Love Your Lawn & Garden: 7 Quick Energy-Saving Tips

Once the snow melts, your lawn will be in need of some serious TLC! Springtime is the right time to start maintaining your lawn in a way that saves on both water and energy.

Spring maintenance tips

Lawn watering

• No watering required. Spring is typically remembered as being the wet season and usually provides more than enough rainfall to meet your lawn and garden needs.

Breaking out the lawn mower

• Mow High. Raising your lawn mower blades to a height of 7.5 cm (3 inches) will allow for longer grass with deeper roots to crowd out weeds and most importantly, retain the lawn soil’s moisture.

• Cut it right! You do not need to mow your lawn every week but only when needed.

• Leave the grass clippings. The clippings that you are bagging provide valuable nutrients (nitrogen), help retain moisture and make it difficult for weeds to grow. Clippings break down quickly and disappear within a day or two, so let them be!

• Choose the right mower. A mulching mower is ideal for large lawns because the grass clippings are finely chopped and returned to the soil, which helps retain moisture. For smaller lawns, think of using a reel (or push) mower. It gives a good cut which keeps the soil moist and doesn’t contribute to noise and air pollution.

Mulch for your garden

• Mulch for moisture. Apply mulch to your lawn and garden. You can use leaves, grass clippings and wood chips as mulch for your garden and lawn to retain moisture, provide valuable nutrients and reduce weeds. Mulch also reduces water loss. Talk to your local garden centre about what type of mulch works best for your plants.

• The right time to mulch. Mulching is best done in the late Spring – before the hot weather arrives and your perennials and annuals are small enough to work around. Topping off your mulch is best down in the Fall. Always check the depth of your mulch. Place 1” to 2” layer of fine mulch or 2” to 4” layer if it’s coarse mulch and spread it evenly. Don’t pack it down and give it a good soak by using a watering can or soaker hose.

Good lawn maintenance in the Spring will help to ensure a healthy lawn for the rest of the season and after until the snow falls again. Save money, water, and energy by caring for your lawn efficiently- you will reap the benefits.