We’ve got good news for you. If you did all you needed to do in the fall for your lawn, then your spring lawn care should be a breeze! Lawn care in the spring is much less intensive than fall, so once the weather starts to warm up, you should be good to go.
The most important thing to remember about spring lawn care is that you must be gentle. Give your lawn a chance to wake up and come back to life. If you go about it the right way, the soil and sun will do most of your job for you.
Slow Your Roll
One of the keys to spring lawn care is to keep from jumping the gun. You don’t want to start things off too early. Yes, we realize that once the sun starts to shine and the weather starts to warm up that getting all your tools out of the shed seems like a great idea, but you need to stop yourself.
The lawn needs the opportunity to wake up gradually, so be patient. If you start things off before your lawn is ready (and by ready, we mean fully green), then you risk killing new grass shoots or compressing the grass before it’s even had an opportunity to grow. Let it turn green before you start doing anything!
Start With The Rake
The tool you should bust out first in the spring? It’s the rake. We realize you probably ended last season with the rake, but what can we say? It’s a versatile tool.
In spring, you should give your lawn a good raking prior to doing anything else. This lets you bring up thatch that might have developed in the winter. It also allows you to identify any spots of dead grass that may need a little extra attention. If you notice the soil is compacted, then you need an aerator to work the soil loose and allow the grass to grow easier.
Test Your Soil
You can easily find a DIY soil testing kit at your local hardware store. Buy one and test the pH of your soil so you can identify what nutrients it may need going forward this season. In the winter, the pH of the soil can become acidic and that will make it more difficult for new grass to grow.
If you test it and find that it is indeed acidic, then buy some lime to spread over the lawn. It will neutralize the soil and support healthy grass growth.
Time To Fertilize – Or Is It?
If you fertilized in fall, then there’s really no reason to do it again. If you have cool season grass growing on your lawn, then it probably held onto the fertilizer well throughout the winter.
If you have warm season grass, then it may need a fresh coating of fertilizer applied. This is where that soil test can come in handy – it helps you understand what your lawn might be lacking so you can give it exactly what it needs.
What To Do With Weeds
You know your lawn. If it’s predisposed to weeds, then early spring is the perfect time to spread on herbicides and prevent weeds from taking hold. It’s much easier to purge weeds in the early stages of spring then it is once they take hold and grow to full maturity. Of course, ridding your lawn of weeds is more effective in the fall, but if you notice them, then now is the time to strike!
It’s easy to get excited when spring finally arrives, but take it easy on your lawn. Identify its needs before you jump in and you’ll have a beautiful lawn all season!
By Dan Heims, President, Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
Photographs courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc.
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