During the summer, lawn maintenance is especially important. With daily downpours and great growing conditions, your vegetable garden can really take off, but make sure the weeds don’t overtake it! While you’re tending your greenery, here are some tips to help keep costs down.
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Take charge of your own lawn maintenance.
Taking care of your lawn yourself rather than paying for a service is better for you, your lawn and the environment. It’s better for you because it’s great exercise and significantly cheaper. It’s better for your lawn because you can control exactly how much care your lawn receives (did you know most experts recommend keeping your grass about 3 inches tall to shade the roots? Many lawn services will mow your yard far too often). And it’s better for the environment because you can control the lawn care methods you use. Invest in an electric or reel mower, ditch the pesticides and pass up the leaf blower for a rake to reduce your carbon footprint. After all, if you are spending this much time caring for your lawn shouldn’t that mean you want to do right by the earth?
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Make sure your mower is in good shape.
Getting regular tune-ups to your mower can save you big in the long term. Putting off repairs will ensure they are two to three times as expensive when you get around to doing it, and it could damage your lawn’s health in the meantime.
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Be judicious when watering your lawn.
Most yards only require about one inch of water per week. Early morning is the best time to water, as the sun can dry up the water before it reaches the roots if you water during the heat of the day and watering at night leaves your lawn susceptible to disease.
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If you have pest problems, consider trying nematodes.
These microscopic worms live in your soil and eat grubs, including Japanese beetles and others. This is a great environmentally responsible way of dealing with your pest problems that is also harmless to humans, pets, earthworms, bees and other plant friendly insects.
While it’s true some of these options are considerably more time-consuming than just hiring a lawn care service, the benefit to your lawn, your pocketbook and the planet is considerable. If you can invest the time, these tips will save you big in other ways!
Christine is the Content Marketing Coordinator for Homes.com. She's a small town girl at heart, who currently lives in Norfolk, VA with her husband and their fur baby. When she's not working, she enjoys cooking, decorating, traveling, and binge watching Netflix. As a proud Virginia Tech alum, she also loves cheering on the Hokies!
