Cost Cutting: A Green Lawn for Less Green
by
Dawn West, All About Lawns Columnist
Costs for your lawn can mount quickly. There's soil prep,
ponying up for seed or sod, paying for an irrigation system, a mower,
fertilizer and herbicide. While some of those are one time expenses,
others are ongoing, turning that lush green grass of your dreams into
an expensive nightmare. Well, fear no more. Here's a list of the best
ways to cut your lawn care costs while still maintaining a great lawn.
You may not want to spend a lot of money, but you still want beautiful
grass. It's not an impossible dream. Let these tips help.
Do-It-Yourself For simple lawn care tasks like fertilizing
and mowing, you can save money by forgoing a lawn care service and
doing the job yourself. If you're really trying to cut costs, you can
save more money by making your own fertilizer. Compost or manure will
work wonders on your grass, and they don't cost as much as bag after
bag of synthetic fertilizer. For weed control, go the old fashioned
route and pull them out or dump boiling water on them.
Don't-Do-It-Yourself For big jobs, you're likely to end up
saving money in the end if you hire a service. If you've got a serious
weed problem, a service can knock out the problem in a couple of tries
whereas you might spend a whole season applying herbicide. If your yard
needs to be graded, hiring a service will ensure things end up nice and
smooth, saving you expensive hassles with drainage later.
Rent, Don't Buy When it comes to heavy lawn care equipment,
buy a lawn mower and leave the rest to rentals. A yearly aeration is a
great idea, but you still don't need to buy the aerator.
Seed, Don't Sod Putting in sod is immensely satisfying. You go
from dirt to full lawn in an afternoon. Unfortunately, it's also
expensive. Go for seed, and you'll have to tend to it and wait
patiently for that carpet of green, but you'll save a bundle in the
end.
Lawn care can be expensive, but with a few cost saving
strategies, you can maintain both a great lawn and a decent balance in
your bank account.
About the Author
Dawn West B.A. holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University and teaches writing at Oregon State University.
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