Between the costs of mowing and keeping your grass healthy and green, the dollars and cents of lawn care can add up quickly. Here are six strategies to keep lawn care costs reasonable.
If you want a lawn that isn’t dead, brown or overgrown, lawn care is probably an annual expense for you. Between the costs of mowing and keeping your grass healthy and green, the dollars and cents of lawn care can add up quite quickly. Here are six vital strategies to keep your lawn care costs within reasonable bounds this summer.
Use a sprinkler attachment on a hose to water your lawn. A quality sprinkler attachment for your hose can be purchased for $20 at any hardware store and does a perfectly thorough job of watering your lawn. All you need to do is attach a hose to a water spigot, attach the sprinkler to the other end of the hose, place your sprinkler in the yard, turn on the water, then move the sprinkler once every so often. (How often? We’ll get to that in a minute.)
This is far less expensive than the cost of installing a sprinkler system, which can easily run into the thousands of dollars for even a small yard.
(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,File)
AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,File
Water only when there are signs of drought stress. It can be tempting to constantly water your yard and “keep it green,” but that often results in wasted water. A much better approach is to watch your lawn and water as needed. Can you actually see drought stress in your lawn? Does the grass spring back when you walk on it or do you leave footprints? (Footprints are the clearest early sign of drought stress.) If you grab a few blades of grass and pull, does it come up easily? (That’s another clear early sign.) You can catch those signs early before any browning occurs, and you should wait to water until that happens.
How much should you water? It depends on the sprinkler, but you want to soak your lawn, which means you’re watering every square inch of your yard with an inch of water. An easy way to measure that is to set up the sprinkler in your yard, place an empty tuna can within the spray zone, then turn on the sprinkler and set a timer. When you see the can overflowing, note the time, then move the sprinkler elsewhere and allow it to run for that length of time again. You can just repeat waterings of that time length until your entire yard is covered.
(Thinkstock)
Thinkstock
Do water-intensive tasks — like washing the car — in the yard. Whenever you have an outdoor task that requires a lot of water, such as washing your car or cleaning off a dirty item, do it over the grass and allow the excess water to flow right into your yard. Don’t let it run into the storm drains or off your property.
This enables you to extend the length of time that your lawn can survive with a healthy appearance between waterings, which will thus reduce water usage and save you money.
(Thinkstock)
Thinkstock
Check your lawn pH and adjust it with simple, natural means. The acidity of your lawn has a lot to do with the health of the grass. Sod that is too acidic or not acidic enough will inhibit grass growth. So, one of the most cost-effective tools for keeping your grass looking healthy is to keep the pH of your lawn under control.
Most grass varieties grow best with a soil pH of around 6.5. You can get a simple soil pH testing kit at your local hardware or garden supply store for a few dollars. Spreading lime on your soil is an efficient way to raise pH. Elemental sulfur will lower pH.
(Thinkstock)
Thinkstock
Use a mulching lawnmower. A mulching lawnmower chops the grass that you cut while mowing into tiny bits and drops them back onto your lawn where they can be quickly broken down into nutrients for your soil, greatly extending its nutritional life.
This is a nearly effortless way to reduce the costs of fertilization, enabling you to enjoy a beautiful lawn without constant application of expensive fertilizers. A good mulching lawnmower does its work almost without notice, so it won’t affect the beauty of your lawn, either.
(Thinkstock)
Thinkstock
Mow infrequently and on the highest setting. Blades of grass take advantage of nutrients from the sun in order to grow thick and healthy, which is what you want for a great lawn. When you cut the blades of grass short, you inhibit that process. The best route to a healthy lawn without spending tons on treatment is to mow your grass on the highest setting so that the blades are never short.
The problem, of course, is that many people view a thick lawn with tall blades of grass as a quick target for mowing. Resist that urge. Allow your grass to grow higher than you’re used to and cut it only sparingly. This will help your lawn grow quite thick and beautiful without requiring tons of fertilizer.
(Thinkstock)
