Knowing how often you should use your grass edger is an essential part of staying on top of your garden care, so how often should you do this job, and do you need to edge your lawn?
In this article, we are going to be looking at various elements of lawn care, including how frequently you need to use a grass edger trimmer and when is the best time to edge lawn boundaries.
There is no hard and fast rule as to how often you should use your sidewalk edger, in truth, how frequently the lawn will need to be edged will depend on various factors including the time of year.
You will likely need to assess the situation each time you go outside to perform your garden maintenance tasks. However, one thing you should keep in mind is that you probably won’t need to use the lawn edger trimmer after every mowing session. This is purely because the grass will grow far more quickly than your boundaries will degrade.
As a general rule, many hobby gardeners will use their trimmer and edger every few times that they mow, or at least every three mows. But looking at the edges every time you are in the garden will undoubtedly provide you with the visual clues needed to determine whether it is time to edge or not.
What is the Best Time of Year to Edge a Lawn?
Once again, there is no reason that you cannot begin edging your lawn at any time of the year; if you are looking at how to maintain a garden edge, it is essential to keep in mind that the job will never be done and will require ongoing care throughout the year.
That being said, you may find that it is more challenging to get the edger tools to penetrate the ground during the summer months. This is because the ground will have become far drier in the summer heat, and this can be a particular problem if you live in a very hot, dry climate. For this reason, if you are edging your lawn in the summer, it may be best to moisten the ground first and avoid using a powered garden edger tool since electricity and water do not mix well.
It is widely accepted that using an edger for lawn care is best done during the spring. The conditions and temperature are both optimal; the ground will not be as dry as it is the summer, nor will it be frozen as it would be during the winter months.
However, you should always keep in mind that during the spring, all of your garden plants will have an intense growth spurt, and this is due to the rising temperature and higher rainfall. Your lawn is one of the plants that will go through this sudden growth, and this might mean that you notice the lawn edges being overgrown more quickly. There is a good chance that during these months, you may need to use the grass edger cutter with every mow.
Will I Need to Edge More If I Fertilise?
Many homeowners use fertiliser or iron on their lawn to keep it healthy and lush, but there is some concern that this might affect the frequency of your lawn edging.
While using fertiliser is a great way to keep your grass looking in tip-top condition, this will mean that the growth rate will significantly speed up (depending on the seeds you’re using). In turn, you will notice that the grass will exceed its boundaries more often than grass that has not been treated with fertiliser.
For this reason, it is recommended that you pay special attention to the state of the edges each time you mow and assess whether they could do with a little maintenance. You might need to start using an edger for lawn care every other mow, so you must be prepared to put in the hard work if you want to keep that professional and well-manicured appearance.
What’s the Best Way to Edge a Lawn?
One of the first things that you need to think about when it comes to using a grass edger is the type of tool you will use. Your needs will determine the kind of sidewalk edger that is best for you, and in the main, there are four main types;
- Manual lawn edger trimmers are not powered and usually feature either a half-moon blade or a rotary blade on the end of a long handle. They are great for smaller lawned areas and are very affordable. The downside is that using them can be physically demanding.
- Gas-powered garden edger tools are powered using a petrol engine and are widely accepted to be the most powerful and effective type of trimmer and edger, offering excellent performance. They are ideal for more extensive lawns owing to their continuous power and lack of power cord. However, these grass edger cutters are more challenging to use and give off harmful emissions.
- Corded edgers connect to the mains power and are comparable in power to the gas edger we have just discussed. However, they are far more lightweight and easy to use, making them one of the most popular types of grass edger. They may not be suitable for huge lawns since you are tethered to a power society which can restrict your freedom of movement.
- A cordless edger is one of the most convenient types since it is easy to use and portable. They are powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery which means you can use them on massive lawns without limit. However, this does mean that your power supply will be limited, and you may need to stop to replace or recharge the batteries halfway through the job.
Once you have figured out the type of edger for your lawn that will work best for you, there is a particular method that you should use to ensure that your garden edges always look precise, even and well-maintained.
To begin with, you should place the edger blade between the edge of the lawn and the surface next to it; you may edge along any surface you wish, and this can include but is not limited to driveways, sidewalks, flower beds and walls. If the edger that you are using features a wheel, this should rest on the adjacent surface and not on the lawn. However, if you are edging a flower bed, you would place the wheel on the lawn.
You must run your edger back and forth along the edge of the lawn until the desired depth is reached and this is very simple if you are using a powered tool. In the main, you will be required to do not more than simply walk along behind the lawn edger trimmer.
In contrast, if you are using a half-moon edger, the process may differ slightly. The tool will still need to be placed in the same position between the lawn and adjacent surface, but this time you will be relying on your own strength to drive it into the ground. When the blade is in place, you will put your foot on the step plate and use your force to push it into the ground.
Some of the powered garden edgers come with multifunctionality in mind and may also be used as a mini lawnmower, trencher or string trimmer, and these are excellent choices if you need a single tool to tackle many areas of lawn care.
Once you have gone around the entire perimeter of the lawn, you will be left with a lot of leftover soil, grass and debris. This can be used as mulch for the lawn or your flower beds but may also be disposed of with your other garden waste.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to move this mess is to use a leaf blower, but these can be costly, so it is perfectly acceptable to use a broom for this part of the job.
It can be tempting to rush through the edging process in an effort to get finished and enjoy the rest of your day. However, if this job is not done correctly, it can end up making your garden look unkempt and the opposite of what you wanted. Therefore, we would recommend taking your time and dedicating the time needed to create a beautiful-looking lawn edge. Once you have done this the first time, it will not take as long next time around.
Edge or Mow First?
One of the most common questions when it comes to edging a lawn is whether you should mow your grass and then use the edger tool or vice versa.
There are some people who prefer to mow first, but it is commonly accepted that edging first will yield the best results. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons for this.
When you edge your lawn, it is no secret that there will be a lot of mess leftover afterwards and whilst this can be cleaned up using one of the techniques that we discussed earlier, your lawnmower engine may allow you to pick up most of this when you mow after edging, saving you a lot of time.
Furthermore, if you edge last, it can be difficult to get the clippings up from the lawn, and this can result in a more untidy looking garden.
In contrast, mowing first will allow you to get the biggest job out of the way before anything else, and this can make you feel as though you are accomplishing more in a short time.
Safety Tips
Edging your lawn is a sure-fire way to keep your garden looking incredible and will drastically improve the curb appeal of your home. It is no wonder that so many homeowners see this as an extremely important part of their outdoor maintenance. However, when you are using garden tools, especially those that are powered, you can never be too careful and keeping safety in mind is one of the most important aspects of this job.
One of the most common problems in terms of the safe use of a grass edger cutter is that piece of debris can be flung towards you; if they are significant enough they could cause a nasty injury, so it is vital that you get hold of the right protective gear such as face shields, eye goggles and leg protectors. Furthermore, you should not wear open-toed shoes and should always be sure to cover your body with long trousers and sleeves.
Gas-powered edgers are particularly noisy, but some of the electric and battery options can put out quite a lot of noise so you should be mindful of wearing the right protective ear covering.
Be sure to maintain your grass edger trimmer, especially if you are using a gas model as faulty equipment will not only be unable to perform and get the job done as effectively, but it might also cause an injury.
Conclusion
Edging your lawn has a wide range of benefits but is not one of the garden jobs that need to be done as often as mowing. You might only need to edge the lawn every few mows, but this could change depending on the time of year. For example, in spring, when the garden has a growth spurt, you will notice that you need to edge the lawn far more frequently. If you use a lawn fertiliser, you will likely need to get the grass edger out more often.
When using your lawn edger trimmer, you must be sure to follow the correct method and always keep safety at the forefront of your mind.
