A healthy summer lawn starts with spring maintenance. Winter weather conditions can wreak havoc on your lawn causing unsightly brown or bare spots. If you neglect spring lawn care, you could end up paying for it the rest of year.
Here are some tips that will help you ensure that your lawn gently comes back to life.
Start With Raking:
Even if you already raked leaves in the fall, you will need to rake again. Raking your lawn in the spring does more than just remove leaves; it also removes thatch, a layer of dead turf grass tissue between the green vegetation and the soil health. In addition, raking helps eliminate any matted patches that may be the result “snow mold,” further enabling new grass to penetrate up through the ground.
Sample Your Soil
Send a sample of your soil to your local county extension to determine the extent of your soil’s acidity. Through this testing, you will be able to learn the current pH levels of your soil, fertility levels, the quantity of lime your soils needs, needed nutrients, fertilizer amounts and more.
Seed Away
If your lawn has bare patches, you may need to apply grass seed to fill in those bare patches. Apply a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer when you seed.
Fertilizing
Feeding your lawn in the early spring strengthens its roots and gets it off to a good start before the heavy growing season. Fertilizing now will help strengthen the roots and green-up the lawn after being doormat over the winter.
Snap off Weeds
Examine your lawn for weeds. Snap off any weeds at stem of the flower before the produce a seed. You can also dig the weed out at the root.
If you choose to control weeds with chemicals select a herbicide for board leaf weeds, however make sure you don’t over-do it with chemicals, you may damage the new grass that is starting to grow.
Strategize Your Lawn Mower
When a lawn mower is stubborn about starting up, that can be a sign that it needs a tuneup. It is recommended that you have a lawn mower tune-up each year.
Remember, a little lawn maintenance can go a long way toward making sure you have the spring and summer lawn you’ve always desired!
