Weed Control Tips for Your Garden

Having a beautiful garden to admire outside your house can be calming to the senses. But, one thing that can break the mood is when you see weeds start to grow and cover your blooming flowers.  To help you control those weeds in your garden, here are a few tips you can follow:

• Manually remove the weeds. Do you know anyone who spends hours each day tending to their gardens? Not only do they fertilize and prune their plants, but they also remove weeds. So, put on your gardening gloves, get down on your knees, and start removing those weeds that get in the way.
• Spread mulch. Create a barrier between your weeds and the sunlight. If the weeds are exposed to the sun, the tendency is for them to grow faster. But, if there is mulch covering them, they will easily die and decompose. You can create mulch out of grass clippings and leaves or buy pre-chopped wood mulch at your local garden center.
• Group plants together. Weeds grow and spread quickly, but if you limit the space in which they can grow, it will slow their development. As long as your soil is rich, group your plants closely together and limit the areas where weeds can sprout.
• Use a weed killer. There are liquid solutions that can actually kill weeds for you. But, keep in mind that natural weed solutions are better than chemical ones and are safer for the rest of your plants.  Be sure the weed killer doesn’t get on the plants you want to keep.  It is best to spray only when there is no rain forecasted; otherwise, the weed killer could spread to your flowers and kill them as well.
• Remove them from the start. Before planting your flowers, check your soil for weed seeds. This way, you can remove them before they start to grow.
• Solarize your soil. Do not wait for the weed seeds to germinate and grow. While you prepare your garden soil for planting, solarize it first, so weed seeds will die. Use plastic sheeting to cover your garden soil, so the sun and trapped heat will heat up the soil. The higher temperature will kill weed seeds and inhibit their growth in your garden.

Getting rid of weeds can help your plants grow better and help you maintain a clean and beautiful view of your garden. Use proper weed control so you can tackle weeks right away and keep your other plants healthy at the same time.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Useful Tips for Mowing Your Lawn

When it’s time to cut the grass in your yard, there are certain techniques that you should always implement.  As easy as it may seem, mowing may not necessarily produce the results you’re looking for if you don’t do it properly.  In fact, it can even create damage, not only to your yard, but also to you and your equipment.  It is important to keep safety in mind and to use your lawn mower properly to ensure a smooth, beautiful finish.

Here are some tips to maximize the quality and effectiveness of your lawn mowing…

• Invest in good mowing equipment…and be sure you understand how to use it.  It takes a few times to become familiar with a new lawn mower, so be diligent and keep your mowing path free of obstacles.
• When mowing, as a safety precaution, do not allow your children or pets to play within the area you’ll be mowing.  Also, don’t let children operate a lawn mower unless they’re strong enough, responsible, and understand all the operating and safety features of the machine. Even then, supervise them. Never give a young child a ride on a ride-on mower. Sudden stops, flying objects, or an excited child can spell disaster.
• When mowing, only remove one-third of the leaf blade.  Cutting more risks scalping or damaging the plant.
• Wear proper clothing that covers as much of your skin as possible and that will not get caught in the machine.  Use earplugs or earmuffs to protect your hearing.
• Only mow when the grass is dry.  This will prevent clumping and also minimize the spread of disease, which thrives in moisture, throughout the grass.
• To encourage accelerated growth, mow the lawn once a week, except during an extended drought or other extreme weather conditions.
• Mow the lawn in different directions to prevent wear patterns.  This encourages upright growth and produces a nice striping effect.
• Determine the height of cut that best allows the grass to thrive and store energy and water.
• Keep your blades sharp.  Torn ragged tips will not cut your grass as well, and that will result in you having to put in more time and effort than is necessary to achieve your desired results.
• If clumping occurs, loosen and disperse the clumps with a rake or blower.
• If you prefer to collect your clippings, start a compost pile. Use compost as a lawn top-dressing.
• Mow along the outside edge of your lawn first, then mow the inside in straight lines, finishing with one more “clean-up” lap around the border.
• When mowing a sloped area, if you’re using a push mower, always mow across the slope, not up and down, to prevent accidents. If you’re using a riding mower, then you must mow up and down the slope to prevent the riding lawnmower from tipping over.
• If grass clogs the blades or discharge chute of a power lawnmower and the engine starts to sputter, turn off the engine and make sure the blades have stopped rotating before carefully raising the lawnmower to remove the debris.
• Be careful when fueling. Be sure the engine is turned off and let it cool for 10 minutes before you begin. Never fill the tank while the machine is on the lawn, as spills can damage your grass.  Pouring spouts are a great way to avoid spills, but if it happens, clean up the gas immediately and put the used rags in a covered metal can (gasoline-soaked rags are a fire hazard).
• Never leave the mower running unattended, and be sure it is turned off before you make repairs or cross non-grassy areas.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031

Small Garden? Maximize Your Space

Having a small space offers a lot of limitations. For one, you have very limited area to include everything you want in your dream garden. You want a beautiful landscape, lots of flowery bushes, maybe a small sculpture or two, even a mini pond. But, the space limits your perfect garden.

Even though you have a small space for a garden, it does not mean you have to stop dreaming of a beautiful place to plant flowers and create a lovely backyard. There are still ways for you to include almost everything you want, if not all, by maximizing your garden space.

• If you have limited space below, why not use the available space above? Yes, you can still utilize the empty space above your garden by terracing some of your plants. Have an elevated level to place your other potted plants. To save space for a pathway, raise the level in corners or the sides of the garden.
• Let your plants crawl up. If you plant vines or crawling plants, have a wall, fence or trellises for them to climb up instead of crawling in the available space below. You can even have an arc type entrance where these vines can crawl so it adds a themed beauty to the place.
• Choose smaller plants over larger ones. The bigger the plants, the more space they will take. But, the smaller the plants, the more space will still be available for more plants, walkways, etc..
• Keep your plants within their places. There are plants that sprawl even to the other plant’s areas. To keep it from spreading around and occupying more spaces from others, use cages or stakes.
• Plan your walking path during landscaping. This will enable you to maximize the remaining space for planting flowers and vegetables. Also, you can minimize your path walk to a single person only and have a straight path towards the exit so your guests will not crowd in the path when one needs to get out of the garden.
• Create a large garden impression with water features. Having a mini pond will make an impression that you have a large garden as it can still accommodate even a water feature.

Jennifer Fields
Oklahoma City & Edmond Real Estate Agent
405.330.0031