lawn maintenance for your yard? Contact us to discus your yard maintenance needs!
