Lawn Care & Maintenance Learning Center

Before cutting your grass here in Texas, you need to check a few things on your lawn mower to ensure it can do its job well and everything goes smoothly. The first thing you want to check is the sharpness of the blades. When they're sharp, they make cleaner cuts, whereas when they're dull, they can rip or tear the grass blades. You also want to ensure the mower deck height is set properly for your specific turf type, as some may need to stay longer while others can tolerate going shorter. The last thing you should check before cutting your grass is the engine oil. Dirty oil can affect how efficiently the engine runs, so you'll want to keep it clean to prevent any potential damage. By checking these three things on your lawn mower, you can ensure a smooth mowing experience and keep your lawn looking great!

1. Check that your lawn mower's blades are sharpened.

One of the most important things you need to check on your lawn mower before cutting your grass is that the blades are sharpened. Sharp blades make cleaner cuts, which not only keeps the grass blades looking neat but healthy, too. On the other hand, dull mower blades can negatively impact your lawn because they have a tougher time cutting through it, potentially ripping or tearing the grass. When this happens, it hinders its health and makes it more susceptible to diseases. Because of this, you'll always want to mow your lawn with sharpened blades so that you don’t end up...

Your lawn in Texas needs various nutrients to grow healthy and beautiful. Macronutrients are the primary essential ones it needs in larger quantities, which include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These three are crucial for helping your grass develop strong roots, maintain its vibrant green color, and withstand stressors. However, it also needs micronutrients like copper, iron, and zinc to promote healthy growth and robust root systems, strengthen its cell walls, aid in enzyme activation, and encourage chlorophyll production. To ensure your lawn receives everything it needs to thrive, you should enroll in a fertilization program that also comes with applications of micronutrients.

What macronutrients does your lawn need?

The three macronutrients your lawn needs to thrive include nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These nutrients are vital for keeping your turf healthy and looking great throughout the year. Here's some more information about what each provides:

• Nitrogen helps your grass produce chlorophyll, which gives it its desirable green color. Chlorophyll also contributes to photosynthesis, which feeds and energizes your lawn, thus promoting its health and vigor.
• Phosphorus helps strengthen your turf's roots and encourages deep, robust systems. With healthier roots comes healthier grass.
• Potassium aids in improved water retention and nutrient uptake, plus thickens your lawn's cell walls. That way, your grass is strong...

Weeds are a nuisance for your lawn in Texas. Not only do they drag down its curb appeal, but they also steal nutrients and other resources it needs to stay healthy! Fortunately, you can get ahead of these pesky plants before they sprout with pre-emergent weed control treatments, which you should apply at specific times to prevent them from causing problems in the first place. You'll also want to utilize post-emergents whenever you notice existing weeds, as these treatments will effectively eliminate them. Using pre- and post-emergents together will ensure you cover both ends of the weed life cycle and achieve a weed-free lawn!

Apply Pre-Emergent Weed Control to Prevent New Weeds From Growing on Your Lawn

Pre-emergent weed control treatments are essential for preventing new weeds from sprouting through the surface and causing problems for your lawn in the first place. These applications blanket your turf, absorbing into the soil and prohibiting newly germinated weeds from growing past a certain point. However, you'll want to administer them at the correct times to ensure maximum effectiveness.

The first pre-emergent weed control application should be in late winter/pre-spring. This timing ensures the treatment has enough time to sink into your soil and block newly germinated spring weeds from surfacing. The second application should be in early spring to build off the last and heighten your lawn's defenses against spring and summer weeds. You'll ...

Mowing your lawn in Texas is crucial to keeping it manicured and promoting optimal growth. However, it begs the question: should you mulch or bag your grass clippings afterward? While mulching means going over them again with specialized equipment to cut them down before leaving them on your lawn to decompose, bagging involves gathering and removing them. The best thing to do is to mulch them, as they'll return nutrients to your soil as they break down and serve as a natural fertilizer. Not only that, but it's also less effort to leave them rather than going over your turf again to collect them!

What's the difference between mulching and bagging your grass clippings?

After mowing your lawn, there are two things you can do with the grass clippings: mulch or bag them. Mulching means going over them again with specialized blades to cut them down further before leaving them on your turf, where they'll decompose. Since grass clippings mainly consist of water and are mulched into even smaller pieces, they don't take long to break down. On the other hand, bagging involves gathering and removing them after you mow your lawn. When deciding whether you should do one or the other, the best option is to mulch them.

Mulching Your Grass Clippings Will Return Nutrients to Your Soil as They Decompose

The grass clippings left behind after mowing your lawn are full of vital nutrients it needs, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. So,...

While mowing your lawn in Texas is crucial for keeping it well-maintained, it's equally important to do it right. Doing this maintenance task may sound straightforward, but it's possible to make huge mistakes that can jeopardize its health and curb appeal! For example, mowing with dull blades can rip the grass rather than cut through it cleanly, making it more susceptible to stressors like lawn diseases. You also may not be rotating your mowing patterns each time, which can cause ruts to form and push the grass in one direction. Another common mistake is bagging the grass clippings; these clippings are full of vital nutrients, and removing them will take away your lawn's chance to access them. Finally, mowing at the wrong height for your turf type can put additional stress on it, especially if it's too short.

1. Mowing Your Lawn With Dull Blades

One of the huge mistakes you could be making while mowing your lawn is doing so with dull blades. While sharpened blades will make clean cuts through the grass, dull ones won't, but rather rip and tear it. As a result, not only will this make your lawn appear choppy and uneven, but it'll also hinder its health and make it more susceptible to issues like lawn diseases. Because of this, it's vital to regularly sharpen your mower's blades to keep everything uniform and avoid putting additional stress on your grass.

2. Not Rotating Your Mowing Patterns Each Time You Cut Your Grass

Mowing your lawn in Texas is a crucial maintenance task you should do all year, as it keeps it manicured and healthy, plus boosts your property's curb appeal. However, the frequency changes depending on the season. So, how often should you mow? You'll want to do it bi-weekly in March for the start of the season, then switch to weekly from April until October, as this is when your lawn grows the most. In November, you can reduce mowing to bi-weekly again since it won't need it as often. Then, from December until February, you should only do it once a month to avoid harming your grass since it isn't actively growing.

You should mow your lawn bi-weekly in March and weekly from April until October.

During the winter, your lawn in Texas goes dormant to preserve its resources and strength. Once spring arrives in March, it symbolizes the start of the new growing season and when it emerges from dormancy. Because of this, you should mow your grass bi-weekly during this month to stimulate new growth. Then, from April until October, you'll want to do it weekly to keep up with it since it's now actively growing. Following this schedule during the most crucial period of the year will keep your lawn manicured and continue bolstering its overall health.

Switch Back to Bi-Weekly Mowing in November for Your Lawn in Texas

As the growing season ends in November, you'll want to reduce how often you mow your lawn in Texas to bi-weekly again. This...

At Buffalo Outdoor, we are thrilled to announce that Expertise.com has named us as one of the best landscaping and lawn care companies in Fort Worth, TX! We are proud that our commitment to providing high-quality services and ensuring customer satisfaction has been recognized. Expertise.com honors businesses that have proven to excel in professionalism and who put their customers above all else. We are elated to have received these prestigious awards and will continue to exemplify the qualities they represent when servicing properties in the Fort Worth area!

Who is Expertise.com, and why do these awards matter?

Expertise.com researches and identifies the top industry professionals in a variety of fields. They start with a broad pool of active professionals in a specific business category and geographical area. They then use custom tools to analyze publicly available data and grade the company on specific criteria. The companies that score the highest are recognized as the best in their area! These awards tell customers that the company they're hiring is an objectively quantified and qualified company picked by Expertise.com's rigorous selection process.

What do these awards recognize in companies?

The best landscaping and the best lawn care company awards recognize various qualities that are important to the consumer. Expertise.com selects companies that:

• Have a history of satisfied customers who recommend their services
• Are established in their...

Some people in Texas don't think they have to fertilize their lawn in the summer because they have warm-season grass. Well, we're here to tell you that you should still be fertilizing your grass because the summers in Texas can be brutal—yes, even for your warm-season grass. The summers can get incredibly hot, so your grass will need an extra boost of nutrients from some fertilizer to survive and thrive. Administer a round of fertilizer at the beginning of summer to prepare your grass for the heat ahead. Then, apply more fertilizer at the end of summer to help your grass recover from the stress of summer. During the season, you’ll also want to ensure that you're getting rid of weeds so your grass can benefit from these fertilizer treatments! Continue reading to learn more about the importance of fertilizing your lawn twice during the summer.

Fertilize your lawn once at the beginning of summer.

Even though we commonly have warm-season grasses in Texas, the summer can still be incredibly taxing on our lawn. The heat can sometimes be too much—especially in July and August—and the rise in temperature can your grass to struggle. That’s why it’s best to prepare your lawn for this heat with a fertilizer treatment at the beginning of summer. This treatment will supply your turf with essential nutrients that will boost its heat resistance and strengthen its root development to help it survive the summer heat.

Mosquito season is here in Texas, and these pests know how to put a damper on your outdoor festivities. However, there are a few ways to stop them from forcing you and your guests back inside. You can start by getting to the root of the problem and eliminating what's attracting them to your property in the first place. If you're short on time, you can set up natural repellents around you and your guests to keep the mosquitoes off everyone. However, the best method to keep mosquitoes off your property is to hire a professional pest control company. A pest control company will use highly effective products and systematically treat any areas on your property to prevent mosquitoes from gathering in your yard. By following these methods, you can continue enjoying the outdoors with your friends and family!

Reduce the mosquito population on your property by getting to the root of the problem.

Mosquitoes also hide under debris to take...

There’s an ongoing debate raging on concerning the practice of scalping and whether it’s beneficial for your lawn. Many argue you shouldn’t scalp your lawn because you might end up hurting your grass. However, there are certain circumstances where scalping will help your grass grow. For example, if you live in Texas and have either Bermuda or zoysia grass, then scalping after the last frost of the year can promote healthy grass growth during the growing season. This is because you’re exposing your soil to more sunlight by cutting your grass incredibly short. Although, you should be mindful of the grass clippings left behind as you mow. They will block that sunlight you’re trying to get to your soil. If you choose not to scalp your lawn before the growing season, then you can put your lawn’s overall health at risk.

The Benefits of Scalping Your Lawn

Despite some of the discourse surrounding scalping, it's something that's recommended in Texas because it promotes healthy growth during the growing season. You should aim to scalp your lawn every year after the last frost of the year but before your lawn emerges from winter dormancy. By removing all the old, dead grass from your lawn, you’re allowing more sunlight to hit your soil, which will warm it up and result in greener and more vibrant grass.