An Exhaustive Guide To Spring Lawn Care

When you see the first crocuses or daffodils return, you will know spring is in the air. These signs should tell you that it is time to get your lawn ready for the season.

Lawn care during the fall is likely more essential than lawn care in the spring. If you have thoroughly treated your lawn in the fall, then you will have much less work to do now; the grass will have had all winter to germinate and will be waiting anxiously for the warmth of the sun.

That said, spring is the time to get outside and care for your lawn. A few small steps now can make a big difference to its revival. Here is our Exhaustive Guide to Spring Lawn Care:

1. Be Gentle With Your Lawn

Timing your spring lawn care tasks depends on the climate of your area. If you get snow in your region, then start when you are sure not to have any more snow. Another indicator to look for is when the forsythia plants stop blooming – and when the lilac bushes begin to flower.

You might be eager to get straight out to work on your lawn as soon as the temperature rises, but you must be as gentle as you can with any work that you do. Walking on damp soil can compact and disturb it and seriously damage the chance of new shoots. Wait until your lawn is mostly green, and even then, work carefully.

2. Rake it out!

A light rake is the first step towards getting your lawn back in shape. Even if you did a great job of raking leaves during fall, you still need to rake through any thatch build-up from over the winter.

In case you do not know, thatch is that layer of mainly dead grass lying between the green vegetation of the grass above and the root system and soil below. If this layer becomes thicker than half an inch or more, it can be terrible for the health of your grass. So rake deep when cleaning up leaves in the fall.

Sometimes a good rake is the only lawn care tip that you need. The cleaning up of your lawn can occasionally reveal hidden problems. Keep an eye open for any matted patches of lawn. If you inspect carefully and notice the grass blades are all stuck together, a lawn disease called snow mold may be the issue. New grass may have difficulty penetrating these matted patches, and raking can solve this problem.

3. Aerate if You Have To

If your lawn gets a lot of traffic, you could have areas of compacted soil. Moss thrives on compacted soil. You can get rid of it, but it helps to sort out the root cause. Your lawn likely needs to be aerated. A lawn aerator punches holes in the turf that allows air and water to get down to the roots of your grass.

Spring is not the best time to aerate, but it is better than not doing it if your lawn needs it. If your soil is so compressed that grass cannot grow, it is time to get a lawn aerator. If you can avoid it, leave aeration for the fall. Punching holes for grass to grow also provide an opening for weeds to germinate and take over. Weeds are among the first seeds to germinate in the spring, and aerating your lawn gives them ideal circumstances in which to thrive. If you have to aerate in the spring, consider waiting until Memorial Day. The weeds will have started sprouting but not yet gone to seed.

4. Check your hoses

A workman is only as good as his tools, and a decent hose is an essential tool for any gardener. The winter freeze could have damaged it if you did not blow it out in the fall, so check it for any cracks or splitting. If you need to buy a hose, try to purchase one that is long enough to water your whole lawn and reach all your flower beds. While you are at it, a proper roll-up system to keep the hose off the grass when not in use is probably a good idea too.

5. Water the right way

The best time to water your lawn is when it needs it. Sounds redundant, right? Yet, so important. Do not rush watering your grass at the beginning of the season. The roots start growing first, so if the ground is a little dry, they tend to grow deeper. Deeper roots will help it survive drought conditions better later on. So holding off on watering at first is positive for your grass!

That said, if you notice that the blades of grass do not spring back after stepping on them, it is time to get your hose out.

6. Test Your Soil & Correct Any Problems

Moss on your lawn, other than being a sign of compaction, could be caused by acidity in your soil. You can counter acidity with lime, but it is crucial to test its pH before attempting any remedies. Treating soil for the wrong thing can be as bad or worse than the original problem you were trying to fix!

Instead, send a soil sample to your local cooperative extension office to determine its acidity. The Cooperative Extension System is a free resource offering scientific assistance to the public in agriculture, horticulture, and other areas. Check out their website, give them a call or visit your local office. They can advise you on exactly how much lime you need to repair your lawn’s acidity.

7. Remediate and Reseed

Look for any brown, dead patches of lawn that come up with ease when tugged. Remove them with a spade by cutting an edge and then pulling them up.

Then proceed to fill in any bare spots with seeds or sod. Whichever you choose, prepare each area first. A good weeding and loosening of the soil with a rake should do the trick. If you are planting grass seed, sow the seeds, cover them lightly with a few handfuls of fresh topsoil, and tamp the soil down. For sod, cut the patch to fit and press it firmly into the ground. Good soil contact is crucial for both seeds and sod.

Now water well! Seeds must stay moist until they germinate. You may need to water daily – even more often in hot weather. Use a watering nozzle or stationary sprinkler with small holes to create a gentle mist. Sod should also be kept moist but not drenched.

If the damage is widespread, consider reseeding your grass across the board. Up to a quarter of the grass on your lawn can die out every year, and it could be worse if the winter has been particularly rough. Overseeding is the act of sowing new grass seeds into an existing lawn. It is an extremely effective way of revitalizing your grass and will produce healthy lush growth.

To Overseed your grass:

• Sow the seeds onto the soil evenly and gently rake them in.
• Make sure your soil never dries out – a light mist watering is optimal.
• Once the seeds germinate, you should water them more deeply and make sure the young blades have a lot of phosphorus – add feed if necessary.
• Steer clear of cutting the grass before it is at least 3 inches tall. To avoid issues mowing the rest of the lawn, set your cutting height to 3 inches so that you will not affect the new growth.

8. Keep weeds under control

Do weeds drive you insane? Then spring lawn care is as much about weed control and prevention as it is about cultivating healthy lawn growth. Not all weeds are defeated in the same way, however. Determining whether a weed is annual or perennial will resolve whether you use preemergent herbicides or post-emergent herbicides. Although when it comes to crabgrass, you should probably use both!

Crabgrass usually begins its invasion in spring when temperatures stabilize at around 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. As the name suggests, preemergent herbicides control weeds before seedlings can even emerge. They form a chemical barrier in the top layer of the soil that coats the seeds and prevents them from growing. If crabgrass is a problem in your lawn, applying fertilizer and preemergent herbicides at the same time would be a good strategy.

Please note, using preemergent herbicides and core aeration are mutually exclusive. Aeration will puncture the shield created by the herbicide and decrease its effectiveness. If you have applied preemergent herbicide, you should wait until fall to aerate your lawn.

Also, preemergent herbicides work against all seeds. So if you are planting new grass or overseeding, it will be much harder to apply a preemergent herbicide. If you intend to use this kind of herbicide during springtime, you should plan to overseed in the fall instead. You will not have competition from crabgrass then because the fall frosts will have eradicated them.

9. Get your lawnmower ready for the season.

Love it or hate it, but mowing is the task you will probably have to do the most during the season. Your lawn probably has not grown much during the winter. Once it gets started in the spring, it will be vital to keep it at a consistent height. 1-2 inches works well for common bermudagrass, while taller grasses like St Augustine can be cut as high as 5 inches.

With all that work ahead, early spring is a great time to get your mower serviced. Whether you do that yourself or have a technician take a look, make sure to check the starter, air filter, belts, spark plug, and battery. Also, sharpen your mower blades! You want to cut the grass after all. Dull blades will rip and beat up your grass leaving ragged edges that make your grass more vulnerable to disease. Finally, keep your mower clean. A good spray down with a high-pressure hose after every mow should be part of your routine.

10. Spread it

Grass clippings can be a great source of nutrients for your lawn. They are full of nitrogen, and they decompose quickly. So, rather than bagging them, let your lawn mower chop them up and scatter them all over your lawn. Free fertilizer!

If you do not like the idea of grass clippings all over your lawn, toss them into your compost pile. The nitrogen from the clippings will heat the compost pile and speed up the decay.

You can also use the clippings as mulch in your flower beds and under shrubs. If the clippings are dry, spread them lightly around the plants up to a depth of about an inch.

11. Wait to fertilize

Regarding fertilizing your lawn, avoid overdoing it! Especially if you have cool-season grass. Over-fertilization in the spring will cause increased, unstable growth and weaker grass in the summer. Cool-season grass that stays green during the winter, like bluegrass and rye, should be fertilized in the fall – after Labor Day.

Fertilize warm-season grasses, like Zoysia and Bermudagrass, in the late spring after they emerge from their dormancy. Wait until after the last frost. It is advisable to wait until after your fourth mowing to apply fertilizer to warm-season grasses.

No matter what type of grass you grow, early spring is not the time to fertilize. Fertilizing your lawn at that time in the season will encourage rapid growth and a lot more mowing. Plus, you will be giving the weeds a boost too.

What do you think of our spring lawn care tips? If you have any suggestions, please let us know in the comments below. If the advice we gave seemed a little overwhelming, please give us a call at 1-413-813-9182 and ask for Brian. We would be happy to lend a helping hand.