DIY Tip: Properly caring for your lawn improves its appearance and enhances its improvements to the environment. To achieve this objective, it is vital that your lawn care DIY complements nature. If you prevent lawn care problems such as insects, diseases, weeds, they will not require treatment! When using the following tips, make sure to adjust your lawn care program for the conditions in your particular region.

Lawn Maintenance Keeps Grass Running Clean

Consider the grass that is growing in the yard the same way you consider your family vehicle and you understand the need for lawn maintenance to keep it green and growing. While some would rather simply pour concrete on the yard and paint it green, most folks prefer a plush lawn they are proud of when people drive past the house. For many, lawn maintenance is simply making sure the grass gets cut on a regular basis and trimming is done so as not to hide a fence or the post on which the mailbox is mounted, however there is more to taking care of lawn.

Many people understand the need for over seeding the grass in the fall, which allows new grass to start growing before it goes into winter hibernation. This allows the lawn to be fuller in the spring. However, a major part of lawn maintenance is aeration, typically done in the fall as well, is needed for areas of lawn that receives a lot of traffic. Walking or driving over areas of the lawn packs down the ground preventing water and oxygen from reaching the roots. Unable to breath or drink, the grass will die out, leaving brown spots in the yard.

Mower Care Tip: There are some simple lawn mower care suggestions that include basic up-keep.  If you have a gas powered lawn mower, make sure to be using the correct type of gas, or combination of gas.  Some lawn mowers have rechargeable engines, while others are electric.  Whatever your choice make sure as part of your lawn mower care routine to have the lawn mower ready to use.

Aeration is a major part of lawn maintenance, especially for established lawns and the plugs from the aeration can be mowed over and spread out of the rest of the lawn. These holes allow water to penetrate quicker, breathing new life into the roots.

Water Deep But Not As Often

Another mistake many people make during their lawn maintenance is watering almost daily. An average lawn will need about one inch of water every week and over watering can make the ground too loose allowing the grass to drown and easily pull out. Not supplying sufficient water dries out the soil and can also kill the roots. Putting a rain gauge in the lawn when watering can show when an inch of water has been applied, and then turn off the sprinkler for another week. This will also help conserve water.

There may also be a tendency to cut the grass too short which causes it to die and leaving long grass clipping on the lawn can cause areas underneath the clippings to miss out on the sunshine. As part of regular lawn maintenance, only about one third of an inch should be cut and if short enough can be left on the lawn as fertilizer.