'It literally saved our lawn': The $17 foolproof solution to save your grass from unsightly yellow spots

This month marks two years since my boyfriend and I purchased our first home. While I consider us to be a mature, adept and responsible couple, I realized very quickly after being carried over the threshold that I was completely in over my head when it came to running a household.

Together, we’ve dealt with a burst water-heater that flooded the basement, a furnace that needed to be replaced after it went kaput in the middle of a January night and water damage to our walls and ceiling caused by ice damming (clean your eavestroughs, seriously).

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Despite all of these expensive and unexpected costs, the latest area of home-ownership that we’ve tackled has been lawn-care. Even though I grew up watching my grandfather meticulously plan and putter around his garden each year, I had no idea where to start to take care of my own.

As if you needed any more proof that we perpetually bite off more than we can chew, we decided to adopt not one, but two puppies - and as a result, turned our back yard into a yellow-patched wasteland.

While taking our dogs for a walk, we’d look at the immaculate lawns of our neighbours and feel ashamed that our backyard had transformed to a giant game of Twister where you could reach anywhere and put your hand on a burnt patch of yellow. We love our dogs and fully relish being the annoying childless couple who treat their pets as their babies, but we don’t want our house to look like it’s overrun by animals.

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After a bit of research for ways to revitalize our lawn, we settled on Dog Rocks, a set of igneous rocks that we placed in our dogs water bowl to absorb excess nitrates that cause our pup’s urine to burn grass.

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In just a few weeks, we noticed the once-burned areas of our lawn start to disappear, just from leaving the dog rocks in their water bowl. Without any additional lawn maintenance like fertilizer or watering, the patches slowly disappeared and we noticed that no matter where our pets did their business, no new patches appeared.

We’re currently on our second round of Dog Rocks (they need to be replaced every two months) and I’ve been telling all of our dog owner friends about them. Based on our recommendation, a few have purchased their own set and have said the same thing: the grass looks greener and healthier on its own. Taking care of a home is a lot of work, but this was without a doubt the easiest solution to our backyard problem and not to be dramatic - but it literally saved our lawn.

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I’m not sure what other adventures or expenditures are in store for us, but I’m more than happy to pass on everything I’ve learned to bright-eyed first-time buyers like me. I’m hoping that the next story I have to share is finding stacks upon stacks of money hidden in our attic that’s green - just like my beautiful backyard.

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