Get your yard ready for your 4th of July BBQ in 6 easy steps.
Summer is here and so is the season for outdoor entertaining. Do you plan on hosting a summer party or BBQ? Maybe for the 4th of July? Or do you just want to have a better looking yard without much effort? Here are a few quick and easy ideas that will dramatically boost your curb appeal with very little effort.
1- Water your lawn automatically. If you have sprinklers get them set and running how they should. If they are working great. If not, pay $40 for a simple inspection and get them running. 10 minutes today could save a lot of worry, hassle, and money in the future. If you don’t have a sprinkler system buy this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E0LONN4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and set it up so that your lawn can be watered without you having to do it. You’re busy enough as it is to try and manually water your lawn.
2- Get nitrogen (and other nutrients) to your lawn. Get a good late spring/early summer fertilizer on your lawn. We recommend IFA Step 3 (25-5-10). See it here: https://ifacountrystores.com/products/home-garden/lawn-garden/lawn-care/ifa-step-3-spring-summer-fertilizer/ Spread it heavy (1.5x the recommended amount) if you haven’t fertilized in a while. Follow the watering guidelines given on the bag.
3- Mow your lawn in back and forth patterns. We recommend two laps around the edge of the yard to give you some room and then choose a direction and mow back and forth. You can go up and down or side to side or even diagonally. Mix it up from week to week and you’ll get that professional baseball field look.
4- Spray any weeds in rock beds, sidewalk/driveway cracks or any other unwanted areas. Here’s the product to get: https://www.amazon.com/ProDeuce-Dual-Action-Herbicide-bottle/dp/B00M22M6NI/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1496350792&sr=1-1&keywords=prodeuce+weed Mix it at 5 oz per gallon and spray anywhere you don’t want anything to grow. It will kill what’s there and prevent growth for the rest of the season. (Any large weeds will die but they don’t magically disappear so don’t be afraid to pull a few. This spray is way better than round-up and it won’t leach into areas you don’t spray. Spray it now as it will take a few weeks to really take effect.
5- Straight edge your lawn with a vertical blade straight edger. Do not use a string trimmer turned sideways. This separates the Pros from the DIYers. If you don’t have a straight edger hire someone to do a one time service and then maintain it yourself. This will leave a neat, crisp line around your edges that will make your yard “pop”..
6- Hand trim any mangy looking bushes, tree sucker shoots or other plants. Although spring and fall are optimal trimming times you’ll want to trim up some of the straggler shoots to maintain a well groomed appearance. Do it with hand slippers/scissors and cut all the shoots at 45 degree angles.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of things to do by any means, but these will be some good bang for your buck ideas to get you started. As always these are all services offered by Everything Exterior that we would be more than happy to help you out with any questions or if you’d like to pay to have any of these lawn care services performed on your yard.
