Landscaping Checklist

Watering the Lawn

• In the fall, winter and early spring, you probably won't have to water your lawn. If there is no precipitation of any kind for an extended period and your lawn starts to get brown patches, you should water it. Once May comes around, it is time to think about watering your lawn once every week unless it is has rained in that span. Set up sprinklers to make the grass and soil moist, but you do not need to drown your lawn to keep it healthy.

Fertilizing

• May is also the month to fertilize your lawn. Take a soil sample of your lawn to the local nursery so it can analyze the soil and tell you what kind of fertilizer you need. When the test results come back, you can fertilize your lawn. Fertilizer replenishes the nutrients in the soil that fall and winter destroy. It also helps reduce weeds and crabgrass. According to the Easy Lawn Care Help website, fertilize your lawn a second time just before winter arrives.

Mowing

• If you cut your grass too short, it exposes the soil to the sun and causes brown patches of dead grass. A good rule of thumb is to keep your lawn between 2 and 3 inches high. When it look like it is past the 3-inch point, it is time to mow. It is not a bad idea to have a regular mowing schedule, but it could be a waste of your time in July and August when your lawn is not growing as fast as it does in the cooler months.

Weeds

• You can use fertilizers and chemicals to try and keep crabgrass and weeds out of your landscaping, but it is possible that you will still have to weed at some point. Crabgrass and weeds have roots that wrap around your grass and plants roots and kill your lawn and gardening plants. Set aside some time each week to go through your lawn and manually remove all crabgrass and weeds.

Equipment

• Part of your regular landscaping maintenance checklist should be to look your landscaping equipment over after every use. Clean your lawn mower off after every use and check the oil. Check your electrical lawn equipment for frayed cords or loose wires. Manual tools such as hedge clippers and lawn edgers should be cleaned off and wiped down after every use to reduce rusting.