Do you often feel like even with all the energy, money, and time that you devote to caring for your outdoor space, you do not get the results that you want? Your lawn is still patchy, weeds continue to pop up, and you deal with pests more than you need to.
You are not alone. Lawn care and gardening can be quite frustrating. However, as Sydney Eddison wrote in her memoir, “Gardening for a Lifetime,” horticulture is a hobby (and responsibility) that takes a long time to master. Plus, all kinds of hurdles and setbacks are genuinely a part of the story. As such, you simply need to keep at it because it will yield victories that, no matter how small, can make all your efforts feel worthwhile. Here are some tips from the experts about reviving dead grass that will surely help you in keeping your lawn be always at its best state. `
Another crucial lesson to learn is that getting into gardening and lawn care is a continuous learning process. The problems you encounter are opportunities to increase your knowledge. And for some of the most common issues with lawn care, Shreveport, LA lawn specialists offer these vital lessons to learn this springtime.
1. Dandelions are pretty, but they are a problem.
Dandelions are like the mermaids in a horticultural fairytale. They are always depicted as magical and pretty, but they actually indicate a problem with your lawn. Lawn care specialists say that if you keep on seeing dandelions in your garden or yard, this means that your soil is calcium-deficient.
Using white vinegar to kill them off may work, but this doesn’t guarantee that dandelions will no longer grow in your garden after that. If you wish to free your yard from these whimsical-looking weeds, focus your attention on the quality of your soil. Add lime and gypsum to raise calcium levels. Likewise, aerate your lawn and de-thatch annually.
2. Crabgrass is bad news, too.
Typically, where there are a lot of dandelions, crabgrass is present, too. You may be inclined to think that having crabgrass is better than seeing bald spots on your lawn, but crabgrass may eventually be the only thing growing in your entire garden if you don’t kill it right away. Crabgrass robs your beautiful turf of nutrients and quickly overtakes it in terms of growth.
Here’s what you’re doing wrong if crabgrass proliferates in your yard: You water your lawn too much. Crabgrass loves moisture, and if your lawn is wet most of the time, for sure, you’ll soon see crabgrass growing everywhere.
So what should you do? Water your lawn only during the best times of the day, which are early in the morning, before it gets too hot, and late in the afternoon or early evening, when it is cool.
3. Cleanliness makes a whole world of difference for pest control.
Different kinds of rodents and insects are commonly attracted to lawns that are untidy. If you think that scattering seeds to feed endemic birds is a harmless activity, it’s not. In fact, even just leaving bird seeds in bird feeders is a big no-no when it comes to maintaining a healthy lawn.
Birds will not consume all the seeds you throw out in your lawn; their leftovers end up getting picked up by everything from squirrels to rats, to other rodents, and insects.
Also, do not overwater your lawn, even in the summer. The puddles are likely to attract common garden pests as well. Ants, in particular, love to build their homes where there’s a lot of moisture. So, if you start seeing anthills in your garden, that’s most assuredly because you keep your yard wet most of the time.
And lastly, do not leave mounds of fallen leaves and grass clippings on your lawn because they make ideal homes for all kinds of critters.
4. Pests are also more likely to come if you have fruits growing in your yard.
An edible lawn may be a good idea, especially if you wish for a more self-sufficient household. However, it’s more susceptible to pest infestation. The sweet-smelling fruits will attract a variety of insects, including drosophila or fruit flies which populate quickly and can easily make their way into your home.
As such, it’s imperative to come up with different kinds of pest management tactics to control the creepy crawlers and fliers without having to sacrifice the fragrant edibles in your lawn. The specialists in lawn care in Bossier City, LA recommend everything from planting flowers and other aromatic herbs that repel pests to performing strategic landscaping.
5. A brown lawn points to a fungus problem.
Those pesky brown spots in a lawn that won’t let anything grow often indicates the presence of fungus. Most people treat these brown spots by watering more frequently and applying more fertilizers or lawn boosters such as compost. The problem is that such practices only encourage fungi to develop even more.
If you want to banish these brown spots, the best thing to do is to hire the pros to assess the problem and use appropriate solutions. There may be other problems beneath the surface that only the highly experienced experts can recognize. So opt out of a DIY treatment and trust the professionals to turn brown areas into green ones.
6. A yellow lawn is not always caused by the turnover of seasons.
When your turf is mostly yellow, this may not be the result of changes in weather. According to lawn care experts, this is usually an indication that the soil is too acidic. Your soil may be acidic because you have been using limestone for it. Limestone or chalk is only necessary if your soil’s pH level is lower than 5.5.
If this is the case, hold off on limestone for a bit. Have your soil’s pH level tested (there are testing kits that you can purchase from gardening stores) to see if it’s time to start applying limestone to boost your soil. See if sulfur would make a difference in the color of your turf.
Do consider watering your lawn a bit less as well because too much water can wash out the necessary nutrients for healthy turf. However, too little water can cause your grass to wither faster, so make sure to water the grass just right.
All the lessons shared above should remind you that it’s not how much effort you put into lawn care that matters; it’s all about the appropriate methods you employ to carry out lawn care tasks. Keep the tips in mind and you’ll soon see a much healthier and more attractive lawn in the coming seasons.