11 April 2022
Spring is the time to get your lawn in optimal shape and ready for the summer season. Early spring lawn care ensures a fresh-looking, healthy lawn for the summer months and a lush and green lawn you can enjoy during the nice weather. As the growing season begins, your grass will be in prime condition to thrive come spring – if taken care of properly with correct spring lawn maintenance.
If you decide to take the do-it-yourself route, here are several spring lawn care tips to help you achieve the best results for your grass. Follow these spring lawn care tips to ensure your yard is lush and green this summer.
The first of our spring lawn care tips doesn’t even have you set foot on your grass – at least, not yet. You’ll be mowing your grass regularly all season long, so even if conditions aren’t perfect to start the rest of your spring lawn treatment regimen, you can get started by getting your lawn mower ready. A prepared lawn mower will help keep your lawn healthy by preventing extremely low cuts or a malfunction that could delay a regular mowing schedule. The needs of your mower may vary depending on what lawn mower maintenance you performed when you were finished mowing in the fall. However, the basic steps include changing the oil, replacing the spark plug and air filter, and sharpening and balancing the blades. This tune-up will help you be ready to start working on your lawn whenever spring arrives. Always read and carefully understand any and all safety information associated with your lawn mower.
No matter how carefully you raked and cleaned your yard in the fall as you were preparing your lawn for winter, chances are new leaves, sticks, weeds, and other debris have made their way onto your grass. Wind, rain, and snow can leave debris on your lawn. In addition, the snow can hide some of the debris until spring. That’s why it’s important to remove winter debris each spring. Taking some time to clean off your lawn before beginning other spring lawn care will make it easier to treat and maintain your grass.
After sitting with heavy snow all winter, or if there are spots of heavy traffic on your grass, it is important to aerate your lawn. Your soil can become compact under the grass, especially if there was heavy snow, or heavy traffic on your grass throughout the winter. Aeration opens up the turf and allows water and air to get into the soil, and roots of your grass. This is not always required, but you should always evaluate your lawn to ensure there are no compacted areas.
If you have any bare patches on your grass, you may need to start over-seeding your lawn as part of your spring lawn care. Apply grass seed to help grow new patches where the lawn died during the winter. Working with grass seeds completely on your own can be difficult. Check with your local Lawn Doctor professional to determine how much seed your lawn may need, how to water and care for the seed, and when during the season you should plant the seed in your lawn. We can help guide you on the best ways to over-seed your lawn and help get your grass growing strong and healthy.
After a long winter, it is important to take stock once again and figure out what your soil needs to promote grass growth. Lawn care starts with soil care after all. This includes testing your soil’s pH to see how acidic it may be. Grass generally thrives in neutral pH and if your soil falls outside of that range then it may be hard for your grass to grow back. After you determine what your lawn needs, then you can start adding treatments to make sure you have beautiful strong grass throughout the year. It all starts with a great spring lawn care plan.
Spring is the best time of year to treat your lawn with pre-emergent weed control. Pre-emergent is designed for application before the targeted weed germinates in your lawn, and it is an effective preventative method for controlling annual grassy weeds. While you can do some weed control on your own, professional lawn care services can help prevent crabgrass and other grassy weeds. Bed weed maintenance is another weed prevention method that can help get your lawn in shape. Your local Lawn Doctor expert will know which weeds are a problem in your area.
Did your lawn develop dead patches during the winter? That could be a sign of lawn disease. That’s why spring is the perfect time to focus on preventing lawn disease and keeping your grass healthy. Proper lawn disease prevention can rejuvenate your yard. Our Lawn Maintainer Care program will help prevent lawn disease and lawn pests throughout the year.
Once your spring grass begins to grow, start mowing your lawn regularly. Check out our lawn mowing tips to review proper techniques and safety considerations for mowing.
Grass-cycling is the process of leaving grass clippings on the lawn. Instead of bagging the clippings, let them spread out on your lawn to recycle grass elements back into the soil and to help your lawn retain more water. This process can help give your yard a boost at the beginning of the spring season.
Even if you fertilized in the fall, you can also fertilize your lawn during the spring to help it stay thick and lush. Spring fertilization helps your lawn replenish and build a robust root system. The right time to apply fertilizer and the right type of fertilizer to use both depend on where you live and what the growing conditions are like, so be sure to follow the directions carefully. If you do, you’ll be adequately preparing your lawn for spring, ensuring a beautiful lawn that you’ll be proud of.
Having the correct pH level for your lawn can help alleviate many lawn care issues in the long run.
Soil enrichment stimulates a stronger and healthier root system while improving the structure of your lawn’s soil. The process also improves root penetration and soil water retention, making regular watering more effective. Soil enrichment can also reduce damaging salts from the root zone and improve soil aeration.
When soil becomes compacted over time, it restricts the grass’s access to vital nutrients and makes it difficult for the soil to absorb water. Your lawn can also accumulate thatch. Thatch is a combination of living and dead plant matter. Grass clippings do not generally contribute to thatch buildup as they can be easily broken down. A small amount of thatch may be beneficial; however, excessive thatch can cause root problems. Between compacted soil and thatch, your lawn could need some relief as part of your spring lawn care. Lawn aeration helps alleviate thatch, improve water absorption, and facilitate better grass growth.
The spring season brings plenty of moisture for your lawn. Although if the new grass seed that you planted needs watering, we recommend no more than one inch per week. Overwatering in the spring can cause your lawn to have shallow roots and encourage weed germination. You should only water your lawn when it begins to show signs of drought stress.
Spring is the best time for roots to search for water and nutrients. This also encourages deeper roots that are ready for the summer stress. If you live in areas with regular rainfall, you should avoid turning your sprinkler system back on until the weather warms up.
Following these spring lawn care tips should help you achieve beautiful grass that your friends and family can enjoy all season long.
For more information on early spring lawn care steps contact Monnick Supply.
Source: Lawndoctor.com
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