This DIY lawn care plan brought my yard back to life

When it comes to caring for our yard, my husband and I already do most of the work ourselves like pulling weeds, raking leaves, and mowing the grass. Looking to find a DIY lawn care plan to keep our grass healthy and green, we decided to try Sunday Lawn Care, a do-it-yourself lawn care subscription service, offers affordable, nontoxic treatments that can improve the current state of your yard.

The DIY lawn care company advertises heavily on social media—roping me in with dreams of achieving a Yard of the Month-worthy yard without having to use harsh chemicals to get there.

I spent six weeks trying out Sunday Lawn Care on my Florida yard. Here’s how it went.

Sunday Lawn Care Plans starting at $119

About Sunday Lawn Care

Founded in 2019, Sunday is a do-it-yourself lawn care subscription service that uses nontoxic chemicals. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Sunday creates a custom DIY lawn care plan to help fertilize and maintain your grass, based on climate, property, and soil data.

Unlike professional lawn care companies that come to your home, you are responsible for applying the treatments, which are mailed to your home several times throughout the year. Sunday also sells a variety of other yard care products like weed control, grass seeds, and other lawn maintenance products that can be added to your custom plan.

You can find Sunday Lawn Care products at Lowe's but these are not a part of Sunday's online DIY lawn care plans.

How does Sunday Lawn Care subscription work?

The process starts on the Sunday Lawn Care website. Follow the prompts and enter your address to determine the size of your yard. Sunday uses map imagery to approximate the size of your lawn, which is important for determining how much product you need to adequately cover the entire space.

Sunday also asks about the condition of your grass, like whether it’s been recently seeded or sodded.

The annual plan is made up of three shipments, the first of which includes a free lab soil test and prepaid return envelope so Sunday can evaluate the samples and determine what nutrients your soil needs for optimal grass growth. Throughout the year, Sunday then sends eight nutrient pouches based on your specific needs.

Sunday uses local climate data and grass growth models to determine when it’s best to apply the nutrients from your Smart Lawn Care plan.

The account can be managed online, however, you’ll have to email Sunday if you want to cancel your plan as there’s no other way to opt-out.

When the pouches arrive, make sure to open the box right away. An application timeline is included with each box and you’ll want to apply the treatment within the provided window. The nutrient pouches come with nozzle sprayer attachments that hook up to your garden hose for quick and simple application.

What we like

The chemicals claim to be nontoxic—and actually work

Fertilizer can be toxic to pets and humans if it doesn’t have enough time to dissolve into the ground, but Sunday claims its nontoxic products are safe to play on after application (and create less toxic water runoff).

Sunday does recommend waiting until the nutrients have dried, which may take anywhere from four to 24 hours depending on the amount of sunlight and rain. But, you don’t have to worry about any of the yucky stuff if you accidentally let the dog out back or your kids run through the front yard (even though you told them 10 times not to).

You may be thinking that a nontoxic fertilizer won’t work as well as a professional lawn care company, but I didn’t find that to be true while testing Sunday products. For my first treatment, I applied two lawn-strengthening fertilizers.

I applied the first treatment in September, per the included instructions. In my second box, I received a Fall Fortify mix, which I put down several weeks later in October. Over six weeks, I saw a noticeable improvement in my grass, which, as you can see, looks greener than it did before I started using Sunday.

It’s more affordable than paying for professional lawn maintenance

You can usually save money by doing anything yourself versus hiring a professional, and that’s the case with Sunday Lawn Care, where annual plans start at $119.

Considering that lawn fertilization services can cost anywhere from $250 to $1,000 annually, Sunday DIY lawn care is a more affordable alternative. If you’re OK applying the products yourself, opting for Sunday’s simple do-it-yourself approach will save you money. Plus, you’ll feel proud of the hard work you put in to get your grass up to snuff for summertime.

Sunday is convenient and simple to use

No matter how little gardening and lawn care experience you have, Sunday’s approach to DIY lawn care is easy. The box comes well-packaged and clearly labeled with everything you need to get started using your custom Smart Lawn Care plan, and the application process is as simple as it gets.

Before applying, place the straw in the included sprayer nozzle. Then screw on the nutrient pouch and attach the hose to the sprayer. Turn on the spigot and begin spraying the fertilizer on your yard until the bag is empty. Easy peasy.

The included nozzles are easy to turn and tighten and can be reused for your next application. Sunday also gives you a date range of when you should apply each treatment—a helpful reminder to keep you organized while caring for your grass. You can also use a pouch after the recommended date, but for best results try to apply during the application window. Sunday recommends waiting one week between applications.

What we don’t like

You have to do the work yourself

DIY lawn care isn’t for everyone, and with Sunday, doing it yourself is the only option. This isn’t a complaint but rather something you should know before taking the plunge. The larger the yard, the longer it will take you to apply the treatments. My yard is approximately 4,800 sq. ft. total (front and back). It took me a little over an hour to put down the first treatment in my yard.

There’s no denying that applying the treatment is more fun than picking weeds, but I did get bored out there. I popped in my wireless earbuds and caught up on a couple of podcasts. If you have a large yard like I do, be prepared to put in the time and effort when applying Sunday products.

Sunday is still a new company with no BBB listing

Sunday was founded in 2019, which isn't all that long ago. This may not be a dealbreaker for you, but Sunday isn’t a Better Business Bureau-accredited business. Since becoming a homeowner, I’ve relied heavily on BBB listings to identify quality businesses to work on my old house.

Just because a business isn’t listed on BBB doesn’t make it bad, but it certainly helps instill confidence in people like me who want to make sure they’re hiring the right business for the job. Time also named Sunday one of its best inventions of 2019. All in all, Sunday improved the quality of my grass, and I wasn’t able to find any overwhelmingly negative reviews or complaints about the products.

Warranty

Sunday guarantees its products will help your yard look better. If you have any questions or concerns, Sunday's Lawn Advisor team can help you troubleshoot any problems. We can't vouch for the customer service experience, as we didn't run into any problems, but we like that you can quickly get in touch with someone using Sunday's website chat feature.

Should you buy Sunday Lawn Care?

Yes, if you’re looking for nontoxic, DIY lawn care plan.

Sunday offers an easy, do-it-yourself approach to caring for your lawn. If you’re looking for pet-and-kid-safe lawn treatment and don’t mind applying it yourself, then Sunday could be a good fit to get your grass looking green again or for regular yard maintenance. It’s also more affordable, on average than hiring a professional lawn care company to do the work for you.

But if doing the work yourself doesn’t sound appealing or if you don’t have the time, then a professional lawn care company is a better, but likely more expensive, alternative.

In the weeks I spent trying out Sunday Lawn Care, my grass became greener and looked lusher than it’s ever looked since I bought the house in 2017. Unfortunately, after testing, my yard was dug up due to broken drain pipes, so I can’t speak to the longevity of Sunday. But the results I saw in my yard are definitely promising.

Sunday Lawn Care Plans starting at $119