The Best Ways to Avoid Lawn Disease.
Lawn disease is a threat to your lawn year-round. It wears many different masks and has many different names. Lawn disease is not something that can occur in one or two seasons, but every season, so it keeps you on your feet year-round. This blog will tell you the names of some lawn diseases, but more importantly, we will discuss ways to avoid lawn disease from attacking your property. Whether you are familiar with the different types or not, these prevention methods will hopefully make sure you do not need to come across any form of lawn disease. We can help you keep your lawn will remain healthy year-round.
We wanted to discuss the four best ways to avoid lawn disease on your property. They are:
- Clean Ups
- Mowing
- Soil Tests
- Waterings
Some of these may seem like no-brainers to you, but it is pivotal that all these things occur so that your property and lawn will be rid of lawn disease and prevent it from returning.
Let’s MOW through this information and save your lawn!
Here We Go!
Cleaning Up your lawn
First and foremost, you want to clean up your lawn and property to avoid lawn disease year-round. You should also:
- Rake all leaves and compost them as well.
- Ensure you remove any branches and other forms of debris that may have fallen on your lawn or property.
Your lawn needs cleanups, but so do your tools! When we say tools, we mean your blades for mowing, your shovels, and also your rakes. You want to clean those tools with a combination of water and bleach to ensure a maximum wash. This prevents any spores or disease from growing on your tools and then spreading to your lawn.
We suggest making cleanups a fun activity for the family. They should all enjoy your outdoor space; adding more people helps encourage good habits and makes fun of a rather boring task while hopefully getting the work done quicker.
Mowing
Trimming or mowing your grass is important to the overall health and vitality of your lawn. You want to mow your lawn consistently to ensure its health, but you also want to make sure you do not take too much “off the top” or cut the blades of grass on your lawn too short. The shorter your blades of grass are on your lawn; the more inviting they are to diseases.
Side Note: We know we mentioned cleaning your blades for mowing, but when it actually comes to mowing your lawn, make sure the blades are sharp enough to do their job. In keeping them sharp, you prevent them from causing unwanted damage to your blades when they cut.
Many Faces and Names
We mentioned in the introduction of this blog that lawn disease has many faces and many names. Halfway through this blog, we wanted to highlight some common lawn diseases you may have heard of, along with a few extras. Some lawn diseases are most commonly known or referred to as:
- Rust
- Brown Patches
- Snow Mold
- Red Thread
Some other types of lawn disease are gray leaf, leaf spot, dollar spot ad pythium. Please know that these are not all the lawn diseases out there trying to attacking your property year-round. We wanted to make you aware of some so that you know and familiarize yourself with them. The necessary steps we discuss in this blog must help you avoid ALL lawn diseases, including the ones not mentioned above.
Now let us get back to the last two things you can do to avoid lawn disease.
Testing the Soil
Make sure you apply fertilizer to your soil. However, there can be an issue that arises with the nutrients in your soil. If an imbalance of nutrients occurs, you will have to adjust how you fertilize or change your soil. How you can check and determine whether or not your nutrients are balanced is by testing the soil. It is important to run a few tests annually to ensure your soil is balanced, strong, and healthy enough to keep your lawn disease-free.
Water the Lawn
What may seem to most as a common action done to your lawn is crucial in preventing lawn disease. See, something as easy as watering the lawn is not as simple as it seems. You want to take all of these things into consideration when watering your lawn:
- Time of day you water
- Weather for that day and that week (1 inch a week of water for your lawn)
- You do not want to underwater.
- You do not want to overwater.
- You do not want your grass to remain wet for too long.
Taking all of these things into consideration is key. If you water your lawn early in the morning, the afternoon sun should let it dry and absorb. If your grass stays wet, it leaves your lawn susceptible to lawn disease and also fungi.
You want to water deep into the roots of your lawn while only watering one inch a week total, including rainfall. Avoid the build-up of puddles because that is a breeding ground for lawn disease.
See? There is much more to watering the lawn than you thought!
Final Thoughts
Now that you know what to do to avoid lawn diseases from occurring on your lawn and property, there is still one thing to consider. When you see signs of disease or fungus on your property or lawn, you have to respond immediately. The most important thing to consider is if you can take care of this yourself or if you want to go to an expert to stop the issue where it stands. The steps we described can be done by you, no question. Taking the right precautionary steps will keep your lawn and property looking the best it ever has!
Whether you decide to take on lawn disease on your own or hire a professional, you still are doing the right thing. If you end up deciding to hire a professional so that you can get some time back for yourself, let us here at Copperhead Landscaping do our part in helping you out!
We proudly serve the residents of McKinney, Plano, and Allen, TX!