Often repeated, but unfortunately false, lawn care “tips and tricks” that appear too good to be true are usually found to be just that. We all have heard some type of lawn or garden myth that has been passed down as an old wives tale, which we try, and it inevitably fails. This in turn makes us feel like our green thumb has turned brown, but in reality, there are just a bevy of lawn care “tricks” that are simply myths that you debunked the hard way.
Today, we’ll go over some of the most popular lawn care myths and tell you why they don’t work, so you don’t spend time and money on things that could hurt instead of help your lawn.
Myth #1: The Shorter Your Grass, The Better
Debunked: Cutting your lawn too short can actually do damage to it by exposing roots to the sun, which will cause brown spots. It can also encourage the growth of weeds, since they do better in hot, dry conditions. It is better to have your grass a little too long, rather than too short if need be.
Keeping your grass at the suggested height will provide shade to the roots and keep more nutrients in the grass itself, which helps encourage growth and promotes lawn health. Try to keep your grass around 7.5cm throughout the growing season.
Myth #2: Grass Clippings Left On The Lawn Is Harmful/Causes Thatch
Debunked: Grass clippings are made up of around 75% water, and they contain nitrogen, which acts as a natural fertiliser. Clippings also help promote healthy root growth by better retaining water.
Also, contrary to a popular lawn myth belief, leaving clippings on the lawn does not cause thatch, a layer of partially decomposed grass-plant parts that is between the soil and actual grass. Grass clippings are mostly water, so as long as you mow regularly at the right height, they will break down and disappear rapidly, causing no harm to your lawn at all.
Myth #3: Use Beer As Fertiliser
Debunked: The myth here is that adding beer to soil will add yeast to the soil. Beer, while it does contain yeast, also contains sugars, alcohol and other ingredients that are not kind to your lawn. These other ingredients will actually block healthy grass growth. As a matter of fact, yeast can actually encourage fungus growth on your lawn, so it’s best to keep your beer in the can or in your hand.
Myth #4: It Doesn’t Matter What Time of Day You Water Your Lawn
Debunked: The best time to water your lawn is actually in the early morning, between 4am and 10am, before the sun gets too hot. If you water during the hottest time of day, the water will just evaporate before it can get down to the roots. Watering at night is also not advised, as it can stay on the grass too long without any sun to help evaporate it naturally (too much sun is bad, but none at all can result in overwatering.) Watering at night can also promote the growth of lawn fungus that can be harmful and even attract pests.
Myth #5: You Should Water Your Lawn Every Day
Debunked: It is actually advised that you water your lawn less frequently but more deeply to help your grass grow healthier roots. How much water your lawn needs depends on what type of grass you have, the climate you live in, how much rain you get and your soil type as well. If it rains a good amount of the time where you live, you of course should not be watering your lawn daily, as you can make your lawn dependent, soggy, and needy if you water it too often. You can also kill plants just as easily by overwatering them as not watering them at all. Make sure you are watering down to the root system and allowing the soil to dry a bit before watering again.
You can learn a lot by making mistakes, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Taking care of a lawn and garden is hard work at times and there’s no shame in trying to find some life hacks in the process. Just make sure to do some research and refer to lawn care specialists so you don’t harm your beautiful lawn by trying out some new lawn tip you saw online.
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