5 Vital Yard Care Tips for Better Health
December 28, 2011 by blog · Leave a Comment
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Maintaining a beautiful yard is a great way to not only add value to your home, but enjoyment for your entire family. Having a lush, green yard, healthy shade trees and beautiful flowers gives your family a place of natural beauty in which to spend time outdoors. However, ensuring that your yard is healthy and well maintained is not always easy. Here are five important tips to help ensure that you are able to keep your yard beautiful all year long.
Aerate Properly
Aeration is a vital consideration for any lawn, and offers significant benefits. It allows water, air and fertilizer to penetrate deeply into the soil, fostering better growth and healthier grass. Make sure that you aerate your lawn in autumn or early winter before the soil freezes. You can also aerate in spring.
Leaves and Pine Needles
Leaves and pine needles will accumulate throughout the year. It’s essential that these are raked up as soon as possible. Moreover, do not leave them piled in your yard or flowerbeds, as they will compact the soil and kill the grass or other plants beneath them. It’s best to remove leaves and pine needles from your yard on a regular basis (once every two weeks or more frequently if necessary). You also need to make sure that they are fully removed before the onset of winter.
Treat Moss
Moss will grow in your yard if conditions are favorable. For instance, if your soil is compacted, moss can easily begin growing. Other conditions that help moss get a foothold in your yard include poor drainage and high acid levels in the soil. You can prevent moss from growing by ensuring that your lawn drains properly, that you aerate it each year and that you put down lime to help combat acidic winter rains. If moss does begin growing, there are several options to help you get rid of it. However, it’s better to take care of the problem before it starts.
Fertilize
Fertilizer is an essential ingredient for a healthy lawn, beautiful flowerbeds and an overall healthy yard. Make sure that you fertilize in the spring, as well as in the autumn or early winter. Do not over fertilize your lawn, though, as this can lead to disease and can also help foster the growth of weeds. Make sure that you are using a fertilizer with the right balance, though, or you will not see the results you expect.
Cleanup
Just as you have to remove leaves and pine needles from your yard, you’ll need to clean up other debris. Summer and winter storms can strew branches and limbs around your yard, and it’s important that these are removed promptly. Leaving them in place for just a short time can compact the soil and kill the grass beneath them. Remove dead limbs and other debris from your yard as soon as possible – the day after the storm is ideal.
How A Great-Looking Lawn Can Increase Your Property Value
July 26, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
With the real estate market so hot right now in Vancouver many people are looking to sell their homes. If you’re considering selling, you can earn thousands more just by keeping up your lawn and knowing how to make your lawn one that people want.
First impressions are important, and the first thing prospective home buyers see is your lawn, gardens and yard so you want to make it look great. By having a well-kept lawn and properly maintained yard, your property will be more attractive to buyers.
Here is a list of some things that you can do to increase the value of your house when you’re ready to sell:
- Lawn clippings.
Keeping your lawn clean and trim is going to make it much more appealing to buyers. Also, proper mowing and leaving clippings on the lawn provide nutrients to the lawn which will make it healthier and greener. Mulching can improve the look of your lawn because it adds back nutrients it can also make a poor impression if you leave clumps of grass. Make sure you have a mower designed to mulch and if you get any clumps disperse them.
- Watering the lawn, plants, and flowers.
One of the most important parts of lawn care is to make sure your lawn is getting the proper water it needs. Make sure you are very aware of the weather and how much what your lawn needs. Proper watering of the lawn, plants and flowers will lead to beautiful results. By the time you see your lawn starting to go yellow you are already behind. If you do see any yellow because you have not started watering make sure to use your local watering restrictions guidelines for times and max them out.
- Planting trees or flowers.
Fresh plants can give your lawn a different look. A few flowers here and there or just one large flower garden can really increase the aesthetic appeal of your property. You can use perenials or annuals. Your local nursery will have what you need.
- Removal and up-keep of unwanted weeds.
You should make sure to stay on top of the unwanted weeds in your lawn. If you remove them it can keep your lawn healthier. Unwanted weeds can spoil other plants. It is also improtant to remove weeds from gardens. The wide open ground of a garden is fertile territory for weeds. Weeds can have several seeding cycles in a season and allowing them to seed can result in a poor look and way more work. It is also common to have weeds blow from surrounding gardens into your lawn. Keep it clean and it will pay you back with many less hours of work.
- 5. Tree and Shrub Care.
Make sure to take complete care of your trees and shrubs by spraying at the right time of year and deep root fertilizing, which will help aid in the proper growth
- 6. Aeration.
This will provide a path for water and air to the roots. It also helps develop the lawn.
All of these things will help set you off on the right foot to increasing your property’s value. Lawn care is very important. It’s the first impression customers have.
Some other things to remember!
- Greenery attracts people immediately; it’s one of the best parts which any person can create in his environment. Greenery increases the value of the property since people will like the option of being able to sit outdoors and admire the nature.
- You can maintain your lawn by using eco-friendly chemicals that are easy on the lawn. There are organic and natural pesticides available now that are not only good for the health of the grass but for the atmosphere! As a home owner, you would not want the constant exposure to hazardous chemicals.
- If you can afford it, it may be worth the money to invest in a lawn care professional to help you add additions, updates, or just maintain your lawn. You may find that you are too busy or just don’t know enough about the subject.
Hopefully these tools can help you get a jump-start if you haven’t already in taking care of your lawn. It may require time and effort just like all good things do; but, in the end it’s almost always worth it.
12 Vancouver Lawn Mowing Tips
May 16, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Image Credit: AdamKR
Your mowing habits can make the difference between a picture-perfect lawn and one that is susceptible to weeds, diseases, clumping and other lawn problems.
Did you know that there are do’s and don’ts for mowing?
You can improve the quality and appearance of your lawn by following these mowing best practices:
1. Don’t mow using dull blades. This rips and shreds blades of grass instead of cutting the blades cleanly. When blades are ripped, they are more susceptible to disease. Make sure to sharpen the blades every four to six weeks in sunny times of the year when you mow more frequently.
2. Don’t mow under bushes, if you have grass under low lying trees or shrubs use a line trimmer to get these areas this will avoid damaging any exposed roots and potentially your mower.
3. Don’t mow freshly-fertilized lawn. If you have applied fertilizer or any other chemical to your lawn, hold off on mowing for at least 24 hours.
4. Don’t lower your mower too far. The higher mowing height helps your grass develop a deeper root system cut at 2.5 to 3 inches.
5. Don’t mow your lawn too short: only cut 1/3 of the blade at a time. The more the light each blade of grass can absorb, the better! When grass is too short, it is vulnerable to disease and weed infestation. A healthy lawn needs deep roots and it also needs to preserve moisture. If you let your lawn grow too high, when on vacation, mow at a higher level and then lower the blade the next time you cut.
6. Don’t bag your clippings during dry weather. The clippings you produce by mowing can benefit the lawn if you leave them to mulch.
7. Don’t force your mower when you hear the motor slowing. You can burn out an electric mower’s motor as well as damage lawn if you push on instead of pausing. Along with pausing, you can mow backward (over lawn already cut) or lift up the mower to allow the motor and your grass time to recover.
8. Don’t make sharp turns on your lawn. You can scalp your lawn and damage the crown of grass by turning your lawn mower too sharply. Instead of turning on the lawn, turn on a driveway or sidewalk.
9. Don’t mow in the same direction each time. This can create ruts in the soil, and compacts the soil making growth difficult and preventing moisture from being retained. Rotate mowing patterns by mowing north to south on one cut, and then east to west the next, finally going diagonally on the third cut. On a hill, mow across and mow diagonally rather than directly up and down.
After a month of rotated mowing patterns, your lawn will have a plaid appearance used by professional mowers on greens used in stadium ballparks and golf courses.
10. Mow your lawn while on vacation. A lawn that is not mowed is a clear sign that someone is not taking care of a lawn and can cause criminals to investigate. If a family member cannot take over your chores when you go on vactaion call a professional. They will make sure that your lawn is cut on a schedual. Remember when you were a kid and your parents went away did you cut the lawn and clean the house on a schedual?
11. Don’t forget to clean your mower. After you finish mowing and turnoff the motor, make sure to scrape any build-up of clippings underneath the mower.
12. Don’t wait too long to mow again. The rule of thumb is to mow more frequently rather than waiting for a few weeks.
I hope this helps, if you have any more questions about lawn mowing please feel free to contact us.
