As the weather begins to show us signs of spring, it's a perfect time to begin talking about yard maintenance and landscaping. Your yard -- specifically your front yard -- is the first thing that visitors and passersby see. Make that first impression gorgeous with the help of the following tips and tricks!
Mowing Grass: It may surprise you that there's more to cutting grass than starting the lawn mower and pushing it across your lawn. Both mowing height and frequency are important to the health of your grass. For instance, did you know that mowing with a low blade height removes nutrients stored in leaf blades and exposes the soil to sunlight, allowing weeds to take hold more easily? It also helps to mow in different directions each time you cut the grass. Grass develops a grain based on your cutting direction, tending to lean toward the direction you mow. Alternating the pattern causes more upright growth and helps avoid producing ruts in the lawn. Other quick tips from Lowes include:
- Mow when the grass is dry. The blades will be upright and less likely to clump when cut.
- Avoid mowing in the heat of the day to prevent heat stress on your grass and yourself.
- Keep mower blades sharp and balanced. Ragged cuts made by dull blades increase the chance of disease and pests.
- Mow moving forward, whether you're pushing a walk-behind mower or sitting behind the wheel of a lawn tractor.
- Discharge the clippings (unless you bag them) towards the area you have already cut.
- Leave clippings on the lawn unless they form clumps or rows. This technique (known as grass cycling) returns nutrients and nitrogen to the lawn.
- Consider using a mulching mower or mulching attachments.
- If you bag your clippings, consider composting them.
- Mow grass higher in shaded areas under trees. In these areas grass has to compete with tree roots for water and nutrients.
- Reduce mowing frequency and raise the mowing height of cool-season grasses when hot, dry weather slows their growth rate.
Fertilizing Grass: All lawns require feeding throughout the year for proper nourishment and growth. Check out this video for information on choosing a fertilizer and tips on how to properly fertilize your lawn.
Gardening: Planting a vegetable garden is not only a healthy option, it can often save you money! But when should you start the process? How do you know what to plant? According to sources such as HGTV and Better Homes and Gardens, soil is officially ready for gardening once it is free of ice crystals and crumbles easily. Common early spring crops are peas, spinach, lettuces and leeks. Follow those crops with ones like broccoli, radishes, kale and onions. More tips and tricks can be found at this website. More interested in planting flowers than veggies? Not sure which flowers to plant when? This might help!
The Alliance Habitat is fortunate enough to have numerous volunteers with "green thumbs" who come together to landscape our homeowners' lawn(s) toward the end of each build, which gives our homeowners a wonderful jumping off point to maintain a gorgeous lawn for years to come! If you would like to assist with the landscaping -- or any other part -- of our builds, let us know! Our organization runs on volunteers like YOU!
Spring is an important time for us here at Habitat. The groundbreaking ceremony for this year's Apostle's Build will take place this week, and excavation is scheduled to begin at the end of April. The excitement is building in our process of working with the 14 area churches taking part in this build, and the generous community members who support us!
Happy Spring!
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