Lawn Care Tips For Early Spring

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As your grass reacts to nature’s spring awakening, help it prepare for a year of healthy development by providing it with the lawn care it requires to flourish. You can prepare your grass to protect itself against this year’s surge of plants, illnesses, and dryness by undertaking a few easy tasks.

Spring Lawn Care Steps

Rake

Raking in the spring eliminates fallen leaves and grass stalks that did not weather the winter. If left alone, these deceased stalks contribute to the thatch stratum of your grass. Raking also helps to break up tangled grass clusters produced by snow mildew, which can suffocate new growth.

To clear deceased vegetation, use a spring-tine rake with a powerful upward draw. Rake only when the earth isn’t wet and damp, or you risk uprooting healthy grass tops.

Overseed

Overseeding fills in barren or weak areas in the grass. Warm-season grass should be overseeded in late spring. Cool-season grass grows best in the fall, but in harsher climates, spot-seeding tiny sections in the spring produces excellent results. Apply a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer when overseeding. Apply a quick-release nitrogen fertilizer five weeks after overseeding.

Learn about the reasons of barren patches in fields, as well as how to avoid and fix them.

Aerate

Aeration is the answer for packed soil and is essential for a genuinely thriving grass. The frequency with which you should aerate your grass is determined by the soil type and how you use it. Warm-season plants should be aerated in late spring to early summer. Cool-season people should go in the fall. If you didn’t get to it last autumn, you can do it this spring. Discover the mysteries of aerating and how to aerate correctly.

Dethatch

Dethatching grass is best done in the spring. For cool-season grasses, aim for early spring, and for warm-season grasses, aim for late spring to early summer. Find out more about dethatching.

Weed

If crabgrass is an issue in your yard, use pre-emergent pesticides to prevent seeds from sprouting that fell last summer. This program relies heavily on timing. Most product packages include application scheduling recommendations. Learn about pre-emergent pesticide application scheduling and best practices.

In warm-season fields, use post-emergent broadleaf pesticides to control permanent and winter annual plants. Treat or excavate permanent plants in cool-season fields as they emerge, or use 5 In 1 Weed & Feed. It eliminates yard plants such as dandelion and clover, as well as crabgrass. Find out more about post-emergence pesticides.

Fertilize

Apply lawn fertilizer in the spring about three weeks after the grass begins to grow up. (that usually corresponds to the time following two or three mowings). Applying spring grass fertilizer too early risks nourishing plants and causing fertilizer overflow. Too-early coatings can also cause luxuriant blade development when roots haven’t yet begun their spring growth surge.

Water

Spring watering requirements differ by location. Continue watering fields as you did during the winter in mountain and dry desert areas, increasing irrigation frequency as temps rise, spring breezes develop in the Southwest, and spring rainfall is sparse in mountain areas.

Spring rainfall in the North, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest usually provide enough wetness to stir up fields. Avoid the urge to irrigate your lawn to make it greener. Allow it to grow up naturally and only water if rainfall are sparse and the vegetation is showing symptoms of exhaustion.

Mow

Mow when the earth is dry enough and the vegetation is tall enough to require it. Cut at the appropriate height for your lawn variety. Avoid cutting too close to the ground. Too short grass enables sunshine to reach the earth, allowing plant spores to grow. It also encourages superficial root growth, making the grass more prone to dry stress. Review the grass grooming guidelines to sharpen your abilities. Discover why you don’t need to bundle your grass cuttings.

Related Questions

• What should you put on your lawn in early spring?

  Apply fertilizer, pre-emergent and weed killer.
  Use a mixture of fertilizer, which nourishes your vegetation, and pre-emergent, a pesticide used to avoid crabgrass, in the early spring. Apply both products again six to eight weeks later, along with a deciduous plant pesticide.

• Should you fertilize your lawn in early spring?

  When your grass begins to perk up and aggressively develop in the early spring, apply an early spring lawn fertilizer once between February and April. (around the time your lawn first needs to be mowed).

• When should I start preparing my lawn for spring?

  Spring grass care advice is excellent in March and April, but February can also be a good time to put it to use, particularly in sunnier climates—but not always. Although temperatures are increasing, that doesn’t mean you can go out and start sowing or feeding your lawn right away.

• What should I put on my lawn in March?

  Spring melting and frost heaves create fissures in the earth that allow air and precipitation to enter. Because of these gaps, March is an excellent time to add seed, fertilizer, grass calcium, and lime.