Having a yard at home is a blessing in disguise. The yard can be an exclusive area for your birthday and anniversary celebrations or gatherings with your friends and family. Plus, the added factor of being in nature is definitely an attractive feature.
But it can be difficult to maintain the yard because it is exposed to natural elements 24/7. It receives harsh winds, heat, rain, and snow repeatedly. Mundane human activities like walking over the grass can also have adverse effects on the yard if it is continuously neglected. Luckily, there are ample solutions to these common problems.
Flooded and Sunken Areas
When the rainy season comes, and your yard is unprepared to take the bulk of the rainfall, it can cause serious flooding on your property. Stagnant water that collects in the sunken areas of your yard can kill your grass, create a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and leak into the foundations of your house.
Experiencing this once shouldn’t be alarming, but when your yard turns into a swamp every time there is heavy rainfall, you should start taking action. Flooding can result from a faulty or unmaintained drainage system that can no longer do its intended job.
If you find that your drainage system requires your attention, consider having a trenchless sewer repair over traditional methods. This is a less invasive fix that won’t completely disrupt your yard because the new pipe will only be inserted through the existing one instead of needing excavation to replace the broken pipes.
All drainage systems are subject to wear and tear over time. This is because they aren’t as well-maintained as the other parts of the house. However, to avoid such problems from reoccurring in the future, you should take the time to schedule routine maintenance for your pipes and drains as well.
Weeds and Bald Spots
Weeds on the yard are a sight for sore eyes, but so are bald spots. Any plant that grows in your yard without you intending to can be considered a weed. These are opportunistic plants that grow in specific temperatures, constantly moist land, and barren areas of the yard.
Typically, weeds can be left alone because they will die off on their own at the end of their life cycles. But if you prefer to keep your yard manicured, there are simple solutions to solve this weed problem that isn’t too hard to implement.
One way is to use selective herbicides that target the weeds’ photosynthesis process or apply pre-emergent herbicides to stimulate uncontrollable growth. You can also manually pick the weeds out or mow the yard if you prefer non-chemical approaches to solve this issue.
To have bald spots in your yard is like to openly invite a weed invasion at your expense. Bald spots are patches of dirt in the grass caused by heavy foot traffic or plant disease. These spots can be fixed by digging up the land, tilling the area, and replacing the topsoil to accommodate grass growth.
Moss and Mushroom Overgrowth
There is a fine line between appropriately watered and drowning yards. Usually, yards will need one to two inches of water per week to remain healthy, but that still depends on the soil and weather conditions that you have in your location. Too little water can cause the grass to shrivel up and die, but too much water can invite an overgrowth of moss and poisonous fungi.
Moss can grow on any soil because of its shallow roots, making it harder to control. Invisible to the naked eye, moss spores are mixed in the air, awaiting a moist surface where they can germinate and mature.
Like moss, mushrooms can grow in wet soil and reproduce with great speed because they release spores into the air. The presence of moss and mushroom overgrowth can indicate underlying drainage issues because the moisture in the soil is a recurring problem.
Mushrooms aren’t necessarily harmful to your yard’s health. In fact, they can be healthy for your grass because the decaying organic matter can act as a naturally occurring fertilizer. But mushrooms can also prove hazardous to small children and animals that frequent the area because some variants can be poisonous.
To solve the moss overgrowth problem, you can check your drainage system for potential damages. You can also manually pick out the mushrooms to avoid complications with accidental ingestion. Still, you should know that it won’t be a permanent solution because they are almost impossible to get rid of.
You shouldn’t take your yard for granted. Just because you occasionally put in the work to take care of it doesn’t mean that it will stay that way forever. Like house plants that you keep inside your home, you will also need to show your yard the love and care it deserves to survive against the natural elements.
