Luxurious flower beds, original rockeries, picturesque ponds, cozy gazebos would never have looked so attractive if it were not for the background that unites all these decorative finds – a smooth, dense, silky lawn. By itself, without additional solutions, it becomes an excellent decoration for a summer cottage. But you just need to properly organize the care of the lawn. We invite you to figure out what kind of care procedures exist and how to do them correctly.
A beautiful, well-groomed lawn in front of the house or in the backyard is as important a part of landscape design as a flower garden or garden.
Caring for a carpet of lush green grass is necessary at any time of the year. Even during the winter, you should be careful about the lawn hidden under the snow: it is advisable not to walk on it, not to arrange a skating rink and not to clutter up with snowdrifts while cleaning the paths. Only a regular integrated approach is able to transform wild grass thickets into a noble, soft, beautiful lawn. So, let’s take a look at some of the must-have lawn maintenance activities.
To free the lawn from the debris accumulated over a long time, remove the matted felt layer from the soil surface, use lawn combing. The presence of felt is an excellent opportunity for the development of pathogens and the reproduction of insect pests.
A simple and effective tool for combing out is the medium-hard fan rake. Garbage and felt are raked into heaps, then taken out or taken out in a garden wheelbarrow. The combing procedure consists in multiple longitudinal and transverse processing of the lawn, therefore this type of work is considered laborious.
A fan rake, unlike conventional rakes, allows you to collect garbage more thoroughly, at the same time, gently, without damaging the shoots.
To carry out aeration, it is enough to make punctures in the sod layer so that the air freely reaches the roots. Ventilation of the underground part of the plants nourishes the roots with oxygen, does not allow water and air to stagnate. Moderate circulation of air masses prevents the appearance of fungal diseases and rot.
Original accessories worn on shoes – sandals-aerators will help to combine the process of aeration of the lawn with a useful walk in the fresh air.
Lawn aeration is usually done in autumn or spring, but never in summer, when too high temperatures can cause drought. Before piercing the turf, water the lawn abundantly for two days in a row. The puncture depth is from 8 to 10 cm.
The most common aerators are gasoline or mains powered. Average power – 1400-1600 W, working width – 30-40 cm
The traditional aeration tool is a conventional pitchfork. If the lawn is small in area, then they will be quite enough. When the area covered with grass takes up a lot of space, a special device is required – an aerator. There are several types of aerators, differing in technical characteristics and purpose. For example, a series of aerators serve to form the root system in parallel.
A distinction should be made between piercing and pricking during aeration. Piercing is a deeper process: suppose the pitchfork penetrates to a depth of 8-10 cm
Along with aeration, verticulation is performed – unnecessary shoots and extra stems are cut off with a special apparatus equipped with a knife mechanism. A good time for this event is late spring and early autumn. Immediately after scoring, apply the appropriate fertilization for the season.
Regular cutting, combing and cleaning of natural debris from the grass carpet leads to the fact that the fertile layer becomes poor, and the grass becomes frail and faded. Artificial feeding will help to replace the substances lost from the soil. Experts recommend applying fertilizers every six weeks, and the fall formulations differ from the spring ones.
Fertilizers for spring feeding are enriched with nitrogen, which is necessary for plants for friendly germination and growth of leaf plates. Potassium and phosphorus give the proper development of roots and strength to the shoots. Autumn feeding is characterized by a low nitrogen content, since at this time of the year the grass growth stops; potassium, on the other hand, predominates.
To feed lawns, you should purchase a special fertilizer. The best option is universal, packaged in 3 kg bags. The price of one package is about 120 rubles
The use of a fertilizer spreader facilitates the feeding process. This model distributes the substance on both sides, the main thing is not to exceed the concentration of the mixture
Fertilizers are applied in different ways:
- through the irrigation system (or using a watering can), having previously made an enriched solution;
- using a seeder – automatic spreader;
- manually, evenly spreading over all areas of the lawn.
The diagram clearly shows how fertilizing and removal of fertilizers, which do not stay in the soil for a long time, take place. That is why the introduction of nutrients into the soil should be regular.
September and October are good months for mulching. It consists in increasing the fertile layer due to the added mixture useful for plants. Usually organic material has three components: peat, loam and sand. The proportion of parts depends on the type of soil:
- Sandy – 2: 4: 1.
- Clay – 1: 2: 4.
- Loamy – 1: 4: 2.
For mulching, a nutrient mixture is made up, one of which is peat. Lowland peat especially useful for improving soil structure
Regular mulching enriches the turf with nutrients, regulates the air-water regime, and makes the surface of the grass carpet even.
The main purpose of mowing a lawn is to make it look aesthetically pleasing, even flawless. The grass is cut throughout the entire grass growth cycle, that is, from spring to autumn.
Mowing with a lawn mower is not just a lawn maintenance process, but a way of life. You get used to this action in the same way as to morning jogging or walking the dog.
Several rules will help make the process as efficient as possible:
- Frequent and too short pruning threatens to weaken the shoots, as they begin to experience a deficiency of nutrients and moisture.
- Before clipping, the grass is straightened (for example, with a rake), and after clipping, it is immediately removed so as not to disrupt the aeration process.
- Mowing a wet lawn is not recommended – the grass sticks to the parts of the mower. Better to choose a dry, sunny day. It is especially dangerous to use electrical equipment on a rainy day.
- Read the instructions that came with your lawnmower for instructions on how to properly mow and clean the machine.
- The mowing is done in different directions so that the lawn is uniform.
An approximate diagram of the movement of a lawn mower. Moving alternately in different directions, it is necessary to try to cover the entire area of the lawn, otherwise it will not be possible to achieve a flat surface
It is not necessary to water the lawn daily, 2-3 times a week is enough. Let watering be rare but abundant. The best time is early morning or late evening, before the sun rises at its zenith. For this reason, it is appropriate to use not manual watering from a hose, but an automatic irrigation system, which is programmed to turn on at a certain time.
Automatic watering of the lawn has two big advantages: it happens at the right time and frees the owners from unnecessary work
During watering, the soil should be moistened by 15-20 cm in depth. For 1 m², there are 15 to 30 liters of water. The process will be more effective if aeration and combing are performed in advance.
A well-groomed, evenly trimmed, dense lawn is the pride of the owners of the house and an excellent addition to the design solutions that decorate the adjoining territory.
As you can see, a beautiful decorative appearance of the lawn is achieved by hard work and regular attention, but the result pleases the owners throughout the summer.
