6 Money Saving, Earth Friendly Yard Care Tips

Everyone likes a well maintained yard. However, a well maintained yard does not always mean that you need to invest a lot of money and time. These 6 money saving, earth friendly tips will help you to have a low maintenance, good looking yard.

1. Irrigate Efficiently

30-50% of the total water usage in a household is from lawn and garden watering. Watering too rapidly or too often results in the greatest waste of water. Sprinkler systems offer an effective method for irrigation. Ensure that the sprinkler heads are properly adjusted to spray large drops of water instead of a fine mist as well as avoid watering sidewalks. An efficient method for watering vegetables, fruit trees, shrubs and container grown plants is drip irrigation or soaker hoses. Water applied by drip irrigation is not likely to evaporate or run off.

2. Avoid Overwatering

Watering too often or too heavily can weaken your lawn and cause erosion and runoff pollution. Excess irrigation can also leach nutrients deep into the soil away from the plant roots, increasing the chances of polluting the ground water. Excess irrigation can cause runoff carrying polluting fertilizers and pesticides into our lakes and streams.

Most lawns receive twice as much water as they require for a healthy appearance. A general rule is to water one inch, once a week. An easy method to water one inch is to place an empty 6-ounce tuna can on your lawn and stop watering when it is full. The goal is to water infrequently but thoroughly to allow the root system to be strong and helping the lawn to efficiently use the water that’s stored in the soil.

3. Water in the Morning

Watering in the morning will reduce water loss due to evaporation. Watering late in the evening or night keeps the leaves wet for an extended period of time increasing the chances of disease and some pests.

4. Practice Grasscycling

Grasscycling is the practice of leaving grass clippings on the lawn to decompose into soil. It will reduce the water needs as well as reduce the need for fertilizer. The key is to mow at the proper height and disperse the clippings evenly so that it can work their way down to the soil. Cutting the grass too short can result in stress, shorter roots and rapid loss of soil moisture.

Mow often enough to avoid cutting no more than one-third of the grass blade each time. Grasscycling allows the clippings to act as a slow-release fertilizer as well as retain moisture. This will reduce the need for watering and possibly eliminate the need for fertilizer saving you money. This will also keep fertilizer from ending up in bodies of water.

5. Use fewer and better pesticides and fertilizers

Residential users apply more pounds per acre of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers than farmers. More is not always better since a rainstorm can wash away fertilizer – wasting your money and contaminating nearby waterways. There are less toxic, even natural, substitutes that are equally effective.

6. Low Maintenance Landscape design

Group together plants that have similar watering needs, to prevent over watering and excessive plant growth. Use low maintenance turf grasses or grass-and-flower seed mixtures that grow slowly and requires less mowing. Consider replacing turf-grass with native and adapted tress, shrubs, and flowers wherever possible. Native wildflowers and plants require very little or no maintenance.

Always try to use plants that are native and well adapted to your area. Native plants will use less water, reduce the need for soil modification, require little or no fertilizer and be more tolerant of drought like conditions and pest problems. Incorporate a variety of plants to provide food and cover for a variety of living things. Diversity also minimizes pests damage since many of them attack only one plant species.

You will be on your way to a healthy, low maintenance cost effective yard With some careful planning and effort.