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DIY Basics for the Adventurous

Blade of grass with droplets of water atop

Taking part in one’s own lawn care, especially in Utah, carries with it a certain point of pride; at least, it does for the people at Lawngevity. Regardless of where a person hails from, if they find themselves planting stakes in Utah then they inherit a rich pioneer heritage — one where our forebears came to this sometimes unforgiving desert landscape and made a true oasis in the West. Today, every person who beautifies their property — either through planting flowers or clearing away trash — takes up that same calling.

The Pride of DIY

While we at Lawngevity are proud to help homeowners maintain their yards through the expertise of our team members (and indeed, we do suggest hiring a professional for some tasks in order to get the best results, like treating tree and shrub diseases), we respect the desire of adventurous individuals to take control of their lawn care themselves. There’s nothing quite like maintaining one’s castle oneself.

For those who are interested in giving DIY a shot, they might be wondering what exactly they can accomplish by themselves. Happily, the answer is most things! In addition to handling pest control, many people take joy in fertilizing their yards, sometimes even with their own homemade recipe. Below are a few steps to making the most of that DIY spirit while turning your yard into a beautiful success.

Give Composting a Try

With the mention of homemade fertilizer, we’d like to encourage everyone to try their hand at composting. Not only can this be a healthy and cost-effective option for keeping your garden producing beautiful plants but it’s fun as well. A few things to remember:

  • Good ingredients: fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, grass clippings
  • Bad ingredients: housepet and human feces, meat and milk products, baked goods, treated wood scraps, oils or grease

Buy a Good Spreader

Spreaders make it easy for you to get your entire lawn fertilized evenly and quickly, without having to use rudimentary tools like a cup or your hands. There are two main types of fertilizer spreaders you can choose from:

  • Drop Spreader: This type is not unlike a lawnmower, dropping the fertilizer right at your feet as you make rows in the grass. Remember to overlap your tire tracks!
  • Broadcast Spreader: These are perfect for covering a lot of ground quickly, as fertilizer is flung out in front of the spreader in a fan-shaped cone. If you have a large yard, a broadcast spreader is for you.

Water Your Lawn

Remember that if you are going to feed your lawn, you’ll also want to give it a drink. Just like humans use a drink of water to wash down their food while eating, having the sprinklers run as part of your lawn care routine a few days before fertilizing is ideal, as it moistens your soil and makes it easier to accept the fertilizer.

Be Meticulous

One of the biggest mistakes that we at Lawngevity see people make when they are adamant to administer fertilizer or run their pest control themselves is cutting corners.

  • Fertilizer: Don’t forget to focus on the perimeter of the yard as much as on the middle. You’ll want to treat the spreader like a lawnmower.
  • Pest Control: Don’t neglect corners and shrubbery. The key to effective pest control is consistency — get on a good schedule of spraying every few weeks.

Check with the Experts

Even though you will be handling everything yourself, our experts would be happy to provide you with the tips and tools to make sure you succeed. If you are worried that what you’re doing isn’t as effective as you were hoping, it might be prudent to get your soil checked before taking further action.

Lawn care in Utah is a meticulous business but a worthwhile one. Once you are ready to take on the upkeep of your yard, our team at Lawngevity is ready to get you what you need. Feel free to give us a call anytime to answer any questions you may have.

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