How often should I mow my lawn during the summer?
How often you mow your lawn during the summer is dependent on the growth of your lawn. The growth of your lawn is dependent how much your lawn gets sun and rain. So your lawn mowing schedule can range from once to several times a week depending on your lawn’s growth rates and your lawn’s desired height. A good rule of thumb is to cut your lawn on the highest setting and then continue to reduce the height setting as the summer progresses. If you start to see any brown spots on your lawn, then the height setting is too low.
Another important thing to remember is that your lawn needs to stay at a certain level to fight off drought and other lawn hazards like weeds so do not cut your lawn too short. If you cut your lawn too short, this will destroy the lawn’s natural ability to thrive. When in doubt, stay on the high side of your mower’s blade settings.
And, always remember, check your mower’s blades every spring before you start to mow. If you sharpen your mower blades every spring, they should cut cleanly throughout the summer. Dull mower blades can rip your grass, leaving jagged ends that can and will easily turn brown.
Should I use organic fertilizers or chemical fertilizers?
At the end of the day, organic fertilizing is still one of the best and most important lawn and garden maintenance choices. One fact about chemical fertilizers is that you can easily over fertilize because the nutrients will start working quickly. This quick release doesn’t help your lawn or garden, and in fact, it can can actually burn your grass and plants. Over-fertilizing or even misapplying chemical fertilizers puts too much nitrogen on your lawn or plants and will burn them, especially when temperatures are high. So to prevent any damage, choose an organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizers reduces the acidity in your soil. They add soil organic matter, improve soil structure and preserve essential nutrients that your lawn or garden needs in order to grow well.
Many garden centers and feed stores carry organic fertilizers for gardens.
Here is a link to an article I found about fertilizers and the cheapest organic fertilizer for your lawn. It’s a quick read: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/lawn-care/lgen/type-of-lawn-fertilizers.htm
When is the best time to water my lawn?
When it comes to lawn hydration, the most common summer lawn care mistake is not watering your lawn enough or properly watering your lawn.
ALWAYS avoid watering the hottest parts of the day. This is because the water will evaporate before it reaches the roots. And, during the hotter parts of the day, many plants and types of grass go dormant. This means that water consumption is neither adequate nor efficient.
Try to avoid watering after the sun goes down as once the sun sets, water will leave grass moist overnight and promote fungal growth.
The best time to water is in the early morning. This is when temperatures are lower and your lawn can make better use of the hydration. If you have an irrigation system, set it up automatically to deliver water in the morning.
How do I get rid of Dandelions?
Dandelions are invasive, and it detracts the overall appeal from the yard. It is not easy to get rid of dandelions as they have a long tap root. NEVER pull a dandelion flower thinking that in itself will get rid of your dandelion problem. Here is a link I found on how to get rid of dandelions effectively: https://www.planetnatural.com/organic-dandelion-control/