Lazy Lawn Care Tips

Everyone wants to have a green, gorgeous lawn that's the envy of the neighborhood, but no one wants to spend the hours of work to achieve their perfect yard. With some tricks, some shortcuts, and some pretty straightforward DIYs, anyone can create a great-looking lawn without all that time, work, and hassle.

Using Grass Seed

Planting grass seed is exactly like throwing grass seed right on the ground. Identify any areas of your lawn that are thin and sparse, along with areas that are prone to becoming weedy. Get a bag of grass seed from any home improvement store and use your hands to thickly broadcast the seed in these areas. Once the seed is spread, water it heavily to promote quick, strong growth.

Do this in early spring, when grass is growing at its fastest. Areas where the grass is sparse are prone to be taken over by weeds, so thicken up these areas for natural weed control. If there is a chance that curious or thoughtless visitors and delivery people may trample or drive on these spots, grab a handful of lawn flags from the store and plant them all around the perimeter of the area where you spread the seed to protect these areas until the grass is growing well.

Ongoing Lawn Maintenance

You don't need timed sprinklers or a regular schedule to water the lawn. In fact, you only need to water your lawn when the tips of the blade of grass start to curl and turn brown. When this happens, spend about an hour truly saturating the lawn.

Ideally, you'll want to give the grass about half an inch of water. Wait for about two hours, and then do it again. This type of heavy saturation promotes quick growth that will naturally choke out the weeds and leave you with healthy, green grass.

You also want to fertilize your lawn to keep it looking amazing on a year-round basis, but you only have to do this once a year. Apply a slow-release, nitrogen-rich fertilizer once a year in late summer or early fall. Alternately, you can simply fertilize the lawn with an organic blend from a local farm or garden, or make your own with a simple DIY recipe.

You can also fertilize your lawn naturally by skipping regular fall raking sessions. Instead of raking the leaves, mow them instead. This will shred them into a natural mulch that helps your lawn retain moisture through the winter. It will also save you some extra yard work and all that nonsense of raking and bagging leaves.

Forget about bagging your grass clippings while you’re at it. Let them fall where they may so they, too, can add natural mulch to your lawn. You don’t have to mow your grass constantly, either. Let it grow to about 3 inches tall before you mow, and cut your grass less frequently.

Pick and Choose Your Weeds

All weeds can't be painted with the same broad brush. Some weeds are actually beneficial to your lawn and not so bad to have around. Dandelions can improve soil structure and don't do any damage; they just stand out in the lawn. Clover actually provides the soil with nitrogen, something it needs anyway.

Crabgrass is a weed you do want to banish. Focus on getting rid of the weeds that are harming your lawn, and leave the ones that aren't actually doing any damage.

Being Lazy with Your Lawn

It’s your lawn, and you’re allowed to be lazy about its upkeep if you want to. Use simple hacks, tricks, and lazy DIY solutions to keep your grass greener and your lawn much healthier. You don’t have to get out there every minute, or even every week, to keep your lawn looking so amazing that other neighbors notice and envy it. You can be lazy and still have a great yard, along with lots more time to spend enjoying it.