Willow Ridge Yardworks
Lawn Care Tips
Serving Berwick - Kentville and
the Annapolis Valley NS Corridor
YES - WE ARE OPEN DURING COVID PANDEMIC. Call the Office 902-385-5296 to book your lawn care & other services. TAKE CARE & KEEP SAFE.
Some Lawn Care Tips for a Healthier Lawn
- Plant your lawn in top quality soil that is at least 15cm (6 inches) deep.
- Cut lawns to the optimum length of 6cm to 8cm ( or 2.5-3.25 inches). Lawns suffer considerable stress when cut too short. Regularly cutting your lawn too short is one of the most common and damaging mistakes made in lawn care.
- Never cut more than 1/3 of the grass blade off at a time. If your grass gets too long, cut it in stages to get it back to the correct length. Cutting too much off at one time will shock your lawn and can lead to considerable stress.
- Mow your lawn when it needs it which in the spring could be more than once weekly.
- Sharpen you mower blade so you cut your lawn not tear it. It is recommended you sharpen the mower blade 3 times a year. If your lawn looks brown after mowing, your blade likely needs sharpening. Inspect the grass blades for a clean cut, you should not see a ragged torn edge.
- In times of low rainfall, keep your lawn well watered (lawns need at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) of water a week). While turf will go dormant from lack of water, it does not promote a healthy lawn. See link below for the advantages and disadvantages of letting a lawn go dormant or watering regularly.
- Water lawns deeply at least once a week and avoid frequent shallow watering. Deep watering promotes deep root growth which helps make your lawn more drought tolerant. How often watering is needed depends on your soil type and how hot it is. Water deeply at least once a week and more often if needed, but avoid daily shallow watering and over watering.
- Do not water in the heat of the day when water more readily evaporates into the air and wasting water. It is best to water early in the morning.
- Discourage weed germination and growth by keeping your lawn cut to the optimum length. Cutting your lawn short promotes weeds and insects.
- Fertilize regularly with seasonally appropriate fertilizer
- Do not over-fertilize your lawn (if your lawn care services include regular fertilizing, do not fertilize between their visits).When it comes to fertilizer more is NOT better !
- Core aerate to address soil compaction (occurs over time in any soil and a common problem in clay soils) to improve drainage and air permeability
- Lime to address soil acidity (very common in NS) but do not over lime.
- Mulch your grass clippings if you have a good mulching mower. Do not leave clumps or a thick layer of grass clippings on your lawn as this can smother grass causing damage
- Dethatch - especially important if thatch is thick. Insects favour lawns with thick thatch
- Rake leaves off before winter or better still mulch them with your mulching lawn mower and leave on your lawn (but only if you have a good mulching mower that can shred leaves into small pieces). Leaves left on lawns offer insects a safe haven over winter.
Sandy, clay, or rocky soils can negatively impact the health of your lawn. Sandy soils do not hold water (or nutrients) well and dry out too quickly. Clay soils hold water and nutrients but compact easily, and tend to have drainage issues in times of heavy or prolonged rainfall and in times of little rainfall. When clay soils dry out they become extremely hard and may even form large cracks. Once clay dries out, rain tends to just run off rather than soak in leading to erosion issues. Overly sandy or clay soils need proper amendments to successfully support healthy turf. Loam is the best soil for grasses and most other plants (a friable mixture of sand, silt, clay and humus).
Click here to read about soil types.
Click here to read about lawn care tips.
Click here to read more on lawn care tips.
Click here to read about the advantages and disadvantage of watering or letting your lawn go dormant.
Click here to read about soil compaction.
Click here to read about thatch and lawn dethatching.
Service Area: Annapolis Valley NS, Windsor, Hantsport, Grand Pre, Wolfville, Port Williams, New Minas, Kentville, Coldbrook, Cambridge, Waterville, Berwick, Kingston, Greenwood, Middleton
Copyright 2019 Willow Ridge Yardworks 2720 Black Rock Rd Grafton NS
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2019 Willow Ridge Yardworks 2720 Black Rock Rd Grafton NS
All rights reserved.