8 Tips to Care for Your Garden and Yard This Summer
Whether you’re a homeowner for the first time or you’ve never cared for your garden and yard before, our team here at Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply is here to help. We offer a wide variety of high-quality lawn and garden products you will find helpful this summer and beyond! Let’s review some key tips you should establish this upcoming summer to ensure your garden and lawn thrive.
1. Invest in Quality Tools and Supplies
As a homeowner, you understand that your home is an investment which includes your lawn and garden. With the right tools, equipment, and supplies, your lawn and garden will look fantastic. As you think about the tools you may need it is important to first consider the projects you would like to complete.
Yard Care
In terms of yard care, you might choose mulch or bark, grass seed, weed control, and insect and pest control depending on the type of project. These products allow you to lay mulch around your home, help new grass grow in areas it may lack, control weed growth, and keep insects and pests away from your yard.
Gardening
If you plan to start a garden this year, there are several tools and products that will ensure your garden prospers. Wheelbarrows, utility carts, dump carts, trenching shovels, cultivators, shears, loppers, shovels, and rakes, are some of the tools you will likely utilize as you plant your garden and maintain it throughout the season. Fertilizer, soil, plants, seeds, planters, rain wands, and hoses are the supplies you will need to get started as well! We offer a myriad of options for each of these supplies for you to choose from.
2. Maintain Your Safety
The fresh air is one of the best parts of working in your yard and garden. However, it’s important to remember that the sun is also beating down on you! You need to protect your skin. Thankfully, Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply has an assortment of handy gardening gear you can wear to keep your skin protected in the sun.
Our UPF clothing protects your body, and we have several options depending on what you find most comfortable to wear while working outside. Our clothing line includes tank tops, short-sleeve and long-sleeve t-shirts, button-downs, flannels, and fleece for men and women alike. We also have plenty of hat and sunglass options to keep your head and eyes covered in the heat of the day. It’s also crucial to wear gloves while you garden and maintain your lawn. Gloves keep your hands protected from the sun and ensure tools and plants don’t scratch or irritate your skin.
3. Control Weed Growth
Weeds are one of the biggest annoyances for homeowners trying to enhance their landscaping and keep their gardens in excellent shape all summer long. Unfortunately, weeds thrive in warm weather, and they will grow quickly if they aren’t taken care of as soon as they start to sprout. You may not think they are a big deal, but they can actually take nutrients and moisture away from other plants and vegetables in your garden. On top of that, weeds encourage pests to explore your yard. With this in mind, it’s best to nip weeds in the bud as soon as you see them. This habit ensures your landscaping and your garden will be healthy all summer.
In addition to picking weeds yourselves, it can be helpful to purchase a quality weed control. While these products won’t prevent 100% of weed growth, this investment will surely help keep your garden and yard in shape as well as save you a lot of time picking weeds. You’ll enjoy a healthy landscape when you proactively control weed growth on your property!
4. Don’t Skip Mulching Your Garden
If you’re a first-time gardener, it’s important to understand the important role of mulch. It’s definitely a product you don’t want to skimp on! First, mulch conserves and spreads moisture, which is crucial for the proper growth of your flowers, plants, and veggies. Next, mulch protects the soil in your garden from eroding and even helps prevent weed growth! Mulch is also helpful because it keeps your garden stable when the temperature peaks too high in the summer heat. Plus, mulch ensures your gardens have visible edges, which can help prevent your gardens from being damaged by your lawnmower and other landscaping equipment you use.
There are many types of mulch to choose from, which can make it confusing if you’ve never bought it before! However, it’s best to purchase mulch that is made of organic matter, such as shredded leaves, grass clippings, pine straw, bark, peas, or shredded wood. Fortunately, we have an assortment of options for you to buy at Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply!
5. Keep an Eye on Pests and Insects
Pests and insects are nuisances when you’re trying to appreciate a tasty dinner in your backyard on a summer day. When you become a homeowner and invest in proper lawn care and start a garden, you’ll find that keeping pests and insects at bay becomes even more important. Some common insects to be aware of are armyworms, fleas, sod webworms, Japanese beetles, grasshoppers, stink bugs, ticks, aphids, grubs, ants, cutworms, spittlebugs, mole crickets, and Cucumber beetles. We also sell some bugs that are good for your garden and plants, such as ladybugs and lacewings.
The middle of the summer season is when pest and insect infestations peak. This is when these bugs populate and spread diseases across landscapes and gardens. To keep your property in tip-top shape, be proactive in your efforts. We offer a myriad of products you can utilize. Our ant killer can be applied to your home’s perimeter, and our mosquito traps can be spread out across your property. We also have granule insect killer for gardens and grass that can last for months! We also have an all-animal repeller that keeps critters like deer, chipmunks, squirrels, rabbits, birds, rats, and more out of your lawn and garden so they don’t chew on your plants!
6. Consider Best Watering Practices
Gardens need about one inch of water every week. If you live in an area that receives rain regularly, then watering your plants may not be a task you’re concerned about. However, many homeowners experience dry spells and even long-term dry weather patterns that can affect how well their gardens and grass stay healthy and continue to grow. Without routine hydration, your garden can lose nutrients.
Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply has several options when it comes to properly watering your garden and landscape. We offer expandable hose kits, tripod sprinklers, traveling sprinklers, rain wands, metal soaker irrigators, watering cans, various hoses, and hookups for hoses and sprinklers, like nozzles. We also have a hose faucet timer to ensure you don’t miss any watering times!
Be sure you understand how to water, too. Watering leaves can actually cause disease growth, so be sure your form of irrigation focuses on watering the soil so it can soak into the roots of your plants. Additionally, ensure you’re not watering too quickly or too heavily. You don’t want your garden overflowing and forming puddles in and around the space. Instead, a slower drip is more effective!
7. Add Color to Your Property With Summer Bulbs
If you’re interested in creating a beautiful landscape that will make all your neighbors jealous, consider planting colorful summer flowers to improve your curb appeal. When you add beautiful bulbs to your property, you’re not just adding beauty to your home. You’re also adding to the natural habitat that exists in your landscape! They provide nectar and pollen for various animals and insects, which allows pollination to occur. This life cycle is a unique process you can be a part of when you decide to plant flowers.
There are many colorful bulbs to consider for your landscape this summer. These include marigolds, zinnia, coneflower, hibiscus, lantana, cosmos, black-eyed susans, dahlias, daylilies, petunias, lavender, Russian sage, celosia, geraniums, hydrangeas, morning glories, sunflowers asters, peonies, poppies, catmint, daisies, and much more. With so many options available, you can decide which flowers to grow together, creating a beautiful landscape you’ll admire every day. Be sure to learn which bulbs do best in your climate before purchasing any seeds to plant. Some flowers do very well in the summer heat, while others may suffer.
8. Care for Your Lawn Properly
The Role of Fertilizer
Fertilizer helps your lawn maintain its green and lush appearance, making it a staple for proper lawn maintenance. It ensures your grass is healthy all year long when you apply it correctly. Specifically, fertilizer provides three main nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and more; these are all essential to healthy grass. It also helps prevent diseases from wiping out your lawn and causing dead patches to appear on your property. However, not all homeowners are aware of fertilizer best practices.
First, choose the right fertilizer that is formulated for your property’s specific type of grass. Second, be sure to apply the fertilizer evenly. A fertilizer spreader helps apply it evenly across your grass. Next, water the fertilized areas to ensure their essential nutrients get into the roots of your grass and encourage healthy growth. It’s also important to fertilize your lawn regularly, and this schedule will depend on the type of grass you have.
Early Summer
It’s crucial to fertilize your lawn at certain times of the year. Doing so at the very beginning of the summer is a good idea for warm-season grass because it ensures the lawn grows nicely. Plus, this step ensures your grass holds up to droughts and excessive heat in the summer. Using a fertilizer specifically for early summer is best for this specific time!
In the early summer, it’s also important to mow high. This means setting your lawnmower’s blades higher. Cut warm-season grass about two to three inches tall. If you have cool-season grass, be sure it’s three to four inches tall. Be sure to not cut more than one-third of an inch of grass each time that you mow your lawn. When you do mow, leave clippings, as they will help feed your grass as it decomposes into the ground. Early summer is also the best time to utilize pest and weed control treatments, as they will last throughout the season!
Mid to Late Summer
Once you hit the midpoint of summer, it’s time to consider how much moisture your lawn is getting. Dry grass will struggle to grow and become more susceptible to weeds and pests, both of which you want to avoid. It’s best practice to water your lawn once or twice each week, and the water should get four to six inches deep into the soil. When you stick a small tool into your lawn, resistance means you need more water and an easy slide means you can water less frequently.
Consider watering your lawn before the sun rises, as this allows the grass to soak up the moisture before the sun dries the area. Always keep an eye on weather forecasts, too; you don’t want to water your lawn if it’s supposed to rain! Depending on the state of your lawn at the midpoint of summer, you may consider adding some fertilizer. It’s best to check in with the pros to see if this is something you need. As the summer comes to a close, be sure to continue with the mowing and watering habits you’ve established.
Connect With Murdoch’s Today
As you consider the tips outlined above, remember to be patient with yourself. If you’re a first-time homeowner, much of this information is new to you, and you may not have all the proper tools and equipment to properly care for your lawn. Purchase everything you need from Murdoch's Ranch & Home Supply! Our team is always happy to assist you to ensure you understand which products are best for your property. Browse our online store and visit one of our locations for expert assistance today!
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