5 Lawn Care Tips for this Spring!

Spring is on the way and one of the hallmarks of the season is having a healthy green lawn. Of course, getting to and maintaining your yard will require some work. So sharpen up those lawn mower blades, check your spark plugs and get ready to care for your lawn with these five spring lawn care tips!

1. Raking and Dethatching

Your first order of business is going to be raking since there will be dead grass, leaves, and debris present from the top layer of soil. Remember, anything that can get between your grass getting water, direct sunlight, or even your fertilizer is a problem.

Hats off to you if you got a lot of raking done during the fall, but as many people know, that is not enough since there will likely be thatch, dead leaves, twigs, branches, and even acorns around.

This is a good time to say that regardless of your type of grass, you want to wait until the lawn thaws after winter if you live in an area where you have to deal with snow.

Note that if your property is too big, then maybe raking will not be a possible plan of action. In this case, consider renting or buying a dethatcher to get rid of the thatch layer atop your grass.

2. Aerating

You want compacted soil to be loose. To do this, you have to use a process called aeration, which allows you to loosen the hard earth. Basically, it requires you to poke holes into the ground. Doing this makes it that much easier for air and water to get through, which promotes healthy grass roots.

You can confirm if your soil is compacted by simply trying to poke a hole into the soil with an object. If you’re feeling resistance to what should happen with little force, then the soil is compacted.

Keep in mind that apart from promoting a healthier lawn by allowing the passage of water (H2O), Fertilizer (F) and air (O2), aeration is also great for allowing products such as insecticides to reach your roots. It also helps that you create an environment where fungi cannot exactly thrive.

Aerate the lawn with a aerator tool or hire a professional lawn care service to preform monthly tasks. Once aeration is complete, you should either spread new grass seed or apply pre-emergent herbicide.

3. Herbicide Application (Weed Control)
   

Weeds in general, have always been a problem for people trying to grow just about anything, and grass is no exception. It doesn’t help that the grass is just coming out of the winter season, which means that it is highly ill-prepared to be fighting off anything at this time.

That’s one of the reasons that the pre-emergent lawn weed control is so important. While the grass returns to its former glory, you need to give it a fighting chance and this is exactly how you do that.

Pay attention to the labels on these herbicides, though, as they will tell you what kinds of weeds they are built to tackle. You’ll also get an understanding of the ideal time to apply the herbicides and how much you will need to advance down the path of having that beautiful lawn that you no doubt want to see.

Sometimes the weeds that you see may not be easy to identify, which means that you wouldn’t know which herbicide to get to target them. If that is the case, you have the option of getting what is known as a broad-spectrum herbicide, which will help you to control the weeds.

4. Fertilization and Re-seeding

Another part of the green lawn equation is ensuring that you fertilize it well. A good lawn fertilizer schedule program will have appropriate compounds such as potassium, phosphorous, and nitrogen. This mixture is the best way to ensure that you make your lawn ready for new growth since it should be quite fertile.

Bear in mind that some blends of fertilizer also contain a weed killer element, which is a great way to get the best of both worlds. Do not ignore fertilizer as it is all but mandatory to ensure that your new seeds can develop to grow a lush, greener lawn.

5. Irrigation

This may seem like a basic tip to get, but sometimes going back to the basics is where problems get solved. Applying your pre and post-emergent herbicide, addressing glass clippings, doing your aerating, etc. is not where the job stops. The grass needs the right amount of water per week to thrive as well.

Bear in mind that too much of a good thing can become a bad thing so you’ll want to be careful when you do your watering as you don’t want to end up overdoing it and harming the grass instead of helping it. It is probably best to set up an automatic lawn irrigation system, on a timer so that you do not forget your watering your grass.

The morning is the perfect time to get watering done, and it may be best to water deeply once per week instead of daily. The aim is to get in 1 – 1.5 inches of watering weekly.

Consider This Part of a Full Treatment Plan

These five tips were meant to help you get your lawn in tip-top shape with spring approaching, but remember that it doesn’t stop there. Using a soil test kit, addressing grass clippings that are forming thatch layer, and more are also elements that you need to keep in mind.

Remember to mow your grass at intervals, with the blades raised to just above the middle height. Most new home owners, cut their grass too short, and its a rookie mistake. From there you can get more advanced with a regular lawn treatment plan to fertilize and eliminate grubs, etc. if you want to foster constant healthy growth.

George Kroeker Landscaping Takes the Hassle Away!

Another thing to keep in mind is to lean on professional landscaping services to make sure your home and outdoor living space looks its best. George Kroeker Landscaping is the perfect company to turn to in Leamington, and Windsor-Essex for the best in customer satisfaction.

Delivering value is what we do as we want to see smiles on all our customers’ faces as they enjoy the beautifully crafted and maintained lawns!