Lawn Care Tips – Regular Lawn Inspections

Lawns are one area in the garden that seems to suffer from lack of respect. Sorry, but I do believe that most gardeners use a set and forget approach, apart from complaining about the need to go out and mow it. Yet lawn care really is a very simple process if you do it correctly. One lawn care tip that is a part of this process is that of inspecting your lawn.

When I say “inspecting”, I don’t mean stepping outside, giving it the once over and deciding the mowing can wait until next week. I mean getting down on your knees and really looking closely at your lawn. Some of the things you should be looking at include:

• Thatching – how thick is your lawn’s thatch? A simple test – poor a cup of water on the lawn. Does it sit on top or flow through to the soil below quite quickly? If it sits on top, chances are the thatch is too thick.
• Grass quality – how green is each grass blade? Are they fairly equal in height, thickness and color? You can also see if bugs have been eating your lawn and to what extent they do.
• Finger test – stick your finger into the soil. Can you penetrate fairly easily? If your finger meets a concrete-like soil then you need to consider aeration.

You can tell a lot about your lawn simply by getting down close and inspecting it. It doesn’t take long. In fact, you can do it casually every time you find yourself on the lawn – for example, playing with the kids. It takes all of one minute, yet most gardeners never get down close and personal with their lawns.

Most problems can be identified quickly when inspected closely. If you have the proper lawn repair tool in your tool shed, the repair job can be done just as quickly and the end result is a lawn that looks fabulous, feels great under foot and takes minimal time to maintain. Of course, when it comes to the mowing, there is little we can do about that – when it needs mowing, it needs mowing – but then, if you do that routinely, it becomes easier as well.