For most homeowners, lawn care involves a three-season maintenance schedule. From applying fertilizer at the beginning of the growing season to leaf-raking just before winter hits, many homeowners are mistaken about which lawn maintenance practices are critical and which practices are trivial or even counterproductive. The following lawn maintenance guidelines are far from comprehensive. For example, if your lawn sees heavy foot traffic or you’ve completed an outdoor construction project, you may need to have your lawn aerated to remedy soil compaction. But for year-in and year-out lawn maintenance, here are the essentials to maintain a healthy lawn….
Spring Lawn Maintenance: Fertilizer and Weeds
Spring is arguably the most important season for lawn maintenance. Failure to take a few, early steps will put extra strain on your lawn care for the rest of the year. Fertilize is one such step. Although warm- and cool-season grasses require different fertilizing schedules, both need fertilizer in early- to mid-spring. First, test your soil. Although you probably won’t need to vary much from the 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 (Nitrogen-Phosphorous-Potassium) ratio of most fertilizers, this simple and inexpensive test will ensure you’re applying the best possible fertilizer for your lawn. By hiring a professional contractor, you can also determine the best time and method for your fall fertilizer.
The next, critical step for spring maintenance is weeding and herbicide. Several strategies are possible including preventative herbicides, weed-killing treatments, and the old-fashioned pull-them-out-by-the-roots method. Assessment of your lawn and climate, as well as recognizing past weed problems, can help determine which strategy best fits your needs.
Summer Lawn Maintenance: Irrigation and Mowing
If spring is the most important time for managing the health of your lawn, summer plays an equally important role in making your lawn maintenance green and eco-friendly. Minimizing watering requirements, without letting your lawn yellow, is a critical piece of summer maintenance. Automated sprinklers, wisely programmed, are your best friend. Most lawns for most climates need only a late morning shower to take the edge off and remain healthy. Nighttime watering is not recommended. Rather than save water, you’re just as likely to foster mold and disease by letting water stay on your lawn overnight.
Mowing is likely to take up as much time as the rest of your lawn maintenance combined, especially since the best advice for mowing is to do it often. Allowing your grass to grow a little longer helps your lawn survive the summer. Yet, cutting too much at one time will leave too much stalk and almost no blade, a recipe for disaster and, arguably, worse than simply keeping the grass short. If you need to bad the clippings, you’re probably cutting too much at once. As a general rule, you should never cut your lawn shorter than 2″ or more than a third of the grass at one time. If you’re unwilling to cut your lawn at least once a week, you should consider hiring professional lawn care services, rather than risk the health of your lawn.
Fall Lawn Maintenance: Leaf-Raking
Some believe mistakenly believe that leaves must be raked or your grass may die. This is partially true. Thick and heavy leaves can excessively shade and weigh down grass, but un-raked leaves are rarely fatal to lawns. Moreover, running your lawn mower (after all the leaves have fallen) helps the leaves decompose quickly and returns nutrients to your lawn. That said, raking leaves is still a good idea because it helps remove thatch (dead grass) that gets between healthy vegetation and the soil that the vegetation depends on. In this sense, raking your lawn in the spring just before the growing season may be a better idea than leaf-raking in the fall. Yet, since most homeowners feel at least some shame about leaving their lawns un-raked over the winter, you may just want to continue your traditional raking habits. However, homeowners who rake their leaves and neglect late-season fertilizer are confusing lawn maintenance priorities.
Cost and Time Associated with Lawn Care and Maintenance
These averages were calculated using data from homeowners who actually completed lawn maintenance with professional lawn care companies. The estimated time for these projects will help you prepare for scheduling lawn care and puts the average costs in perspective. Lawn-mowing services, for example, don’t take 12 hours to complete, but these numbers are a compilation of full-season and one-time services. Thus, for every 12 hours of mowing and general lawn maintenance, the average homeowner will pay around $300, including discounts for recurring service.
Maintain and Mow a Lawn—$291, 12 hours
Fertilize or Treat a Lawn—$312, 3 days
Fall Clean-Up for a Lawn—$312, 9 hours
Lawn Aeration—$235, 8 hours
