(Newswire.net — May 29, 2020) —
Spring and summer months celebrate the great outdoors and spending time in your yard as Americans spend a fortune in landscaping to create something beautiful, reportedly outlaying $30 billion annually as cited by The Washington Post. Considering the amount of time and money invested in creating the perfect outdoor experience at home sweet home, it makes sense to learn as much as possible about how to safeguard your investment.
Below are the most common mistakes gardeners need to anticipate and avoid.
1. Overwatering
Overwatering or overloving your yard or garden is very common and as destructive as underwatering. You don’t need to run your sprinkler system every day. In fact, watering two days a week is all most lawns require. If you’re interested in spending a little extra to solve the moisture guessing game, you can purchase a system that actually monitors your soil’s moisture levels.
2. Cutting Your Grass with Dull Lawn Mower Blades.
It is important to hire a knowledgeable lawn service that understands the importance of sharpening their mower blades. It is also important to be careful to sharpen blades regularly to prevent damage to plant tissue that can cause disease and jeopardize the health of your lawn.
3. Starting Weed Treatment Late
The adage that timing is everything is also relevant for weed control. Reviewed claims that waiting too long to treat for weeds after they sprout makes it much more difficult to get rid of them. That’s when a lot of homeowners feel forced to turn to dangerous herbicides as a last-ditch effort to try and control the problem. The best way to treat crabgrass, chickweed, and other nuisance plants is to treat them when they are just beginning to sprout.
4. Working in Soil That Is Too Wet
At the first sign of nice weather, it is tempting to want to get a jump on gardening. Family Handyman recommends waiting for the soil to dry out for the best results. Wet soil tends to compact the particles together which can be bad for the healthy growth of the roots that require a mixture of air and water. Additionally, compacted soil typically drains more slowly.
5. Fertilizing at Wrong Temperatures
It is important to feed your lawn when it is in growth spurt mode and growing the fastest. Otherwise that fertilizer might feed the weeds instead.
As a rule of thumb, cool-season grasses like ryegrass and fescue respond best to temperatures between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit which means you should fertilize it during the spring and fall in most locations. Conversely, in the South where grasses like zoysia and Bahia are popular, you should fertilize on days when the temperature ranges between 80 to 95 degrees.
For geographic locales where a mix of grasses is more practical due to the weather, it is recommended that fertilizer be used in spring, fall, and summer.
6. Watering During Hottest Times of Day
Waiting to water during the hottest hours of the day is generally a bad idea since water evaporates quickly in high temperatures. Essentially, the water needs to soak the roots. You can test how well the water is being absorbed by digging a hole six inches deep to see if the water is actually reaching plant roots. Watering in the morning or evening hours is advisable.
7. Planting Too Shallow or Deep
Granted, putting a plant in your garden sounds like a simple task. But, planting too deep or too shallow can compromise the well being of your new baby. Take note of how the healthy plant is growing in the container provided by the nursery to get an idea about the right depth to dig. Remember, it is better to err on the side of planting too shallow than to go too deep.