Plant & Lawn Care Tips

A healthy, green lawn alongside a lush flower or produce garden is a gardener's dream, but keeping this landscape maintained and healthy can be a challenge in many climates. In addition to the basics of watering and pruning, additional care, such as weeds control and maintaining the proper soil pH, can make a big difference. Go above and beyond the basics to ensure you have the healthiest, happiest landscape on the block.

Fertilize Regularly

When used properly, fertilizer is your best friend, not the scary foe so many gardeners find intimidating. The key in using fertilizer is to understand when to use it and how much to use. For lawn care, use fertilizer that is specific to your region or grass variety. Apply it in correspondence with the growing seasons four times per year. This keeps your lawn at its peak performance. When your lawn begins to grow in spring, fertilizer helps jump-start the grass germination to encourage a lush, bright green hue. Every two months after this spring application, provide another layer of fertilizer until the middle of fall, right before the lawn goes dormant. These fertilizer applications help prevent weeds and encourage thick root structure. Use fertilizer on flower, herb, vegetable and fruit gardens for optimum growth and flavor. Many fertilizers are tailored specifically to these type of gardens or even plants. Make sure to always follow the manufacturer's directions carefully no matter which fertilizer you use.

Control Weed Growth

Weeds can not only ruin the appearance of your lawn and garden by taking over in under a week, they make the grass and plants weaker as well. Weeds destroy grass and plant roots and make them weak and uncontrollable. The best way to control weeds is with a pre- or post-emergent herbicide.

Understand Your Soil's pH

Testing the garden soil (kits are usually available at local gardening stores) is important for a healthy, productive lawn. Test several different areas of soil in your landscape to find the macro-nutrients available to your lawn and plants. For proper plant and lawn growth, these include nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. If the soil is too alkaline, then the nutrients won't distribute evenly. For soil that is too acidic, you have to provide nutrients to balance it out. To lower the pH, add coffee grounds or manure; to raise the pH, add crushed egg shells or limestone that is crushed from your local nursery.