It seems safe to say that Spring has finally arrived and the warm weather will stick around. The snow has melted and your lawn is slowly beginning to show life. Springtime is the most important time of the year to care for your lawn. However, it is a very sensitive time for your yard. The soil is soft and wet, the plants are tender, and the weather is still unpredictable. It is important to keep in mind that you should avoid any heavy yard work until the soil dries out. If you are constantly walking on your lawn or raking when the dirt is wet you will end up compacting and disturbing the soil causing damage to new grass shoots.
Mower tune-up
While you wait for your lawn to dry out, take some time to give your mower a tune-up. You can do this by changing the oil, air filters, and spark plugs. Clean the top and undercarriage of the mower by removing dirt and grass clippings. Lastly, fill up your fuel tank and let the mower sit in the sun for a couple hours so it can warm up.
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Clean your yard
Gather any twigs, branches, and other debris that is on your lawn. After that is complete, you can move onto raking. Raking your lawn will allow you to pull up any thatch that may have accumulated over the winter. Thatch can build-up if you didn’t do a deep raking in the fall.
Kill those Weeds
Early spring is the best time to deal with any weeds that your lawn is prone to. Apply herbicides to prevent those weeds from developing. It is easier to remove persistent weeds before they even have a chance to form.
Fertilizing
When a lawn is properly fertilized in the fall there usually isn’t a need to apply another layer of fertilizer in the spring. Cold season grasses are great at holding onto fertilizer from the fall. On the other hand, warm season grasses may need a fresh later of fertilized because they begin to soak up the nutrients as soon as the weather warms.
Mowing
You can begin to mow your lawn as soon as it needs it. Grass blades do best when you cut no more than a third of the blade’s length at a time.
Watering your lawn
As soon as your grass begins to grow, you will need to make sure that your lawn is getting at least 1 inch of water per week. It is good to know that cold air is very drying to plants and lawn.
Controlling insects
Fire ants are a problem for many lawns. Other insects that can harm your lawn are grubs, and mole crickets. It is best to do pest control in the spring.
Now that you know what to do, go out there and get it done before the weather turns from warm to hot!
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