Lawn maintenance consists of mowing, watering, fertilizing and keeping your lawn weed and pest free. A lawn is named as turf pitch, field or green depending upon its plantation and usage. Each kind of grass requires specific kind of maintenance. A properly maintained lawn adorns your garden and provides it with flawless beauty.

Watering: Once your lawn is layed, make sure it gets a sufficient amount of water daily until the root system has settled, but on hot days make sure it is watered at least twice a day. Try and water in the early mornings so that there will be less evaporation. Evaporation will be a lot higher in the afternoon when it is very hot. You can water in the evenings but it may cause bacterial diseases from the dampness on the leaves. When there is insufficient rainfall in the summer months, 5mm of water per day is recommended. You can measure this by placing a jar or can under you sprinkler system to determine how much water your lawn is getting. Place the container or jar on your lawn and put the sprinkler system on until the water is 5mm high in the jar or container. This will also help you to determine which parts of your lawn are not receiving the amount of water it needs.

Mowing: When mowing your lawn, always make sure it is placed on the higher setting to prevent damage. if the lawn is cut to short you will remove most of the leaf blade that is necessary to absorb sun for photosynthesis. It also weakens the root system which gives weeds an advantage to take over. It is recommended to remove about a third of the leaf. If possible try and mow in different directions so that you change routine to prevent sand compaction and turf wear from the wheels of the lawn mower. Make sure that your lawn mowers blades is always sharp and in good condition, because if your blades are blunt it could result in tearing your lawn rather than cutting your lawn which leaves a white marking at the top which looks stringy and can be vulnerable to diseases. During the summer lawn clippings decompose and return nitrogen and other nutrients back into your lawn. Clippings should not be more than 100mm thick but if you need to over fertilize or apply insecticides or fungicides, then it would rather be best to remove the clippings.

Pests: If you have a healthy, well maintained lawn it has the best defense against diseases, weeds and other pests. Check on your lawn regularly to catch the problems early. Insects may destroy a healthy lawn. Some insects are very harmful for your grass like certain worm species, bugs and sod web worms. Other worms can be beneficial for your lawn like earthworms that change organic material into humus. Make use of lawn fertilizers and insecticides to keep them away. However avoid frequent usage of lawn fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides as it will also kill the beneficial elements in your soil.

Weeds: You may find a hand full of weeds here and there which were brought in by wind and even a garden service that brings in seeds by lawn mowers that were not clean from previous jobs. Make sure your garden service clean their mowers before they start mowing your lawn. Your existing soil will 90 percent of the time have seeds in that will germinate when the season is right or if the soil has been disturbed. If you have a few weeds in your garden try and get them out as soon as possible before they start producing seed heads. If there is a lot of weeds herbicides can also be used but if you don’t have the knowledge to use this, contact us to apply the herbicides for you otherwise you may loose your entire lawn. Be careful of what herbicides you are using because some herbicides will kill everything including your lawn. Make sure to use a selective herbicide that will not kill your grass. Contact us for herbicides and application services.

Fertilizing: When the nutrient levels drop below to the point where it does not have what it need s to stay in a healthy condition, this is the time to fertilize. Compost is commonly used as a fertilizer because it will add organic matter and provide the lawn with all the major and minor nutrients in a slow release form. Inorganic fertilizers that are sold normally consist of three major nutrients, Nitrogen, to promote leaf growth and and the dark green colour of the lawn, Phosphorous which stimulated root growth and then lastly Potassium which helps for the resistance against stress. There are three numbers which are shown on the bag in which each number represents an element or otherwise if different it would be stated on the bag. The type of lawn, soil age of lawn, weather conditions and other factors will determine what type and the amount of fertilizer is needed. For expert advice, quality fertilizers and application services contact Le Bois lawns.

Damaged Areas: A healthy lawn will usually repair itself with a good amount of watering and fertilizing, thinned out areas, and dead spots will eventually close up. If the area is a lot larger, the best idea is to replace the area with new roll on lawn.

Shady Areas: Lawn needs at least 4 hours of sunlight for a healthy growth. If it is a lawn that get a lot of traffic, it will need more sunlight at least six hours. Always remember to water and fertilize shady areas less than sunny areas because of the dampness can cause diseases if there is not much evaporation.

We also do all maintenance on grass including mowing and all the above mentioned services. So if you don’t feel like doing it yourself or don’t have the knowledge how to contact Le Bois Lawns for a free quote or lawn maintenance program package.