Early Spring Lawn Care Tips
What should I do to get my lawn ready?
After the snow has melted, one of the first tasks should be:
1. Clean Up & Preparation – Quality Lawn Services recommends homeowners should take the necessary time to remove any debris from their existing yards such as: twigs, branches, leaves, pet droppings and winter road gravel most importantly – this may be achieved by raking or renting a power broom to help with this chore. By raking the lawn this helps dethatch and promote growth. Leaving un-mulched leaves on grass will trap moisture and will block sunlight – eventually killing the grass underneath.
As you survey your lawn in spring, see if there are any matted patches, in which the grass blades are all stuck/glued together. This can be caused by a disease known as, “snow mold.” New grass may have difficulty penetrating these matted patches. But a light raking will be sufficient to solve this problem. The area will have a white pinkish color.
Remember that most turf grass injury is directly or indirectly due to inappropriate growing conditions that occur naturally or are imposed by poor maintenance practices.
2. Prior to the First Cutting – Sharpen your blade (this is a must) and sharpen and change each holiday throughout the summer/fall. Mowing with dull blades may pull up seedlings, or make ragged cuts that turn the top of the blade brown as well as becoming more prone to disease infection. Mowing height should be 3″ and leave grass clippings to create a natural nutrient rich fertilizer.
3. Fertilizing – Adequate fertilization plays a major role in producing and maintaining a dense, pest/weed-resistant turf. Quality Lawn Services recommends applying a slow-release high nitrogen content fertilizer in the spring to jump start your lawn. We do not recommend a crabgrass per-emergent – as it is a waste of money that most companies won’t tell you about. It is also another example of utilizing unwanted and unnecessary pesticides.
4. Aeration & Overseeding – Read more about this in Benefits of Aeration