Florida's heat and fertilizer restrictions in the Tampa Bay area can make maintaining a perfect lawn a challenge. Luckily, the author of Lawn Care for Dummies and Bayer Advanced Lawn Expert, Lance Walheim, had some great advice when it came to keeping your yard beautiful all year long.
Walheim said following the following steps should yield success:
- Step 1: Chose the right mower. The key here is the use a mulching blade and leave clippings on the lawn, according to Walheim. That way your lawn stays naturally fertilized with cut grass.
- Step 2: Adjust your mower to the proper height for warmer months. Walheim recommends leaving your grass long, between 4"-5" in height.
- Step 3: Correct watering. Living in Florida, we know there are water restrictions during the summer months, especially when we haven't gotten rain, so it's important to equip your sprinkler system with the right technology. Watering timers, meters, and moisture sensors will all help keep your water usage in check, said Walheim, so nothing is going to waste.
- Step 4: Proper fertilization. This is vitally important to maintaining Florida's waterway. Nitrogen fertilizers are banned during the summer months in Tampa, Pinellas County, and other bay areas, because the runoff can leach into rivers, ponds and the bay, causing damaging algae blooms. Click here for more information on the type of fertilizer you should buy.
- Step 5: Control your weeds. Walheim said a broad spectrum fertilzer, like Bayer's 3-in-1 Weed & Feed for Southern Lawns, should keep your yard weed free when applied properly.
The video above will give you more information on each step.
