- 1. Rake your lawn
- 2. Water and mow the grass
- 3. Fertilize your lawn
- 4. Aerate the soil
- 5. Top dress your lawn with compost
While the warm and hot seasons approach, everyone looks out for ways to prepare their houses to resist the hot weather. For some, adding a new house siding is a priority, while for others, taking care of lawn grass has been a much more important priority.
Whether you want to spend your holidays in Europe, Australia or spring break Florida, USA, most people spend most of their free time beautifying their lawns by taking care of the grass, pruning the trees around and doing anything else that makes them stand out.
Keeping grass healthy and fresh during these seasons is a challenge to many people. During summer, just as most plants do, grass grows faster compared to winter when most plants grow slowly.
We all have these neighbors, who once bought a particular type of grass native to China. The first few months were okay when their lawn glittered and everyone around envied them. Even visitors could not stop but notice the beautiful lawn with well-trimmed grass from “heaven.” They spend a lot of time and money beautifying the lawn.
However, when summer came a few weeks later, their lawn turned brown. You’d imagine someone set it on fire. They didn’t know much about the grass. The grass needed special care to prepare before the onset of the hot season. It needed to be shortened and watered a bit more than usual in order to flourish. If they had this knowledge before, they would have saved their precious grass.
Here are five tips to help you prepare your lawn for hotter seasons to avoid the mistakes made by those neighbors. The best time to prepare is during spring:
1. Rake your lawn
Once you have made up your mind and are ready to buy a house, you should also be aware that there is some hard work incorporated with maintaining the lawn.
Collect leaves scattered on your lawn. Having leaves scattered all over when spring arrives could be really bad as it would stop the lawn from using the direct sunlight and flourishing at maximum. The leaves block out light and prevent aeration from taking place, which can kill the grass underneath.
When you rake, you provide two major benefits. One benefit is that you remove the leaves and dead grass on the surface. It will partially aerate the grass below. Make sure to remove all the leaves before spring comes. Once you notice leaves gathering, take a rake and clean up. It will give your grass enough time to breathe and be ready for hotter seasons.
2. Water and mow the grass
Make sure you mow the lawn every time grass exceeds a couple of centimeters. Don’t stop mowing till you notice it starts growing slowly.
The more you shorten the grass, the more it grows, although, this will depend on the kind of grass you have in your lawn. Also, depending on the temperature, make sure to water it enough so that it can afford the hot seasons.
3. Fertilize your lawn
You should fertilize in the warm season since plants tend to grow much fast. Nitrogen or phosphorus-rich fertilizers help the grass to develop deeper roots early enough.
Deep roots are vital because they will store food for all seasons. Spread the fertilizer evenly around your lawn. Make sure you know the amount of fertilizer that your soil requires by testing the soil. Testing may also help you determine if your soil needs fertilizer.
4. Aerate the soil
It is an essential procedure to prepare your lawn for hotter seasons. Use a tool to poke holes through the ground.
When you water your lawn during the final weeks of winter, it will go through easily. Water easily penetrates the ground when the weather is warm. Aeration strengthens roots and allows them to grow deeper.
Deeper roots will allow your lawn to survive through all the seasons because the roots will be stronger and healthier.
5. Top dress your lawn with compost
Top dress your lawn with compost before the onset of the hot season. This will ensure it gets enough nutrients to strengthen the roots and make greener leaves. Stronger roots will ensure your lawn doesn’t wither and it continues to produce green leaves regardless of the hot temperatures. It also helps in aeration.
Taking care of your lawn is more than making it look pretty. The above tips will help you prepare your yard well ahead of summer.
It’s also a good idea to know the kind of grass you have in your lawn. It will help you prepare better.
