Sure, anybody can take care of the lawn, right? Well, some of your neighbours have chosen to roll up their sleeves and tackle lawn care head-on by themselves doing things like spreading fertilizer by hand. The results have to be seen to be believed! How many of the following techniques have you seen in your neighbourhood?
Improvised Weed Management:
It’s an all too common DIY mistake, this homeowner has shrewdly used a non-selective herbicide like Round-up or horticultural vinegar, to kill those pesky weeds on his boulevard! As you can see, no weed (or grass plant) can stand up to them.
Keep it on the down-low though. Using pesticide products like this is illegal. (and only meant for hard surfaces…) It’s a good thing nobody can tell he’s applied them to his lawn.
The Personal Touch:
This homeowner has taken hands-on literally spreading fertilizer by hand. By artistically throwing handfuls of fertilizer onto his lawn, rather than spreading them evenly, he has created a unique work of art. You can even see spots where he reached into the bag to spread the fertilizer or the arc at which he threw it. Showing you how to spread fertilizer without a spreader, or perhaps how not to. No one else on the block will have a lawn that stands out like this one!
The only downside is he may attract crop-circle enthusiasts. A small price to pay!
Artistic And Utilitarian:
The striped lawn is achieved by fertilizing with a drop-spreader and being careful to make sure each of your passes does not match up with the one before it. In the case of this lawn, poor spatial awareness mixed with a drop-spreader has led to these stripy results great for meditative labyrinths, or for playing very small games of football.
The Lived-In Lawn:
This is a more advanced technique. First, the do-it-yourselfer needs to stress the lawn. This can be done with any combination of lack of fertilization, watering badly, mowing the lawn too short, not paying attention to the hot dry weather, or not understanding the stresses that affect plants.
Once that is accomplished, make sure to run your lawnmower over the exact same path every time, with an oversized lawnmower with upgraded jumbo tires, and watch the browned wheel-ruts appear as if by magic of mechanical tire damage on turf!
More is better:
More is better:Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Here is another homeowner showing how not to spread fertilizer without a spreader. The homeowner has very heavily put down fertilizer, spreading it by hand in uneven amounts. Sure, the excess nitrogen has burned the lawn to death here and there, but look how great the grass that survived looks!
As an added touch, the neglected pieces of sod placed sloppily to patch holes give the lawn a bit more flair, like dusty burlap throw cushions.
So look around your own neighbourhood. You will probably find a do-it-yourself lawn artist who will advise you against hiring a professional.
He may even offer to make your lawn as eye-catching as his own!
For Professional Lawncare Services Call The Pros
At LawnSavers we know the best techniques for how to give you a lush and beautiful lawn. Spreading fertilizer by hand seems like it would be very easy but there is more involved than you realize and things can go badly quickly giving you results that you have to live with for a long time. If you are looking to improve the look and health of your lawn don’t hesitate to contact us at LawnSavers. We serve everywhere in the GTA from Newmarket, and Barrie to Oakville or Ajax. Call us today for your free estimate. 1-888-503-5296
FAQ About Best Lawn Care Practices
🌱 How Many Times a Week Should You Water Your Lawn?
You need to water at least once a week for at least an hour, this generally provides 1-1.5″ of water to the roots (a tuna cans height) (exceptions: 1. when you seed & 2. if you have an automated system 3. When we are experiencing extreme heat).
New Seeding Watering: Seed must be kept moist until established. This will be influenced by the amount of sun, wind and heat you are experiencing in your particular area. It is normal to require 3-4 short waterings per day to maintain a moist seedbed. Use a light stream of water to lessen disturbance of the seedbed.
🌱 Why Is My Lawn Bumpy?
There are a number of reasons why lawns get lumps and bumps in them. The continual freezing and thawing over spring can cause soil to shift unevenly. Wild animals or pets can dig up areas of a lawn. Even walking on it when it is too soft either in the spring or after a very heavy rainfall can cause depressions to form in your lawn. If lumps and bumps in your lawn are concerning you it is best to contact a qualified lawn care specialist near you to diagnosis exactly what the issue is and the best way to deal with it.
🌱 How Do You Care For A Newly Sodded Lawn?
For a newly sodded lawn, it is very important to make sure you water your lawn every morning and night for the first two weeks, make sure you mow it at your mower’s highest setting and limit traffic to keep the lawn from getting lumpy.
