This article examines how you can get that vivid green look for your lawn with by performing tasks such as soil testing, aeration, seeding and fertilization. The beautiful, healthy look of your turf will also be accompanied by better disease and pest resistance and easier weed control.
Lawn care (or turf care) is the process of maintaining a lawn on a residential, commercial or municipal property safe, healthy, visually attractive and debris free.
Lawn care is much easier and cost effective after the soil has been prepared and the seeding or installation is done correctly.
What Is The Difference Between Lawn, Turf & Sod
Sod, lawn and turf are being used interchangeably by a lot of people. The differences between these terms are subtle:
Sod
It is a portion of grass and a thin layer of dirt being held together by the grass root system.
Turf
It is a grass covered area, also containing the surface layer of dirt, but not necessarily held together by roots. The difference between sod and turf is that sod can be a part of the turf, which is the whole.
Lawn
It is the whole plot of grass surrounding a residential or commercial property. Lawn usually refers only to the visible upper layer of grass.
Benefits Of Lawn Care
There are a lot of benefits to installing and maintaining your lawn:
- An aesthetical benefit – a lush green lawn gives your landscape a striking look and can be used to emphasize other landscape or hardscape elements, such as water fountains
- A psychological benefit - it is proven that time spent in a natural environment promotes well being and fights off stress and anxiety
- It increases the value of your property – any landscape improvement, such as installing a lawn or trees increase the market value of your property
- It protects the soil from erosion – grassroots hold the soil together
- Helps with water management - a lawn captures some of the stormwater and prevents it from pooling
- It reduces the amount of dust on your property – because the soil is being held together and covered by grass, there is less dust being raised in the air
- Cools down your landscape – grass reduces the amount of heat that is reflected off the soil
- Provides a safe environment for social activities – you can safely enjoy your backyard with your family, friends and pets
There are two ways how you can get your lawn started – by planting seeds and by installing sod or sodding.
Seeding
Planting seeds is the cheapest option to getting your lawn started. It also gives you access to a higher variety of grass species than sod.
However, planting grass seeds also has some disadvantages:
- To get the best result, grass seeding should be done during early fall. You can do it at other times, but that might give you a weaker grass that has a higher risk of disease and developing a pest problem
- It takes a long time before you can walk on it. You might have to wait a few weeks before you are able to walk on the new grass.
- The soil is at a greater risk of erosion before the grassroot system is established
Sod Installation
It is a little bit more expensive than seeding because you do not pay only for the labor, but also for the sod. Sod installation has some advantages, such as the instant results you get, better weed control and the fact that you can start walking on it after it establishes the root system
The main sod installation disadvantages are its higher cost and the fact that it has to be installed very fast after it is harvested.
Lawn Care Services
There are a wide range of lawn installation and care services that can ensure you get all the enjoyment and none of the work:
- Fertilizer
- Aeration
- Weed management
- Disease management
- Insect management
- Animal control
- Mowing
- Sod and seed
- Soil testing
- Topdressing
- Complete turf renovation
You should always choose an experienced landscaper in Mount Prospect that can provide all these services safely and efficiently.
