Your lawn is a valued part of your overall outdoor appearance and experience. You know you want to keep it looking green and healthy, but you may not know entirely what’s involved in that process.
You might even be wondering if you can just run to the local home improvement store and use some DIY lawn fertilizer or weed sprays.
While you may be uncertain about all of your lawn’s needs, you know you don’t want to see your lawn fall victim to turf diseases or weeds that could have been avoided. You just want to feel confident that you’re doing the right thing and making the right decisions.
While you’re doing your research to figure out what your lawn needs, here is a list of some of the pros and cons of DIY lawn care versus hiring a pro in Central and Southern Maryland to help you answer your questions.
Why Does a Lawn Need Fertilizer?
You might be pondering why lawns need fertilizer in the first place. Like many people, you might even assume that lawns can make in on their own.
Lawns, like trees and plants, need sunlight, water and nutrients to thrive. Over time, lawns leech nutrients out of the soil through the water and sunlight they receive. That leaves your lawn deficient of nutrients.
In new developments or built-up lands, the soil lawns are planted in typically lack the proper nutrients to grow healthy lawns and plants. Lawns that lack nutrients, unfortunately, are more susceptible to weed and disease infestations.
These stressed lawns can benefit from regular and proper fertilization, whether DIY lawn care or from a pro. A soil test can tell you exactly what nutrients your lawn is lacking and help determine what kind of fertilizer your lawn needs.
Pros & Cons of DIY Lawn Care
Now that you know why lawns need fertilization, you might be questioning whether you can just pick up one of the bags of fertilizer you see on the home improvement store shelves and apply it yourself.
Let’s look at all the pros and cons of DIY Lawn Care.
DIY Lawn Care Pro: Learn a New Skill & Feel Accomplished
Learning how to properly fertilize a lawn takes a lot of time and energy.
First, you need to purchase the right products for the job. Once you conduct a soil test and determine what your lawn needs, you can learn which fertilizer is best to use. Always read label instructions for proper application techniques.
To apply a granular fertilizer, you need a spreader for DIY lawn care. And you must calibrate it properly before each use. And applying weed controls requires a sprayer.
As you spread fertilizer or spray prodcuts, you should follow proper lawn care application practices. This includes adequate walking speed and passes across the lawn so you’re applying the product evenly. You never want to overapply product; more is never better with DIY lawn care fertilization.
If you also need to apply weed control products, this adds another application to your project. To tackle weeds, you must properly identify the weed, choose the right product for the job and read label instructions for proper application. Knowing the weed and its growth habits is crucial to timing your application for maximum weed control. Some weeds are best controlled pre-emergently and some are best controlled post-emergently.
Building your DIY lawn care knowledge is not easy. It takes experienced technicians years to get it perfect so they can obtain the proper licensing and certifications. Understanding Maryland state laws when it comes to proper lawn care applications is important, as well as staying up-to-date on regular training and best practices.
Learning a new skill always comes with the benefits of feeling accomplished after a job well done.
DIY Lawn Care Pro: Get Outdoors
Who doesn’t want to spend more time outdoors in the sunshine? Learning proper DIY lawn care can help you get plenty of time outdoors.
First, you’ll want to walk across your lawn and inspect it for weeds and any other issues. Then, you’ll be calibrating your spreader and properly applying the correct amount of product.
Remember, while it’s tempting to wear shorts and a t-shirt and just slather on some sunscreen on a hot summer day, it’s always better to wear long pants and sleeves, as well as gloves, when performing DIY lawn care.
DIY Lawn Care Con: Lack of Savings
While you might think DIY lawn care will save you money, the costs do add up.
First, there’s the cost of the proper equipment to do the job, as well as the products. But then you must properly store the products. If you don’t correctly store lawn care products, you will lose them before you can finish using them. Also, if you didn’t apply products correctly the first time, you’ll be spending that money on products, in addition to more time, to redo the job.
Then, think about what an hour of your time costs. This is often forgotten, but it’s an important factor in the total costs. Your valuable time doing DIY lawn care could be spent on a hobby you enjoy or spending time with family.
Pros of Hiring a Professional Lawn Care Service
Hiring a professional has many benefits compared to DIY lawn care.
Professional lawn care programs include six to seven yearly property visits that include a variety of treatments based on your lawn’s specific needs. Some lawns need more help than others, so sometimes they require a customized approach.
Some lawn care services also provide free soil tests so they know what nutrients the lawn requires. Professionals live and breathe the knowledge that includes the perfect timing of these applications and have tested these strategies in Central and Southern Maryland, so they know exactly what to apply on your lawn and when. You don’t have to do a thing.
Also, professionals have well-training and experienced technicians, who are much more likely to recognize a problem in your lawn and know how to take care of it.
When it comes to products, you will never be able to buy DIY lawn care fertilizers and herbicides that are the same quality as professional lawn care products that need to be applied by certified and licensed professionals.
The right products can have a big impact on lawn care service results. Higher quality products properly applied during the right weather conditions at the best time of year and growth stages of the plants will produce the best results.
Protect Your Lawn Investment with a Pro
Now that you understand the benefits of DIY lawn care services compared to professional lawn care services, you can make a confident choice that is best for you.
Signing up for a lawn care services program means you’ve embraced a proactive approach to protecting your investment. You want to protect your lawn before there are bigger signs of stress or trouble. A lawn that receives professional fertilization is definitely healthier and better protected against pests, weeds and disease.
Natural Green wants to help you make the most informed and best decision for you. We are happy to take the time to assist you in comparing programs and prices so you know what a professional lawn care program includes.
Want to learn more about what professional lawn care services in Central and Southern Maryland include? Get started today with a free quote. We’ll review your options together so you can make a great choice. Then you can just sit back and enjoy your lawn.
