Keep Your Curb Attractive With These Yard Maintenance Tips
A well-kept yard can add value to your property, put you at your neighbors’ favor, and even prevent burglaries. Here are four basic outdoor equipment and skills you need to keep your yard looking tidy.
As always, use gloves, goggles, and ear protection (especially with gas tools) when working with any of these outdoor tools, and consider protective clothing such as long pants, long sleeved shirts, and short toe shoes.
Trim the hedge to keep things in order
Motorized shears for hedges – a great alternative shears for hedges, as they quickly cut, align and form bushes and shrubs. They can be powered by gasoline, mains or battery power, and are available in different lengths like chainsaws. Longer rods can cut more in each pass, but are heavier and cumbersome to use.
Before trimming, make sure your brush cutter is sharp and well oiled before each use.
When pruning, start at the vertical sides of the hedge first, then sweep up and down and work your way forward along the hedge. When trimming the top of a hedge, tilt the blades approximately 10 degrees to the horizontal and sweep the cut material off the hedge. Watch the video above to see how the pros do it.
Keep a pair of handheld hedge trimmers handy to fine-tune the shape of your shrubs.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR_jO1…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubJOSi…
Cut your lawn the right way
Mowing is pruning. Correct mowing increases lawn density, which in turn reduces weeds. There is a recommended cutting height for each type of grass. Find out what type of grass you have on your lawn (you may have several) and use this chart to determine the correct height to set the mower to.
If you don’t have a lawnmower, check out our guide to choosing the right one for your yard and tune your lawnmower at the start of each season.
Follow the 1/3 rule: never remove more than 1/3 of the length of a blade of grass at a time. A healthy lawn can withstand accidental mowing, but re-mowing can result in brown discoloration.
Here are some things to remember:
- Mow when the grass is dry. The blades will stand upright and are less likely to stick together when cutting.
- Keep the mower blades sharp and balanced . Torn cuts made with blunt blades increase the likelihood of disease and pest infestation.
- Change the mowing mode each time you mow. Depending on the direction of the cut, the grass forms a grain that tends to tilt in the direction in which you are cutting. The alternating pattern results in straighter growth and helps to avoid lawn rutting.
- If you are mowing too long grass, you can use a mower bag and use the cut grass as compost. Otherwise, however, discard the bag and leave the trimmings on the lawn if they don’t form clumps or rows. This method returns nutrients and nitrogen to the lawn.
- Cut the grass higher in shaded areas under the trees. In these areas, the grass must compete with the tree roots for water and nutrients.
Lawns are a unique American treat (compared to the rest of the world) that builders, architects, and homeowners have developed into home layouts across the country. But with water restrictions becoming more common, it is important to find ways to conserve water as much as possible. If you must have a lawn, consider a type of grass that requires less water, or beautify your yard to have more drought-resistant plants. You can even plant a productive garden .
Away from the mess in the leaves
Blowers are a great way to quickly clear leaves and debris from your yard and place them in your compost or trash heap. Like hedge trimmers, they are available in gas, wire and battery versions.
Choose the blower that suits the needs of your yard. In a small yard, you can get by with a sweeping machine, which is designed to remove debris from hard surfaces and can be used on terraces and in garages. A more powerful fan can create more clutter in small spaces and should be used in larger areas and along curbs. Backpack-mounted blowers provide maximum power and less fatigue as the weight of the blower rests on your thighs.
Close all open windows and doors in your yard before starting to blow to minimize air pollution and dirt that can enter your home. Remember to wear eye and ear protection.
The blower is driven by a variable speed trigger on the handle. Most blowers have a cruise control switch to help prevent fatigue and give you more control.
Use a blower in one direction and rub debris from the corners inward. Lift the blower up and down in the air to quickly lighten and drag debris into place for cleaning.
The video above shows the correct technique for a backpack blower, but it can be applied to any type of blower.
Trim and trim your lawn
The trimmer is a handheld device used to trim grass and areas around trees, gardens and paths. Similar to hedge trimmers and blowers, string trimmers tend to be wireless powered, but are still available in gas or mains powered models.
The video above shows you how to properly load and set up your string trimmer, and how to use it correctly. To start pruning, keep the trimmer 2-3 inches off the ground and avoid touching trees, bushes, and roots. The cable travels at speeds of up to 400 miles per hour and can do a lot of damage to plants and trees in a short period of time.
When mowing along sidewalk, tilt the trimmer slightly upward so that the cut of your lawn narrows and shows a gradual transition from sidewalk to lawn.
To cut at a tighter angle, use the trimmer function as shown below. Flip the trimmer vertically (like an airplane propeller) and work in a straight line. You will pick up dirt and debris, but when you’re done, you will have a sharp edge.