As gardening professional, I work to improve the beauty of landscaped environments. I am an expert in gardening services like renovation, landscaping, design, installation, renovation, and general maintenance.
A beautiful lawn is not easy to come by; you need to do plenty of work to get it to look like art. The most important thing about gardening is to own the right tools to make the work easier.
Why you need to maintain your lawns
A house without a maintained lawn does not make any sense; in fact it basically decreases the value of the property. Healthy thick grass is eye catching but also important to the sustainability of the ecosystem.
Grass soaks up excess water on the loan, cleans the air, lowers the temperatures and reduces any form of noise pollution.
How to maintain your lawn
Planting your grass should be the least of your lawn issues because they are highly guaranteed to grow.
The major components are divided into 6 main sections
- Watering
- Mowing the area
- Fertilizing
- Fighting the pests, weeds and diseases
- Aeration and
- De-thatching
Summer loan care guide:
Summer seasons come with a glorious warm weather perfect for outdoor activities. For many people, most time spent outside is used to maintain.
I know for a fact that not every homeowner know how to take care of their lawns on the daily, which is why I am here to help.
Most people have major issues keeping the grass healthy which causes the piece of land to look barren by the time fall catches up with them.
Here are some tips and procedures that can help you keep your lawn healthy throughout the whole summer
Mowing the lawn
Do not be mistaken, a healthy loan does not mean that it has to be a short loan. When you are cutting into the loan, your blades should be set as high as you would want them too.
The length of the grass is preferably high but it also depends on the type of lawn mower you are using. Long lengths of grass keep the soil healthy and productive during the hot weathers.
How does this work? The tall blades of grass obtain more light during the peak hours and use this energy to give more nutrients to the roots and soil.
The taller grass blades provide shade that allows the soil to maintain its moisture during the summer heat
Here are different types of lawn mowers for different terrains during the summer
There are so many types of lawn mowers, and they are all made differently. Here is a breakdown of all the lawn mower types.
The general types of lawn mowers
The self powered propelled lawn mower – as the name states, this is a self driving lawn mower. All you have to do is guide and steer ; the mower has a transmission that propels so you do not have to use any effort on the mower.
The push mower – This mower is powered by you. While they have varying types of engines, the power is directed towards cutting grass. You have to push the mower along the area where you want to cut the grass.
The reel mower – also called the cylinder mower. They are an environmentally friendly way to take care of the yard. Basically, the engines do not require oil, gas and electricity. They are very quiet and require much effort like the push mower. The mower cuts the grass on your lawn like a pair of scissors.
The hover mower – They are almost gravity defying and ride on an air cushion. They have the ability to move side to side, backwards and forwards. They work great in awkward parts of the lawn that some other mowers cannot really reach.
The robotic lawn mowers – Basically, robotic mowers maws you loan while you sit down in a hammock and watch. They work within an established area as long as a boundary wire is installed. The mower is very quiet which means you can mow the lawn at night. The programming and installation is quiet challenging to some people.
Finally..
The Riding lawn mowers – these are the most popular lawn mower types in the market. They are great for large
mowing jobs. It makes the job so manageable.
The standard riding lawn mowers have steering wheels which allow for manoeuvrability and maximum comfort. They are different from the zero turn mowers because they lack the same precision. Despite that, it does a great job at clean cutting your lawn.
The zero turn mowers is a very specific type of mower. It is engineered to perform well even during turns and when faced with some obstacles. It allows you to trim and cut the grass closer to the landscape. The standard riding mowers will struggle to get close to obstacles which may not give you a cleaner cut like with the zero turn mowers.
NB; the lawn tractor is an additional type of lawn mower. They have structural difference with the standard lawn mowers but share the same purpose.
Can lawn mowers go through rough terrains?
You obviously cannot use the same lawn mowers in different terrains, which is why there are so many makes available. Some riding lawn mowers and zero turn lawn mowers have been specialized to work around very rough terrains and give you a clean cut.
How are lawn mowers powered?
Battery powered mowers
This type of mower offers several advantages; it is lightweight and much quieter than the basic gas mowers. You have to charge the battery powered mowers before you use them.
Batteries can last a certain time before you need another charge depending on the make of the mower and battery type. Eventually, you will need to replace the battery but proper maintenance will extend its life.
Keep in mind that some models are sold with battery and charger while others do not. The charger may not always be included in most models.
The electric power
It cannot get more environmental friendly than this. You can get the cordless and corded electricity powered mowers. The corded ones must be plugged in while you are using them while the cordless mowers are pushed freely just like the walk behind mowers.
Corded ones can be a hassle to use. While they do not need to be charges and the battery does not drain, you can only use them in a restricted space. The cordless will deplete while you are mowing but you can always recharge them.
The gas powered mowers
They are not limited in range by a cord and will not have to be charged. All they need is regular engine maintenance to keep it performing well and enhance the longetivity.
They are louder than the other mowers but very powerful. You can cut through thick long grass effortlessly. You spend half the time you would mowing the grass.
Fun fact;
According the popular mechanics, Knud and Oscar Jacobsen invented the first gas powered mower in 1921. They did this by installing the gas engine in a reel mower making it faster especially in a commercial application.
The manual powered mower
You are the main source of power in the manual powered mower. It can wither be a push mower or a reel mower.
Reel mowers have engine but lack the mechanism to propel the mower. The manual push mowers Provide momentum as well as guidance while the self propelled mowers are restricted to guidance.
Essential garden tools every home owner should have
Gardening involves more than just keeping the grass clean cut.
Some people love to plant flowers, vegetables and special plants on their lawns. All the activities on your garden or lawn, no matter how big, will require some specific type of tools.
Essential gardening tools everyone should have:
The wheelbarrow
They mainly come in hard plastic and galvanised materials. Basically, a good wheelbarrow should be strong enough to transport things around your garden when they are full. Water carrying backs for wheelbarrows is the only way you can transport water across the lawn without spilling it.
The dibber
They are very useful in making planting holes in the garden. You can get your dibber in stainless steel, oak wood and other wooden materials or plastic. Some have calibrates rings to measure the debt of the holes you are making. I would suggest the steel just because they are very easy to clean and long lasting.
The spade
This is an obvious must have gardening tool. A decent spade is a necessity in any garden. Stainless steel not only helps you dig up the ground for planting but you can also use them to pick up things from the ground to the wheelbarrow.
Garden Trowel
Hand tools may not be so complicated but are very useful around the lawn. Your trowel should obviously have a very comfortable handle and well fitted blades. This ensures that it will not come off after some time and usage. The stainless steel blade makes the trowel last longer in any kind of environment.
The fork hoe
This is used alone and with other obvious lawn tools. It breaks up the soil in the garden bed, cleans upcut brushes and pitches the mulch into your wheelbarrow after mowing.
A garden knife – you need a knife for specific garden functions like trimming, cutting fruit and vegetable, cutting string, flowers and sticks and other functions.
Garden secateurs
Heavy duty hoe
Swivel head garden hoe – it helps you hoe raised beds from the same positions,
A watering can and Watering wand – to keep small gardens hydrated
Hose and noozle – people with larger gardens can use this to move water from the house to unreachable parts of the garden
Rake – is essential in cleaning the garden during fall.
A tarp – you can use this to collect the raked leaves during that period.
Pruners –hand pruners are very heavy garden scissors that you use to prune small tress, trim back unwieldy flowers and cut flowers for your vase.
Large lawn machines for your garden
The pesticide sprayer
There are multiple types of pesticide sprayers available.
The handheld sprayer is great for home gardens, small orchards and loans. You need it for light duty work around the garden. It uses manual pressurization and is light duty spot spraying.
The backpack sprayer is used in the same fields as the handheld one. The difference is, is pressurized by gas driven pump or electric pump.
The spot sprayer is for lawns, fence rows, pastures, and garden. It mounts easily on your garden tractor or lawn mower. It is large capacity and electric motor or gasoline engine driven.
Skid sprayer is mount on truck beds and utility vehicle and is run like the spot sprayer.
The 3 point sprayer is great for larger lawns, can connect to a tractor and powered by electric motor.
Power cultivator
This is for average farms for tilling and large cultivation. It is available in three main types, the rotary type, heavy duty type which you can attach to lawn tractors and hand held cultivators.
String trimmer
String trimmers come in handy in places where you lawn mower cannot reach. It is the perfect tool to keep the edged of the garden neat and tidy.
Leaf blowers
Electric leaf blowers are very powerful machines that can handle your yard clean up with ease. They are effective and efficient during fall to clean the leaves off medium sized terrains.
Here are some important tips to keep in mind when taking care of your lawn
- Multching the grass clippings help you keep the moisture levels steady, you can get a great lawn mower for that action.
- Keep the mower blades sharp
- Do not over fertilize the lawn
- Install stepping stones on high traffic areas
- Control the weeds before they become too much
- Get the insects and diseases before they spread
Tips to help you maintain your gardening tools
- Clean all your tools after every use
- Store the tools in a dry protected area. For instance you could store the mower in a dry shed
- Clean and oil the metallic and moving parts of your tools regularly
- Give the tools a regular sharpening
- Do not neglect the wooden parts of your gardening tools.
Final word
If you have just started gardening, you need to have a few necessities on hand to make the whole process easier. You also need to keep the landscape neat and attractive in different seasons and these tools will help you achieve that.
This handy guide will help you get the right devices to keep you lawn looking great.
