As the weather warms our yards often transform into outdoor retreats. Prepare your lawn and gardens for the summer. Follow these simple steps to safe, healthy, beautiful and relaxing spaces that will save water and the environment.
Five steps to natural yard care:
- Build Healthy Soil & Use Mulch
Healthy soil lays the foundation for a healthy lawn and garden and is a key to long-term plant health. It also helps plants hold and use water more efficiently, which can reduce water use. Place mulch on the surface of your soil to reduce evaporation, limit weed growth and soil erosion and to reduce temperature changes in soil. Learn more about Soil and Mulch.
- Plant Right
Proper yard design and plant selection can significantly impact natural resources used in your yard and home. Planting right can also help you create a yard that is healthier for you, your family, your plants and the environment. Learn more about how to choose the right plants for your site, native plants for different sites and how to remove some of your lawn to create more planting beds for low-water-use plants. You can also download our brochure about Planning and Planting.
- Water Smart
Being water-smart doesn’t mean you need a brown lawn. Watering smart actually leads to healthier, stronger plants while reducing water use. Most plants do best if the soil partially dries out between watering, so water deeply and infrequently. One inch per week is the rule of thumb for the amount of water grass needs in the middle of summer. Automatic irrigation systems can help make watering more efficient, but only when used correctly by checking watering amounts and schedules, seasonally adjusting watering times, and installing devices like a rain sensor, which prevents watering during rainfall. Learn more about automatic and manual watering, as well as plants’ water needs, or download our Watering Wisely brochure.
- Think Before Using Pesticides
Prevent problems with pests and protect health, the environment and drinking water by using less toxic controls if pests or weeds appear. Learn how to use Integrated Pest Management.
- Grow a Natural Lawn
Grow a healthy lawn using less water, fertilizer and herbicides. Learn about mowing, watering, fertilizing, de-thatching, aerating and managing lawn pests by reading up on Natural Lawn Care.
