Information given on the Around the House Show should not be considered construction or design advice for your specific project, nor is it intended to replace consulting at your home or jobsite by a building professional. The views and opinions expressed by those interviewed on the podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Around the House Show.
Spring is here, and with it comes the grand revival of our lawns! This week, we’re diving deep into the nitty-gritty of lawn care just in time for Memorial Day. Now, let’s be real—no one wants a lawn that looks like it’s auditioning for a horror flick, so we’re here to ensure yours is the envy of the neighborhood. I’m talking about some essential maintenance tips that’ll have your grass looking lush and green. First off, let’s chat about lawnmower love. A sharp blade is your best friend—think of it as giving your grass a fresh haircut rather than a buzz cut! I’ve got a little secret: I keep two sets of blades handy so I can keep things sharp without skipping a beat. Plus, who wants to mess around with a dull mower? No one, that’s who! And while we’re at it, let’s not forget about fertilizing. It’s like feeding your lawn a power snack, but make sure you’re not overdoing it. We discuss the importance of checking soil nutrients, and I might just drop some recommendations on how to get that done without turning your yard into a science experiment. So grab your garden gloves, tune in, and let’s get your lawn looking like a million bucks—without breaking the bank!
Takeaways:
- Spring is the perfect time to check your lawnmower’s blade sharpness, ensuring a clean cut for a lush lawn.
- Don’t just mow your lawn; make sure to never cut more than a third of the grass height to keep it healthy and thriving!
- Consider using a lawn care service that sends you specific nutrients based on your soil’s needs, avoiding the dreaded over-fertilizing disaster.
- Watering is crucial, especially in regions where summer droughts are common, so avoid letting your lawn turn into a crispy critter!
- If you’re planting seeds, now’s the time! Waiting until the heat of summer can lead to a lawn care nightmare later on.
- Maintaining your lawn equipment with quality gas and regular maintenance will save you hassle and ensure your gear runs smoothly all season long.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Pacific Crest Custom Cabinets
- Around the House HQ
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Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:The House with Eric G. Your Go to source for Everything home Improvement Whether you're a DIY enthusiast or just looking to make your space shine, Eric G.
Speaker A:Is here to guide you through the latest tips, tricks and trends.
Speaker B:So grab your toolbox, put on your thinking cap and let's get to work right here on around the House with.
Speaker A:Eric G. Welcome to the around the House show, your trusted source for everything about your home.
Speaker A:Thanks for joining me today.
Speaker A:I'm Eric.
Speaker A:This is our midweek show.
Speaker A:This is where we talk about the stuff that didn't make it into last weekend's or this weekend's and man, we got a lot going on right now and super stoked with what's going on at the show.
Speaker A:We got some great new things coming up.
Speaker A:Boy, it's Wednesday morning.
Speaker A:I got some things to do this week.
Speaker A:I'm gonna try to get my cabinetry bases installed in the new studio.
Speaker A:We'll be filming that today as well as thanks again to Pacific Crest Custom Cabinets out of Ridgeville, Washington for that.
Speaker A:Those guys love them over there, but doing business with them for 20 plus years.
Speaker A:They're my local custom cabinet shop here that's they do a great job building stuff for builders and things like that.
Speaker A:Definitely a quality cabinet.
Speaker A:Actually put them in my house that I had over in Lake Oswego which was pretty cool.
Speaker A:So that's a company I have worked with for decades.
Speaker A:And then of course thanks to Florida Core, I've got a bunch of new stuff going in there.
Speaker A:So you're going to start seeing a bunch of stuff coming out on that here soon.
Speaker A:As soon as I get some projects done, get the videos put together.
Speaker A:You'll see that on the around the House HQ YouTube page.
Speaker A:That's our new one over there where we're kind of up.
Speaker A:We have the podcast stuff, the long form podcast going on the around the House Eric G. Where you'll see videos for many of the podcasts soon.
Speaker A:For all of them there's a little breaking news.
Speaker A:That's why we're building out this new studio.
Speaker A:So yeah, and then the around the House HQ is more of the DIY projects, standalone videos, that kind of thing and and you can catch them both across those two platforms.
Speaker A:We've got a lot going on here.
Speaker A:I'm going to be working on an RV series as well, just kind of on the side.
Speaker A:Going to be putting together that pretty soon.
Speaker A:Just showing some people out there that are homeowners that want to get into RVing and that kind of thing.
Speaker A:Elise and I are going to do a little traveling here from time to time and taking some time.
Speaker A:That is one of my lessons that I have learned in all of my projects.
Speaker A:It's taken some me time from time to time, because I tell you what, over the last five years, I didn't do a great job of that.
Speaker A:And for my health and for everybody else's around me, it's good for me to get out, get away, and just relax a little bit.
Speaker A:The brain never turns off.
Speaker A:But dropping the fishing pole in the lake or the ocean is not a bad thing and good for your soul.
Speaker A:Well, today I want to talk a little bit about lawn care and things to worry about here in this kind of spring, late spring, as we're coming up into kind of Memorial Day weekend.
Speaker A:And one of the things that I like to take a look at is the health of my lawn.
Speaker A:Some of that comes down to even the lawnmower.
Speaker A:If you're mowing your own lawn, this is one of those things that you want to take a look at.
Speaker A:Do some lawnmower maintenance right now.
Speaker A:Is that blade sharp?
Speaker A:Every month I would take a look at that blade and make sure that it's dialed in and looking good.
Speaker A:Here is my secret for handling that.
Speaker A:And this works out really well.
Speaker A:What I do is I own two sets of blades for the lawnmower I have.
Speaker A:If you've got a tiny lawn, this doesn't work as well.
Speaker A:It's a little overkill.
Speaker A:But if you've got your traditional a quarter acre lot with a bunch of, bunch of grass on it, this is probably for you.
Speaker A:I would say once a month I would swap that blade out and throw that, the clean one on there.
Speaker A:And then just keep rotating those, making sure those blades are sharp, balanced.
Speaker A:You can take them down to a lawn store and they can do that for you.
Speaker A:You can get a few tools, do it yourself.
Speaker A:Just make sure that they're balanced and looking good.
Speaker A:If you have things like pine cones or anything that kind of gets kicked up, that natural debris, if you're hitting those, it's definitely that month.
Speaker A:If you've got a pristine lawn, no trees overhead, you might be able to go a little bit longer, depending on the grass and things like that.
Speaker A:Another thing, this time of year that's important, never cut more than a third of the height of the blade off.
Speaker A:That way you're not overcutting that lawn.
Speaker A:That's a big mistake that I see out there, that people do.
Speaker A:The other thing that I see that I think is super important is just Making sure that you're fertilized, you're taking care of the weeds in there and making sure that those nutrients in that soil are dialed in.
Speaker A:And really this is the time of year to do it.
Speaker A:If you're going to be doing some seed planting, now's the time of year to do it.
Speaker A:Otherwise you're going to probably want to wait till fall.
Speaker A:It can be very hard to do that in the hot summer months.
Speaker A:That's an important one.
Speaker A:So just taking some time getting those dialed in.
Speaker A:And then if you're watering your lawn, which I recommend to everybody here in the Pacific Northwest, and let me know in the comments if on our.
Speaker A:I'm gonna put this up on our page on Facebook, on the around the House page there, make sure you subscribe to that.
Speaker A:I'm gonna put it up with some comments on there in your area.
Speaker A:Like my area here in the Pacific Northwest, on the western side of the state, we have a habit in the cities where people don't water all summer long in the lawn just goes white.
Speaker A:Then when the fall rains come back in, it gets green.
Speaker A:So it's the opposite of many places in the country where the freeze will do that.
Speaker A:But here's the problem with that.
Speaker A:You have now created a very big fire hazard outside.
Speaker A:So I would not recommend that.
Speaker A:Plus it's very hard on your foundation.
Speaker A:You could be causing foundation cracks because if you've got clay soil that will expand and contract that and you're going to get the most movement out of the soil, which means the most chance of cracking for your house.
Speaker A:So make sure that you're watching that.
Speaker A:This morning we had a bunch of rain here, was great.
Speaker A:Woke me up about 4 o' clock this morning right before the alarm went off, which was awesome.
Speaker A:I love to hear it because we need it.
Speaker A:We need to get that.
Speaker A:I was driving home yesterday and I was really shocked and I was bummed, just totally bummed because I'm looking out, I'm like, man, it's mid May and the side of the road is white already because we haven't had enough rain and we didn't get it over the winter.
Speaker A:We've got, I think 20% average snowpack up in the mountains.
Speaker A:So it's pretty rough.
Speaker A:So we're going to have a severe drought this summer.
Speaker A:We're going to have fire weather.
Speaker A:So this is the time of year to take care of that stuff.
Speaker A:Get things as healthy as you can around there.
Speaker A:And again, lawn care is a big part of it.
Speaker A:Try to keep, try to keep it looking good.
Speaker A:Now here's the other thing that I want you to be careful with.
Speaker A:And this is a big one.
Speaker A:Make sure that you're not over fertilizing.
Speaker A:What I like to do is use one of the lawn care services out there that you can mail order.
Speaker A:There's different brands out there.
Speaker A:I have my favorites.
Speaker A:This isn't a commercial for this, not going to mention brand names, but you can actually send in the soil sample.
Speaker A:They will, they will take care of it for you.
Speaker A:And then they send you the nutrients that your soil needs.
Speaker A:And they're all natural, so it's really good stuff.
Speaker A:So that's not a bad thing to handle.
Speaker A:And that way you're not over fertilizing or under fertilizing.
Speaker A:You can just do what you need to do.
Speaker A:And those tests do a big thing for you.
Speaker A:So that's an important one.
Speaker A:So make sure you handle that correctly.
Speaker A:And then guys, just stay on top of that maintenance, stay on top of the lawnmower maintenance.
Speaker A:Make sure if you've got a gas one that I tell you what, make sure that you've got that clean oil in there.
Speaker A:You've done all the things, good gasoline in there.
Speaker A:I tell you what, you're seeing more and more lawn care professionals out there recommending the 93 octane for their lawnmowers and stuff out there because it has better packets of.
Speaker A:Guess what I would call it is, it has, it's got just better chemicals in there that keeps the carburetor clean and all that stuff on it.
Speaker A:And that will last a little bit longer with the chemical pack that is in that, in the higher test gasoline like that.
Speaker A:So spend a little time, do that.
Speaker A:If you can find the clear gasoline.
Speaker A:If they sell that with all the additives in it, that's no ethanol, no nothing.
Speaker A:That's my favorite for your lawn care stuff because that way you're.
Speaker A:It's going to hold up a lot longer.
Speaker A:These newer gases with the ethanol, it really comes up really quick.
Speaker A:So if you have a gas can waiting over the wintertime that was full, probably not the best gas.
Speaker A:So one of those things to be careful with.
Speaker A:And then of course just maintenance of all your string trimmers and things like that.
Speaker A:I have gone full battery for about seven years now.
Speaker A:And boy, I tell you what, no matter how big the lawn, it works really well.
Speaker A:So you get what you pay for with lawn care out there.
Speaker A:But if you take care of things, now's the time to really get it set up.
Speaker A:It'll make your life through the summer so much easier.
Speaker A:Don't underwater, don't overwater.
Speaker A:Take some time and make sure that you get that dialed in right now.
Speaker A:It'll save you money and it's going to be safer in case of a neighborhood fire or a wildfire.
Speaker A:You don't want that thing to be white out there because then that is another risk for you and the neighborhood.
Speaker A:All right, guys, if you want to find out more about us, head over to our website.
Speaker A:We're gonna have some new stuff coming up this week on around the house online.com we'll be sharing up some new stuff we've got going.
Speaker A:So I can't wait to do that.
Speaker A:I'm Eric G. Thanks for tuning in around the House.
Speaker A:Make sure that hit subscribe on your favorite podcast player and check us out on our Facebook group.
Speaker A:I'll be doing more over there each week.
Speaker A:We're going to make that really our best number one source for information on the show.
Speaker A:Thanks for tuning in around the House.
Speaker A:We'll see you Saturday.
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