Do you want to level up your lawn game by structuring a well-enhanced outlook? Well, then edging must be something your lawn often needs to add beauty to your house and lawn respectively. Is it doable by yourself? Obviously a big yes with proper knowledge, tools, and method.
Scroll in the blog to find out how you can edge your lawn in 5 simple steps. Read it whole to avoid misunderstanding the procedure and small tips that you need to edge your lawn like a professional.
WHAT IS LAWN EDGING?
Lawn edging is mowing your grass in a vertical band shape contrary to mowing done in a horizontal way. It helps you create a visible line difference between your lawn and flower bed easing your management.
Lawn edging precise you with the area you have designed for your lawn by producing a borderline visible to sight. It creates a neat and well-maintained look in a lesser time with minimum effort.
Who does not want to have such an appealing look? Well then consider edging your lawn as we introduce you to every experience and knowledge we possess. Please read the whole blog in order to have sustained information if you are trying it for the very first time.
IMPORTANCE OF LAWN EDGING
Edging your lawn isn’t a necessary part of lawn maintenance, but there are some valuable benefits that are added along with lawn edging. Let’s see what lawn edging offers:
- A manicured and professional outcome to your lawn.
- Prohibits other grasses from invading your custom space.
- Helps you create an edging line between your lawn and flowerbeds.
- Provides a pathway for leisure strolls.
- A low-maintenance deal for enhancing the view of your lawn.
These reasons are obviously a deal maker for lawn owners to try lawn edging along with the guide and steps we provide you in this blog. Scroll further to manually acquire all the prerequisite knowledge you need to know for lawn edging.
TOOLS FOR LAWN EDGING
Before diving more into the process of lawn edging, let us know what tools are used for lawn edging. The most familiar equipment related to lawn edging are shears, cordless trimmers, and lawn edgers.
Lawn edgers are used as a broad spectrum when it comes to edging the lawn. There are mainly 6 different types of lawn edgers used for this purpose i.e. further categorized into manual and motor working types. We will see ahead how different types of tools are used for different types and angles of lawn.
Lawn edger and other tools respectively are used for creating a distinct borderline at various turfs of lawn or flower beds. The purpose lies in various reasons like creating a pathway, limiting your lawn span, or wanting to have a professional look at your lawn.
TYPES OF LAWN EDGERS
Before you get started with lawn edging, you need to first choose the correct type of lawn edger according to your lawn so that your needs are accomplished easily with less effort imbibed. Every edging equipment is designed according to the prerequisite user needs, so choosing the right type of equipment for your lawn is a very crucial step for this process.
There are mainly 6 types of lawn edgers used for edging the lawn and various other purposes. They are classified into two categories according to the work mode.
Manual Lawn Edgers
- Roller based
- Spade based
- Hand shears
Motorized Lawn Edgers
| Gasoline | Electric | Battery |
- Wheel based blade edger
- Stick based blade edger
- Adaptable String trimmers
MANUAL LAWN EDGERS
For those who are not friendly with lawn edgers, some types of equipment may seem torture and hectic experiment to them. The design of manual lawn edgers often describes a rolling wheel with spikes attached to it.
The wheel is further attached to a wooden handle which showcases the simplicity of these edgers. They are simple to use but require more than threshold energy at times to be spent to get done with edging which gets cumbersome at times.
Then why are such antique old principle working edgers still used by people? Well, there are several reasons manual lawn edgers remain one of the choices selected by lawn caretakers.
- Cheap: If you are owning a small budget for lawn maintenance or if you have a mini lawn, manual edgers can accomplish your task with a little amount of money spent.
- Durable: Complex equipment lasts up to a probable period with required maintenance; whereas manual edgers last for many years without needing much maintenance.
- Convenient: They are compact and minimum space consuming and can be stored anywhere accordingly. Also, you don’t have to worry about the availability of external sources such as electricity or gas which gives you the independence of working at your comfort.
- ROLLER BASED MANUAL EDGER
Roller-based manual edger has spikes or steel cutting disc attached to a lacquered handle for strength and durability. This instrument works on the principle of rotation which requires physical strength to get the work done. You need to push down the spikes into the ground with downward constant force.
How to use a Roller based manual edger?
Once you start it, get a few feet of edging done. Pull it back and then push it forward about 6″ to 18″ into uncut areas (think of back 2 feet and then forward 3 feet). Keep doing this all the way down the driveway.
Understand that the first time you use it, the ground will be harder to break. After that, you will already have made an edge and that should make it a lot easier for your subsequent uses. Recommend you use it hours after or the day after a rainstorm as this makes the ground softer and easier to cut and shape through.
- SPADE BASED MANUAL EDGER
Spade-based edgers are one of the simplest manual edgers you can try as a beginner to get your work done with lesser effort. It has a spade that comes in various shapes such as semicircular or rectangle. The spade provides a user much flexibility while digging in the ground as the spade penetrates the soil more easily with less pressure applied compared to other lawn edgers.
If you need to cut out any roots, vines, or branches this is the tool for you. It has a good weight to it but is neither too heavy nor too light. It’s like the just-right porridge from the story. Put medium enough torque on the handle and you won’t have any issues with the shaft or the handle.
- SHEAR-BASED MANUAL EDGER
Shear-based manual edgers are a handy mini type of equipment you can have on your lawn. They are also commonly known as hand shears. They have shears at the end along with the holder.
You have to use the right alignment to dig in with both hands while you can readjust the length of the handle. So next time if you want to get your lateral alignment fixed in a standing position, shear-based manual edgers can help you out.
MOTORIZED LAWN EDGERS
In a motorized lawn edger, there can be 3 specifications of it:
- Gasoline
- Electricity
- Battery
Gasoline – gasoline-powered lawn edgers are usually wheel-based edgers that have an adjustable blade attached to them which can be easily replaced. The lawn edgers mostly have a 2-stroke or 4-stroke engine. These machines are very powerful and can do a superb job of edging the lawn. The only downside to this edger is that it takes a lot of maintenance when bringing it back for a new season and consumes more resources than a battery-powered or electric edger.
Electricity – Electricity-based edger can be of the wheel based as well as stick based as the direct power can support a heavy machine. The electricity-based wired edger works the same as an engine-based but has an electric motor attached to it instead and can be as powerful as the engine. The electric edgers are quiet, have really low maintenance, and are very energy efficient than a 2-stroke or 4-stroke engine edger.
Battery – battery-powered edgers are mostly stick-based edgers as the motor is not as heavy and powerful as the electric-based or gasoline-based but sometimes it can be wheel-based which has bigger and better batteries. These edgers are very portable and can be used the same as the other two but sometimes have less power due to the power restrictions.
- WHEEL BASED BLADE EDGER
Wheel based lawn edger comes with a vertical blade attached to it to create a perfect edge in the lawn. The blade is adjustable according to the need and type of the lawn and can be replaced very easily. These kinds of edger are mostly pushed edger and mostly runs on 2-stroke or 4-stroke gasoline en
- STICK BASED BLADE EDGER
Stick blade lawn edger works the same as the wheel-based lawn edger. They also have a blade attached to the bottom of the edger which can be easily replaceable with a new one. But instead of pushing the edger on the lawn, you need to hold it with the help of a stick attached to it which usually runs from electricity but sometimes with a small gasoline engine.
- ADAPTABLE STRING TRIMMERS
String lawn edgers are different from normal blade lawn edgers as they have a string attached to the rotary. The string spins at 1000 to 1200 Rpm and with this speed, it can easily chop or cut the grass blades.
The advantage of string lawn edger is that it can be used vertically as well as horizontally. The edger is usually run from electricity and can be cordless or a plugged lawn edger. The strings can be adjusted in length and can be easily replaced.
WHEN AND HOW OFTEN TO EDGE YOUR LAWN?
Edge your lawn prior to and after the peak growing season i.e.spring. Well, in short edge your lawn in the early period of June and one another batch in the late period of August. This is suggested if you are edging the lawn for the first time because this is the time when you will find appropriate soil condition which allows you to trim a larger amount easily.
Well once after you trim your lawn sharply and precisely, you don’t have to edge it every time after mowing. Instead, you are left up just with the touch-up work of your edges in an interval of every 1-2 weeks depending on the growth of your lawn grass. So edge your lawn deeply at least once a year and the rest of the time just do the necessary part.
Note: Don’t procrastinate and let your efforts go in vain by not edging at regular intervals.
HOW TO EDGE YOUR LAWN IN 5 SIMPLE STEPS?
- Choose the right type of edging tool
Lawn edging can be a tedious task to get off your list every time if you don’t use the proper and exact type of edging tool you need for your lawn. Observe your lawn type, soil aggregation and composition, lawn size, and seasonal growth changes to find a precise tool for your lawn if you are deciding to make an investment in buying an edging tool. Else you can rent edging tools or go for cheap suitable manual edgers if your lawn size is manageable and minimum.
- Best time to edge your lawn easily
If you start edging according to your mood today at the end of the season with compact soil and healthily grown grass; then sorry my friend, you will end up getting irritated as you won’t be able to edge unless with harsh efforts and a very long time.
Therefore it’s very important to choose the correct phase to edge your lawn. But what is the right time to edge? Well, you should edge your lawn at the beginning of the spring season when your soil is less firm and your grass has not reached its peak. That’s the best time to edge your lawn.
- Mow your lawn before edging
This is one of the most ignored steps while edging. But trust me, mowing your lawn before initiating the process of edging can really ease the task and beautify the outcome more readily than continuing it without mowing first.
So do a little bit of mowing in your lawn and edges as it will provide you with smooth and manageable grass while you edge your lawn. Thus mowing before edging helps you ease out the process of edging far more than you would expect.
- Plan a layout to create an outline
To create a professional and manicured outlook to your lawn, first of all, create a structure you want to shape your lawn into and create an outline accordingly. This will help you have a precise angle, border, and scope your perimeter to edge upon which will eventually help you geometry your lawn into a perfect neatly edged shape. You can also install permanent edging by using bricks which will help your edging last quite much longer than expected.
- Final Step: Edge your lawn on a marked perimeter
Edging your lawn will be very manageable once you have chosen the right tool, time, and outline to circumcise your lawn professionally. First of all, learn to use the tool properly in your backyard if you are not confident enough. Then start edging the lawn from one point and reach till the other end. It may take some time, but once you are familiar; edging won’t be a big deal.
DOS AND DON’TS WHILE EDGING
- Before you get started with edging your lawn, lower down your grass with a lawnmower up to two and a half inches tall.
- Don’t mow it too low as the blades won’t be able to grow and will start holding up as many roots as they can to produce lush and thick grass patches.
- Understand the difference between trimming and edging. Both trimming and edging tools are different i.e. trimming are fragmenting parts of grass where your lawnmower can’t reach whereas edging is solely used for creating a differentiating border.
- Always begin and end at a particular point rather than just edging it from anywhere. Wear safety glasses and earplugs when operating power tools.
- Be alert while edging around rocks or any other solid obstacle to avoid damaging your blade.
- Keep your hedges maintained so that you don’t have to remove all foliage once suddenly.
- After the lawn has been mowed and edged, treat weeds with lawn weed killers to keep your lawn healthy throughout the time period.
- Don’t use an inappropriate amount of lawn weed killers as it may dismantle your lawn health further. Always use the correct amount as prescribed on the product.
- Clean up your lawn always after edging. You can also use a leaf blower or broom to sweep.
- Don’t allow debris to pile up as it can become an active spot for weeds to thrive.
WHEN TO LOOK FOR PROFESSIONAL HELP?
If you are clumsy or have a busy schedule person who can’t really abide to edge your lawn in a manicured looking manner, then you should look out for formal help as it must be appropriate to do so.
Many times people edge the lawn but can’t keep it healthy due to uncertain and improper use of tools according to their lawn size and type. If you are unsure about doing it for the first time, then don’t think twice to take the help of a lawn-friendly person or a lawn professional as it can save you a lot of time and effort.
Whereas if you can’t afford any then practice and consistency make your edging perfect. Follow our tips and blogs properly to make fewer errors while edging your lawn. Get Set Edging!
