Winter Season Guide

Do It Yourself Lawn Treatment

Updated January 21, 2019

What Are Some Simple Steps for Do it Yourself Lawn Treatment?

If you own your own home, one of the things you are going to spend a lot of time working on maintaining is your front lawn. Whether we like it or not, our front lawns say a lot about how people see us and the kinds of judgements that they make, so you want to make sure that yours is always in the best shape it possibly can be. But what if you don’t know much about lawn treatment at all? Here are some great tips that you can use to help you get started today.

Always Start with the Soil

To begin with, you need to understand that your lawn is mostly comprised of the soil underneath the grass. Therefore, if you take care of the soil, the rest of the lawn will surely begin to flourish. You can start by purchasing a soil test kit, which will help you figure out what kinds of nutrients your soil already has, and which ones it may be lacking in.

In fact, in this way, your soil is not actually all that different from a person – you need the right nutrition, and so does your lawn. Once you have this information, you can then begin to help your lawn grow in the most efficient way possible. 

Try and Prevent Weeds from Popping Up

Another thing that you are going to want to be mindful of is dealing with weeds, as they are a constant nuisance for anyone trying to take good care of their lawn. In order to prevent the weeds from even showing up in the first place, you should try treating your lawn with a pre-emergent herbicide to keep the weed population down to a minimum. This will be especially useful in the springtime, when their growth becomes much more aggressive than normal.

Eliminate the Weeds that Survive the Pre-Emergent Herbicide

While pre-emergent herbicide is pretty effective when it comes to getting rid of most weeds, there will always be a handful that manage to survive the treatment, as no chemical is ever totally 100% effective when it comes to killing weeds on its own. That is why you often have to follow up your pre-emergent herbicide treatment with a round of traditional weed killer and make certain that you have gotten rid of as many weeds as humanly possible.

Begin Planting New Grass on Your Weed-Free Lawn

Once you have finished removing all of the weeds from your lawn, the next step in the process is to begin planting new grass so that your lawn looks green and fresh and vital. To begin with, you’ll need to loosen up the soil a bit with a dirt rake and then plant new seeds in the soil you just went over. Afterwards, put a small amount of soil over the seed and gently cover it back up so that it is fully concealed. Afterwards, water it appropriately based on the instructions that came with the seed and watch your new lawn begin to grow!

Don’t Mow Too Much of Your New Lawn At Once

Now that your new lawn is beginning to grow and looks bright and fresh, you’re going to need a lawn mower to help you keep it well-maintained and aesthetically pleasing. Though this advice may seem contrary to popular wisdom at first, it is important that you do not mow your lawn when it is short. Instead, wait until the grass has grown longer and mow it more frequently. This will not only result in a taller, healthier grass for your lawn in the long run, but it will also prevent you from wearing down your lawn mower blades too quickly.

Make Sure Your Mower Blades Stay Sharp

Once you have gotten into a routine, it is important that you keep your mower blades sharp on a regular basis by checking them regularly and purchasing a sharpener when you realize that they have started to dull a little bit. This is inevitable over a period of time, but the more you take care of your lawn mower and its blades, the better it will take care of you.

Be Sure You Stick to a Set Schedule

Once you have done all of these other things, it is very important that you stick to a set schedule for caring for your lawn and try not to deviate it as much as possible. Your lawn is a living, breathing thing and it likes to be taken care of in a regular fashion, just like a human being. If you water, fertilize, and mow it with regularly consistency, it will reward you by continuing to look luminous and making you the envy of your neighbors for years to come.