A lush lawn contributes to your property’s overall aesthetic and increases its resale value. A thriving lawn also helps the environment.
Lawn Care Kentucky services include mowing, weed control, fertilization, and aeration. They can help prevent common lawn diseases like brown patch disease. They can also reduce soil erosion.
A lush, well-maintained lawn provides a beautiful backdrop for flower gardens and vegetable patches, a fun place to play or relax with family and friends and a food source for wildlife. Standard lawn maintenance services provide the foundation for a beautiful yard, but to achieve a truly healthy and lush yard, additional steps are needed.
Proper grass cutting is one of the most important parts of a lawn care program. Cutting the grass at the proper height increases turfgrass density, allowing it to better withstand environmental stresses like drought and traffic. It also allows the soil to absorb nutrients more easily, making a more resilient lawn that is able to resist weeds and other environmental threats.
Ideally, lawns should be cut on a weekly basis (or at least every 10 days) during the growing season. This schedule allows the grass to maintain a consistent appearance, helps prevent thatch buildup and gives you a lawn that is both attractive and healthy.
When mowing, it is important to never remove more than about a third of the leaf blade in one mowing. This helps prevent thatch formation and reduces the risk of turf diseases. It is also important to mow on dry ground and to avoid removing large clumps of clippings. Recycled lawn clippings, when mowed at the right height, do not contribute to thatch and can actually reduce your fertilizer needs by providing valuable nutrients back to the soil in a slow-release manner.
During the fall, it is important to continue mowing as growth continues and to raise the mower blade again when the grass begins to turn yellow and fade. It is also recommended to overseed and aerate the lawn in the fall, to repair any summer damage and prepare it for winter. This is also an ideal time to apply a winterizing fertilizer to help strengthen the lawn for the cold weather. Finally, be sure to minimize foot traffic on the lawn during the winter and use de-icing products that are safe for your lawn instead of rock salt (sodium chloride) which can damage turfgrass roots.
Weed Control
Weeds are not only an eyesore, but they steal the nutrients, water and sunlight from your grass. If weeds are allowed to grow out of control, they can even crowd out turfgrass and eventually kill it. That’s why weed control is an important part of lawn care services.
To kill weeds, professionals use herbicides. There are different types of herbicides, and the type used depends on what type of weed you’re trying to get rid of. For instance, a selective herbicide only kills specific weeds, while non-selective herbicides will kill (or prevent the growth of) any weeds they come in contact with. It’s also important to correctly identify the weed you’re trying to get rid off. Grassy weeds are easy to distinguish from true grasses, but broadleaf weeds have broader leaves and often flower, making them harder to identify.
When dealing with broadleaf weeds, it’s best to apply a pre-emergent herbicide in the spring. Pre-emergent herbicides work ahead of time, stopping weed seeds from germinating in the first place. They’re more effective than post-emergent herbicides, which only work once the weeds are already sprouting.
However, if you’re looking to be as environmentally friendly as possible, try to avoid using herbicides. Chemicals can have a negative impact on the environment, and they don’t decompose easily. In addition, most of the chemicals in commercial herbicides are synthetic, and they don’t occur naturally in nature or the human body.
If you’re unable or unwilling to use herbicides, you can still remove weeds by hand. Just be sure to pull the weed at its base, as it may have small roots still in the ground that will sprout new weeds if left unattended.
Weeds are a natural part of any landscape, but they can become a problem when you’re trying to create a beautiful, healthy yard. By following the steps outlined above, you can keep weeds at bay and enjoy your outdoor space without any unsightly patches of greenery. Keeping your lawn dense and healthy will also help fight weeds, as a thick, lush lawn crowds out weed seeds and prevents them from getting the sunlight and water they need to grow.
Fertilization
Grass needs the right nutrients to grow healthy and strong, and fertilizing is one way to ensure that. It’s important to know what kind of soil your lawn has and use a fertilizer that is suited for its season. For instance, a spring fertilizer will be higher in nitrogen to help get the grass off to a good start. A summer fertilizer will provide a steady supply of essential nutrients to keep your lawn thriving. And a fall fertilizer will improve the soil for winter and prepare it to take on the cold.
The best time to fertilize is before or after mowing. It’s important to mow a day or two before applying fertilizer, so that each blade of grass is at its optimum height for absorption. It’s also a good idea to wait 24 to 48 hours before mowing again after fertilizing. This gives the grass time to absorb the nutrients and makes sure it’s not cut off before they can do their work. Finally, it’s a good idea to avoid fertilizing when rain is expected or in the forecast. Rain will wash away some of the nutrients and can stress out your lawn.
There are many different types of fertilizer available, natural and manufactured. They all add nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to the soil to help promote plant growth. Some fertilizers also contain weed killers or work as dethatchers to remove thatch from your lawn.
It’s important to remember that even if you have the best quality fertilizer, you can damage your lawn if it’s not applied properly. This is why working with an experienced lawn service is always a smart option. They’ll take the guesswork out of your lawn care, so you can relax knowing it’s in the hands of the professionals.
Fertilizing is a key part of lawn care that can be challenging to do properly. It requires walking at a steady pace, spreading the product evenly and thoroughly, and ensuring that every inch of your yard is covered. It also involves a lot of bending, squatting and reaching, which can be hard on the body. If you’re not up to the task, Lawn Love can connect you with local lawn care pros who will gladly handle this and other essential lawn maintenance tasks for a healthy, vibrant yard.
Aeration
When your lawn gets beaten up by heat, foot traffic, heavy rains or an accumulation of thatch, it can lose the nutrients that help it fight off disease and thrive. Aerating your lawn creates holes that allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the roots of the grass, improving soil structure and health.
Lawn aeration is like balloon angioplasty for your lawn: It helps the roots absorb the oxygen that they need to survive and grow, just as it relieves pressure on an artery by making more room for blood flow. This is a vital step to keeping your lawn healthy, and we recommend it every one to three years.
The benefits of aeration are many. Most importantly, it alleviates soil compaction. Compacted soil has too many solid particles piled up, restricting the flow of oxygen to the roots and hindering root growth. Over time, this can weaken a lawn and cause it to look thin and unhealthy.
Another benefit is that it reduces thatch buildup by loosening up the layer of dead grass and organic debris that clings to the ground. Thatch is not bad, but too much can prevent the grass from getting the water and nutrients it needs from the soil.
Aerating also improves the uptake of liquid applications like fertilizers and overseeding, which will reach the grass roots more effectively. Finally, aeration is important for weed control because it helps crowd out weeds by reducing the availability of space and nutrients for them.
There are three main types of aeration: core, spike and liquid. The best type for your lawn is core aeration, which involves poking holes in the turf to loosen it and make it easier for essentials like water and nutrients to get into the roots. It’s important to hire a professional for this task because it can stress the lawn or damage underground lines if not done properly. Spike or “plug” aeration is less effective than core aeration, but it still makes an improvement by pressing cylinders of dirt down into the soil instead of cutting out chunks. This allows for some air pockets without removing any nutrients and is ideal for smaller lawns that do not require extensive soil work.