Turn Your Yard into a Summer Haven for Outdoor Games

Turn Your Yard into a Summer Haven for Outdoor Games
Chris Grasso
8/1/2013
Updated:
4/24/2016

The summer time is a great time of the year for kicking back in front of the TV, playing games, or getting out of the house and going swimming or hiking. If you’ve been bored all winter and want to get out, it’s time to get your yard in order and begin the summer games. The following are some great activities for in the yard and the steps to take to make them do-able.

Keep the Lawn Trimmed For Game Markings

The ideal height to set your zero radius lawn mower to for most of the year is as high as it will go — four inches if you can stand it. There are several reasons to keep your grass high, and they all come back to good health. For starters, higher grass lets the soil stay healthier and keeps the grass itself more robust. Secondly, when you spray the lines for a hopscotch court or the colored circles for grass Twister, you want to have the grass be extra soft in case someone accidentally falls.

Don’t Collect the Clippings

Whether your yard is small enough for an all-wheel drive walk-behind mower or large enough to justify a garden tractor, one of the best pieces of advice is to not collect the clippings. If you play backyard golf, this extra fullness will not only nourish the grass, but it will also give you an easier shot with your wedge — for obvious reasons, driving shouldn’t be allowed in this kind of game. When your lawn is robust and thick, you can also more easily play games like bocce. Balls roll a lot better on firmer grass than they do on patchy grass.

Carve Firewood Into Props

Firewood may not seem to have a function during this time of the year, but scraps of it can be fun. Have you ever played Jenga with firewood? If you haven’t, you have missed out on a fun experience! Just cut strips that slightly resemble short and stubby french fries about the thickness of a person’s forearm, then stack them up in perpendicular rows of three going as high as you like. From there, you can slowly remove them until someone inevitably topples the entire thing. A bonus to this is that you will also be helping the firewood dry faster, so during the Fall and Winter, you will have more of it, as well as better surface area to burn.

Avoid Pesticides

At first glance, pesticides would seem to be okay. After all, you don’t want a child to get poison ivy. However, staying away from bad plants is a far better skill to teach, along with other kinds of plant identification, than that of beating up the grass. Pesticides are not only bad for human skin in those who have allergies, but these chemicals kill earthworms that help the soil and plants you may want to keep.

There is so much to do outside this summer. Get your lawn in order and get the fun started!

Chris is a freelance writer who also enjoy going fishing. He enjoys the sunshine and all kinds of outdoor activities. Email Chris at [email protected]
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