Is your neighborhood buzzing with the sound of lawnmowers yet?
Your grass will not wait – you’ll want to cut it before it becomes a haven for all the wild things, but as the price of gas continues to rise, who wants to spend a fortune simply cutting their lawn?
Fortunately, there are ways to cut your costs on lawn care this summer that will leave room in your budget for the fun things in life…summer vacation!
There are some things you can do this summer to reduce your lawn maintenance costs – all of which involve preventing things that can affect the growth and health of your lawn.
Implement some or all of the following tips to help reduce the costs of maintaining your lawn this season.:
1. Save on water costs
It may seem unthinkable to some green lawn lovers, but it’s possible to water your lawn less and still have a healthy, green lawn.
How?
By keeping an eye on the weather! Is rain in the forecast for the next couple of days? Is that chance above 60%?
If it’s time, cut the grass, then wait in the rain to water your lawn.
If you’ve got the homeowners’ association barking at you to water your lawn, wait until the tops of the blades are starting to curl. This is the first sign that your lawn is stressed and will soon turn brown.
For a deep soak, place a small container (approx 6 ounces) under the sprinkler and let it run. When the can begins to overflow, check the timer on the sprinkler, then move it to another part of the lawn, allowing it to sit for the same time.
Repeat this process until the entire lawn is covered.
If your area isn’t in a drought, take advantage of the rain to help you water less frequently.
The best time to water is in the early morning hours, between 5 and 10 am. Even though it may seem like a good idea to water at night, it isn’t; it causes pest and disease problems and prevents your lawn from getting adequate water when it most needs it.
You’ll save both fuel and time by not watering at night.
2. Mow less frequently
If it’s doable where you live, letting your grass get a bit taller can reduce your mowing frequency, which translates into saving money.
This might mean mowing once a week or every other week, so determine when you need to mow based on the grass length, not the calendar.
3. Feeding your lawn
You don’t need to spend a fortune fertilizing your lawn.:
- ⬥ Invest in a mower that mulches. The uncut grass not only disappears within a day, but it also provides nutrients to the grass and protects it from evaporation.
- ⬥ Compost your food scraps. Then you can use that compost to fertilize your lawn.
4. Eliminate nasty weeds
By reducing weeds, you will need fewer pesticides.
Use a PH test kit (available at your gardening store) to test your lawn’s acidity or do the following:
Collect a couple of soil samples from your lawn. Following the directions on the box, add a couple of spoonfuls each to two containers.
- ⬥ Add vinegar to the containers (½ to 1 cup). If the solution in the container fizzes up your soil is alkaline, with a PH between 7 and 8.
- ⬥ If the solution doesn’t fizz, add distilled water until you’ve turned it muddy. Then, add ½ cup baking soda. If it fizzes up, then your soil is acidic, with a PH that’s between 5 and 6.
- ⬥ If neither sample gives you a reaction, then your soil is neutral with a PH of 7.
Why is this important?
Because dandelions do well in soil that’s got a high PH, around 7.5.
Instead of buying fertilizer, use products such as gardener’s sulfur and lime dust.
Use lime dust if your PH is lower than 6.5, otherwise, use gardener’s sulfur to help your lawn to thrive.
Pull any remaining weeds by hand, but if you’ve dealt with the PH of your soil, you should have fewer of those weeds.
5. Install artificial grass
Last but not least, many homeowners choose to install artificial lawns instead of natural grass. The technology for creating astro turf has improved considerably over the years, providing an attractive and durable lawn that requires minimal maintenance.
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