With summer approaching, it is time to consider the ways you will keep your lawn looking fresh and healthy until fall. Lawn care and maintenance can be a time-consuming and costly venture.
However, taking care of your lawn does not have to that expensive. It is possible to have a healthy, great-looking yard and garden while saving a few dollars in the process.
The following are some ways to save money and time while tending to your lawn.
1. Plant Perennials Instead of Annuals
As the name suggests, annuals need to be planted and replanted every year. While annual repositioning grows these plants fuller healthier, it can be time-consuming and costly. Perennials can last several years without needing to be replanted, making them a more cost-efficient way to keep your landscape looking great without the time, effort, or cost of annuals.
2. Use a Mulching Lawnmower
A traditional lawnmower cuts your grass and tosses it aside, either into a bag or back onto your lawn, where it sits until it is raked up and disposed of. A mulching mower cuts blades finely and deposits them back into the grass to feed the soil and help to retain moisture. Using a mulching lawn mower will help keep your lawn looking full and lush while saving money on lawn bags and the time it takes to clean up the clippings after mowing your lawn.
3. Create Compost Bin
A compost bin turns organic waste into plant food for your lawn. Starting a compost bin allows you to create free mulch for your garden, flower bed, and other landscaped areas of your lawn. Mulch helps the soil retain moisture and prevents weeds from growing and spreading. Vegetable peels, grass clippings, eggshells, coffee grounds, leaves, and newspapers are examples of the kind of waste that can be repurposed for your lawn. Avoid using meat or dairy products that will attract flies, maggots, and other critters.
4. Plant Edible Greenery
Planting flowering herbs and vegetables keeps your yard looking its best and provides a continuous and free source of nutritious and delicious foods. You can save hundreds of dollars a year by growing edible plants that will also help feed your family.
5. Avoid Overwatering
When it comes to watering your lawn, you can have too much of a good thing. Overwatering your lawn can make your grass look dingy and present a greater risk for diseases. It is also adding to your water bill. A general guideline for watering your lawn is to give the grass about an inch of water a week. More than that will cost you money and may harm the health of your yard.
6. DIY Weed Killer
Instead of paying for expensive commercial weed killers, you can use common household items that are effective at controlling weeds in your yard and safe for your family. Some popular DIY weed killers include:
- Vinegar: Mixing a gallon of white vinegar with a cup of table salt and a tablespoon of liquid dishwashing detergent creates an effective weed-killing spray. Apply it to sidewalk and driveway cracks to penetrate deep into the soil.
- Salt: Sprinkling common table salt throughout weeded areas will suck the moisture from the plants, and they should die in a couple of days. Be careful not to get salt on those plants you want to keep, or they will perish with the weeds.
- Boiling Water: Pouring boiling water over concentrated areas with weeds will kill all plants it comes in contact with. Boiling water is an effective way to rid a small section that contains only weeds and not other plants worth keeping.
7. DIY Pest Control
There are a number of ways to help prevent small animals from damaging your lawn or eating food from your garden. Simple ways to deter critters from causing havoc in your yard without costing you a fortune include:
- Coffee Grounds: Setting out bowls of coffee grounds or sprinkling them throughout your yard will help keep pests out of your yard and garden. The coffee smell repels pests like ants, snails, and slugs ants and may also keep away larger mammals like rabbits and deer.
- Citrus Peels: Citrus peels contain limonene, a natural chemical that kills or repels pests. Concocting a homemade compost from citrus rinds is used to control a variety of pest problems around your home. Citrus fruit is effective at repelling ants, fleas, fungus, gnats, aphids, and other garden pests. Placing bits of orange peel or zest around the garden will help to repel flies and mosquitoes.
- Plastic Forks: Sticking plastic forks into the ground near your most precious plants and gardens will not hurt approaching critters, but it will help to keep them out. Plastic cutlery can also be used to deter cats from making your garden and flowerbeds their personal litter box.
Contact All Green Today
For more information on ways to save time and money while keeping your lawn looking its best, contact the lawn care industry specialists at All Green Pest Control & Lawn Care. When you need comprehensive, professional services for your lawn, our technicians have the experience, training, and knowledge to maintain your lawn and keep the pests away. Call today for a free estimate and schedule your next service call.