Not just the lawn owners; all the garden owners have the same problem. How to take care of the garden or lawn while on vacation? Everybody always looks for a way to take care of the lawn during vacation time. Some even give up on their dream lawn, thinking of the same fact.
Anyway, taking care of the lawn while staying outside is not a big deal. We need a vacation or take a break from our daily lives and still have to care for the lawn. And it’s actually possible to do both of them at the same time. And that’s what we are going to talk about in this content.
We have some essential tips to share that you need to follow before you leave for the vacation. Also, we have some tricks that will keep your lawn healthy while you are outside. To learn all of them, you need to concentrate on this content. I promise, today, you will learn some exciting hacks that you may not be aware of in the past.
6 Things To Do on The Lawn Before You Go on a Vacation
First, I will share the most effective tips you need to follow before going on a vacation. You must have enough time to complete the tasks when you plan for a break. But I am not sure how you can do that if it’s a sudden vacation. Still, I would suggest you do as much as it is possible for you before you leave.
1. Change the Mowing Strategy Before Going on a Vacation
You should adopt a perfect mowing scheme before you set out for a trip. Shearing lawns may largely rely on a few factors. It’s all about your choice of grass size, soil quality, grass varieties, seasonal weather plight, and so on. However, when you are planning to go on a vacation, you must be aware of how many days you will take to live outside.
So, before you leave, you need to trim it at such a dimension so that it neither can grow too long nor remains too short when you are back. It’s necessary because the incongruous level of the grass doesn’t seem to be better in the question of lawn health or its outward appearance.
However, if you think it might take about a month or more, there is no way left but to ask your neighbor to mow for you or hire a lawn care agency to work on the lawn while you won’t be there. You need to ensure that the grass will be at a proper height so you won’t have to face a wild, abandoned space full of long grass when you return home. And it will require a lot of time and effort to fix that.
2. Try to Find a Way to Water the Lawn
Since you will miss your home for a few days, which may be a week-long span of time or more, you need to ensure that your lawn gets water to live on. If it is winter and snowfall is expected, you may not have to think much. The snow will melt in the morning, and thus your lawn will get water from nature.
But if this happens on summer days, you must remember that excessive heatwave can cause significant harm to your green lawn carpet. It can even face death due to a lack of ample watering. Before packing up, you must sprinkle sufficient water to keep it naturally vivid and greenish.
This process will certainly help the turf stay healthy and risk-free from any fatality. Also, it will help the lawn to be safe from grisly invasion by pernicious insects and other diseases. However, if you don’t have a sprinkler on the lawn, you have to ask your neighbor or a caring landscape agency for help.
3. Don’t Leave Anything on the lawn
Before you leave your home for a few days, make sure not to put any hard and heavy objects on the lawn. Leaving cars, motorcycles, bicycles, or any other vehicle should be avoided at any cost. Also, remove your tools like a spade, shovel, sports items like a bat, football, baseball stick, helmet, trampoline, and any kind of boxes or other stuff from the lawn.
Remember that these heavy objects can lead the grass to have great damage, thwart its growth, and break its leaves. They can even disfigure the grass badly. For sure, those objects create shades and cause colossal pressure on the soft grass. As a result, the grass in that place can die. So, to take care of your lawn while on vacation, it is necessary to leave it freely.
4. Applying Fertilizer is Not a Good Idea Before Leaving Your Home
Many people think that applying fertilizer before going on a vacation can help the lawn stay healthy. Buy that’s not a good idea anyway. Even if it is high time to fertilize the land, you should skip it only if you are ready to go.
In this case, it’s better to fertilize a month before you leave or after your arrival. When your lawn gets fertilized, it needs sufficient care for proper adjustment. And sometimes, it may not be possible owing to your disappearance. Therefore, hurriedness, in this case, is highly discouraged. So, enjoy your vacation and have a lot of fun, leaving the thought of fertilizing the lawn at home.
5. Use Pesticide Before You Leave for a Long Time
So if you are going on a vacation for a long time, like a month or more, you should do something to keep your lawn safe from pests. For that, using the right pesticide or insecticide is the best idea. Make sure to apply it at least a week before you leave. After applying pesticides, you have to water the lawn regularly.
If it is a short tour for about a week, you don’t need to use pesticides on the lawn. Pests take time to spread and won’t do any significant harm in a week. But when you are going for a long time, you have to think about the insect attacks on your lawn. Just make sure to choose the suitable insecticide in this case.
6. Clean the Lawn
Finally, you have to clean the lawn. There must be dry leaves, weeds, and debris around your lawn. You need to ensure removing all of them before you leave. If your lawn has excessive thatch, you should remove them as well. Remember that weeds and excessive thatch can bring different lawn diseases, especially if you are not taking care of it regularly.
So, make sure to clean the lawn right before you will. Your effort to clean the lawn will reduce your task after returning. And these are the six things you need to ensure before you leave for a vacation. Other than these, you can follow some essential tips as well. The next section will tell you about it.
Effective Tricks to Take Care of Your Lawn While on a Vacation
We have some tricks that can save you when you are out for a while. I am not sure about how many of them are possible for you to follow, but I’ll definitely suggest you do your best. These tips are not just adequate for your vacation lawn care routine but also to keep your lawn healthy even if you are at home.
1. Invest in a Smart Sprinkler
A water sprinkler system is a must for any size and type of lawn. And for people who often go on a vacation, there is no better way to water the lawn while on vacation. If it is an innovative sprinkler system, you can schedule watering the lawn, and it will water automatically even when you are not there. That’s why we always suggest having a smart sprinkler system on the lawn.
2. Buy a Robot Mower
There are different types of mowers, and you must be heard of the automatic robot lawn mower. People nowadays are getting more interested in this kind of mower, though it is quite expensive. However, people love this mower as it can mow the lawn automatically. But do you know it can mow the lawn even if you are not home?
Just like setting the water sprinkler system, you can set the mower schedule if you have an automatic mower. And there is no reason to think about where to place it when you are out. Most smart robots come with anti-theft technology, so you can leave them outside your home without thinking about the theft issue.
3. Complete All the Big Lawn Care Task Earlier
You may have large and time-consuming tasks on your lawn care schedule. It can be fertilizing the lawn, reseeding it, applying pesticides, aerating the lawn soil, or Anything similar. You should complete those tasks at least one month earlier. It will ensure safety; in any case, the lawn needs extra care because of the change.
4. Hire a Lawn Care Agency
It is your must-try to hire a lawn care agency in a particular situation. Hiring an agency is mandatory if you don’t have a friendly neighbor who can take care of your lawn while on vacation, you don’t have an automatic mower, and you don’t have a smart sprinkler.
Even if you are going out for two weeks, you should hire someone to water the lawn at least. Without water, your lawn can die within a few weeks. So, you should hire someone for that, even if it costs a little money. Also, if you are out for a month or more, you should ask them to mow the lawn and clean it, besides watering it regularly.
5. Make a Plan to Use Your Machines
If you have an automatic mower and intelligent sprinkler system, you need to make a plan to use them. Before you leave, make sure to make a schedule and set them on the mower and the sprinkler system. Also, you should make a plan for other things regarding your lawn and garden care.
So, these are the basic things you can do if you are used to going on vacation so often. I don’t think your money will be wasted if you invest in a smart sprinkler and a robot mower. Even if you don’t have to go on a vacation so often, they will greatly help your daily lawn care schedule.
FAQ
Q: Should I arrange to water the lawn while on a winter vacation?
A: If your place has snowfall in the winter when you will be on vacation, you can skip the arrangement for watering the lawn. But you should hire someone to remove the snow if it has a thicker layer.
Eventually, you should hire a person to water the lawn if it is not snowing and you are out for two weeks or more. Your lawn won’t stay healthy for a couple of weeks without water, even if the temperature is low.
Q: Should I fertilize the lawn right before going on a vacation?
A: No, you shouldn’t fertilize the lawn at least a couple of weeks before you go on a vacation. Remember that your lawn needs extra care right after fertilizing it. So, you should give it time to set with the fertilizer and then leave it alone for the vacation.
Q: How many days can I skip mowing the lawn for vacation?
A: Usually, you can skip mowing for one to two weeks at most if you are on vacation. The time can vary based on the growing seasons, the type of grass, and the height of the grass you prefer. However, you should mow it when the grass is longer than 5 to 6 inches.
Q: How can I hire an agency to take care of my lawn while on vacation?
A: Finding a lawn care agency is not a big deal. You can search for it on Google Maps or on any social platform. We suggest connecting to some of the local agencies so that you can ask for help from them anytime.
Q: Is it worth buying an automatic mower?
A: Yes, buying an automatic mower is worth it, especially if you often go on vacations. This kind of mower can move automatically and mow the entire lawn even if you are not at home. An automatic mower definitely makes your mowing session effortless. Eventually, it can mow better than a professional mower. Some of them come with excellent features like anti-theft technology, automatic changing function, noiseless operating, and so on.
Bottom Line
Vacation is an essential part of our life. Taking a few days off your routine will keep you to stay active and improve your mental health. So, you should go on a vacation oftentimes to take a break. And your lawn will be healthy, too, if you follow the tips mentioned. Hopefully, you won’t have to think much about how to take care of your lawn while on vacation.
Now, just pack your stuff and do the necessary task to complete before you leave for a vacation. Then make your vacation lawn care plan, and then fly for the vacation. But make sure to do all the essential tasks to make your lawn save. Otherwise, it can die. And revive a dead lawn is not an easy task. So, be careful.
We hope you will enjoy your vacation and return safely to your home, where the lawn is waiting for you. Stay safe and healthy. Thank you.