When you see a great looking lawn, it didn’t just happen by chance. It’s usually the result of some painstaking care. This is why the grass can look greener and lusher on the other side if the care given to it is better than what it gets on your side.
In this article, we will be looking at two critical aspects of lawn care. These two aspects cover how weed and feed related operations are carried out. Given how important this two are, getting them right is crucial for the complete wellbeing of your lawn.
We shall share tips that will help you feed and weed your better. By following these tips, you will set your lawn up for improved growth and lush spread.
Tips to Weed and Feed Your Lawn
To the uninitiated, all a lawn requires is regular trimming, by way of mowing. While mowing is important to keep the levels of the grass level, you also need to weed and feed the lawn.
Before we proceed with the tips, let’s quickly explain what these two terms mean:
Feed
Feeding your lawn refers to the supply of necessary nourishment required by the grass to grow healthy and lush. This must be a deliberate action and not something simply left to Mother Nature.
How and what your grass of choice will be fed will depend primarily on the type of grass you have in your lawn. And yes, there are different types of grasses that are suitable for lawns. Which will be best for you will depend, among other things, on the climate in your area, the use the lawn will be put to, and the amount of care you will be willing to give it.
Some examples of grasses suitable for lawns include:
- Kentucky Blugrass
- Tall Fescue
- Hard Fescue
- Creedping Red Fescue
- Perennial Rye
- Creeping Bentgrass
- Zoysia Grass
- Augustine Grass
- Bermuda Grass
- Buffalo Grass
Whichever of these varieties of grasses that you choose or have in your lawn, you need to ensure that they are well fed and cared for.
Weed
As part of the care that your lawn requires, frequent weeding must take place. Above, we listed some common grasses that are suitable for your lawn. This means that not every plant on your lawn should be there. To this end, you need to remove them from time to time. This is the process known as weeding.
If you do not remove these unwanted plants from your lawn, they will not only deface it, but can also affect the growth of the lawn grasses. This is because they will share in the nutrients available for the grasses.
Just as with the feeding process described above, the weeding process will also depend on the type of weed you have in your lawn. You can read this article to see some examples of weeds and how you can manage them.
Now that we have a good understanding of what feeding and weeding mean, we can now look at some important tips that will help you improve the health of your lawn.
Tips for Applying Weed and Feed Products
DIY lawn care has become easier with the introduction of products like the weed and feed. This is a lawn care product that contains both weeding agents and fertilizing capabilities. In essence, they contain herbicides and fertilizers. These products make it easier for homeowners to feed their lawns and get rid of the weed at the same time.
There are different variations of these products that will be suitable for different lawn-types. That said, there are a few general tips that you can use as a DIYer to achieve a good result. These include the following:
- Time of Application – Apply on a dry day with temperatures between 60° and 90° F. You should therefore check your weather forecast ahead of time to be sure that your chosen day will meet this requirement. Ideally, the dry days should last for a few more days after application. Any rains immediately after application will result in the product being washed away.
- Lawn Height – Your lawn should be no more than 5 inches in height when you apply this product. You should therefore mow it to between 3 and 5 inches at least 24 hours before the day you plan to apply the product.
- Condition of the Lawn – The lawn should be a bit damp when you apply the product. You should therefore slightly dampen it with a mist sprayer. This will help the product stick to the lawn more easily.
- Application – It’s best to use a spreader for this application. Check the settings for the spreader and ensure that you follow the instructions on your product for best application. While applying, ensure that your tracks overlap so you don’t miss any spots.
- After Care – Immediately after applying the feed and weed, look for residual deposits along the driveways, pathways and sidewalks. These should be swept off. You should also not mow or water your lawn for at least 24 hours after application. Keep children and pets away from the lawn until after you’ve watered the lawn for a few days and ensured that the products have been fully assimilated or after there’s been a rain that cleared the residual products.
- Reseeding – After about 4 weeks from when you applied the weed and feed, you can reseed and aerate your lawn. This period allows for proper assimilation without which, the product will prevent the seeds from germinating.
The tips shared above will help you get the job done perfectly. An important aspect of this project is properly setting and calibrating the spreader. Since this is a critical aspect of this task, you can watch how to go about it in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu2_LrNR5Wc.
Pro Weed & Feed Tips
The tips we shared above can give you pro-level results. However, the challenge that many have is actually applying them correctly. For example, effectively measuring, calibrating and applying the weed and feed can be a challenge for many.
What’s the solution for this? You can either continue to practice until you get it right or, you get professionals to get the job done for you.
There are a number of benefits that you will derive when you work with professionals. Some of these include:
- Correct identification of grass and weed types
- Correct choice of weed and feed variation for your lawn
- Effective and efficient application of the product – saving time and money
- Professional after-care monitoring
- Professional guidance on lawn care
The above are just a few of the benefits that professionals can bring to the table. You can also watch and learn how they get the job done so you can try it for yourself next time.
Basically, you can expect a better outcome when professionals handle the job for you. If you do not have the luxury of time and funds to waste on repeat treatments, then just get a professional to get it done for you while you relax and see the resultant lush green lawn.
Conclusion
Having a healthy and attractive lawn not only adds to the curb appeal of your home, but it also increases its value. With the right care, any homeowner can achieve their dream lawn look. What we’ve shared in this article covers some of the critical aspects of lawn-care that are crucial to achieving that lush, green look.
If you begin to implement these tips today, you can begin to see significant results in the next few weeks. Wouldn’t it be nice to say, for a change, the grass is greener here than on the other side?
