Do you have a problem with your lawn looking unprofessional? One of the final steps of any lawn care routine that can make it look completed and defined is edging it. Not only does edging your lawn make it look more tidy and well-manicured, but it also helps to keep the grass from growing into the areas where you don’t want it to grow, such as sidewalks and driveways. Plus, edging your yard can improve drainage and keep weeds at bay.
Edging a lawn is a necessary task that should be done regularly, and it’s not as difficult as you might think! In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the edging process step by step, and show you the easiest way using a simple landscaping tool called an edger. So read on for all the info you need to get your lawn looking its best.
What Is Edging?
Edging your lawn is when you use either a tool called an edger, a string trimmer, or a lawn mower with a special attachment on it to cut a straight line along the edge of your lawn. Then you can just remove any of the grass that was spreading out over the boundaries of your lawn or garden, making your yard look clean and professional.
Why Is It Important?
First of all, edging your lawn makes your yard look more professional and sharp. It also helps to define the different parts of your lawn so they don’t blend together. Not only does this make your yard looks better, but it can help you identify problem areas where insects or diseases may be growing and spreading from.
Edging is also especially important around sidewalks and driveways, where tall grass can quickly turn into weeds that you don’t want!
Types of Lawn Edgers
A lawn edger is a tool that’s meant to cut precise lines around gardens, sidewalks, and driveways. It makes it easy to trim the edges of your grass without using a lawn mower by cutting clean lines around them. It may be used on a wide range of surfaces, and it has settings that can adapt to the height of the grass, including tall grass.
Edgers cut through the grass with a revolving blade connected to a handle, or sometimes with a replaceable spade-like metal tool on the end that sharply cuts down into the soil, so you are able to remove the grass.
There are two types of lawn edgers: manual and motorized, in which the motor can be powered either by electricity or gas.
Manual
Edgers that are entirely powered by you are known as Manual lawn edgers. There are Spade-Based, Rotary, and Shear Edgers as three common types. All of these work by cutting through the grass into the soil with either a spade-like blade, a rotating blade, or large scissors.
Gas-Powered
Gas-powered edgers are either two-stroke or four-stroke engines that operate on internal combustion. Although two-stroke engines are more popular, they must be fueled and lubricated on a regular basis. They are far less ecologically beneficial than four-stroke engines, which run clean but cost more and are heavier.
The gas-powered edgers are typically a little more durable than electric versions, and they can efficiently chop tangled roots that accumulate along the curb. If you have a big garden that needs extensive trimming or if you want to use a heavy-duty edger to get through stubborn weeds and hedges, these are probably the best option for you.
Electric
The Electric edger is the other type of motorized edger. These can be cordless or battery powered or they may be plugged into an outlet that gets electricity from the mains.
They’re typically lighter than gas-powered edgers, but they may not be powerful enough to cut through tough grasses and weeds in certain circumstances. They are also more environmentally friendly than gasoline-powered models, as well as being less expensive.
However, due to either their battery lifespan or the length of their cord, electric edgers are typically better suited for smaller to medium sized lawns and gardens.
String Trimmers
It is also possible to use a string trimmer to edge your lawn. They are a bit less neat and perfectly precise than a lawn edger, because edging is not their intended purpose, and they’re often more stressful on your arms and back.
However, if you already have a string trimmer or plan to buy one, this could save you storage space and money to not have to buy both tools.
Steps On How to Edge A Lawn
Follow these steps closely to make sure you get a clean and sharp edge on your lawn.
If you want to use an edger to do this work, read our reviews of the top edgers on the market.
Step 1: Prep Your Lawn
First, you want to mow the grass down to its lowest setting. It’s easier to edge your lawn when the grass is short, and you won’t be left with any unsightly bumps in your newly trimmed edges. Then, when everything is mowed, mark out your edging line by putting up string or garden hose along the line that you want to cut. Although you must be sure to not accidentally cut through these!
Step 2: Get to Edging
After everything is laid out and ready to go, start your edging work! If you are edging a specific side in a straight line, start at a corner and walk forward steadily and slowly. If you are doing a rounded edge or working around obstacles, it could be better to start from the obstruction or curve and then work both ways outward.
Step 3: Easy Does It
You don’t want to dig your edger – be it manual, electric, or gas powered – more than two inches into the soil. This is plenty deep to cut through the grass layer, but not deep enough to run afoul of any buried power lines or underground pipes or sprinkler systems.
Step 4: Finishing Touches
After your done working your edger along the entire boundary of your lawn and garden, you’ll have a lot of grass trimmings left over. Pick these up and either put them in the compost or you can re-use them in another gardening project!
Also, give your lawn a good watering, especially along the edging line, so that the grass can strengthen its roots in these areas and your grass edge will stay sturdy and strong, and you won’t have to worry about weeds or disease.
When putting away your tools, make sure to clean any dirt off of your equipment first, and dry the blades. You don’t want to put away tools or leave them out in the wet and rust, because you should keep your tools ready for use at all times!
Summing Up
If you want to take your lawn game up a notch, edging it is the best way to do so. Edging a lawn is an important step in the maintenance of your yard. It helps to create a well-defined boundary between different sections or levels, and can also be used to add visual interest by adding stones, mulch, flowers, etc.
And while it may seem like an intimidating task that only professionals can tackle, there are ways for anyone with knowledge of how to edge a lawn and enough determination to get the job done well.
This article has information on what edging is, why it’s important in terms of landscaping, types of edgers available (manual or motorized), and step-by-step instructions on how to edge a yard yourself without any hassle at all. We hope you were able to learn some valuable tips from it. If you have any further concerns or questions, please contact us below. Now, get out there and start making those corners crisp again!
