Two seasons are bothersome for your lawn, fall and spring, with spring being the tougher challenge, but spring is the best time to do maintenance on your lawn. If you neglect taking care of your lawn in the spring, you can pay for it later. There isn’t a lot that needs to be done, and it will make a big difference through the summer months. There are steps to take that can prevent your lawn from being overrun with weeds, affected by drought and heat.
Spring Lawn Care Maintenance Checklist
1. Take time to pick up any debris like twigs sticks that have collected and use a leaf blower to get rid of the leaves. You can also take a rake to pick up matted areas of the lawn. When these areas are raked, it will remove debris and will allow for better air flow throughout the grass turf and prevent any disease and infestations of insects. Raking will not only remove leaves, but it will control thatch. If you did a good job in raking the leaves in the fall this will be a lot easier. Spring raking will remove grass blades that died over the winter. These dead blades will become thatch if they’re not raked up. Matted patched where the grass blades are all stuck together can be caused by a disease known as “snow mold” and new grass will have a hard time getting through it.
2. Use a pre-emergent crabgrass control to the lawn in early spring. It is a key step and timing is critical. It needs to be applied before the soil reaches temperatures of 55-60 degrees. Once the soil reaches this point, weed seeds have started to germinate and the pre-emergent won’t be effective anymore. Crabgrass is very hard to get rid of if it has started to germinate.
3. Lawns need to fertilized in the spring. This will wake your lawn from its winter snooze. Fertilizer will give the grass a buildup of nutrients that will make it stronger and more able to handle the stress from the heat that will last through the summer months.
4. Aeration is also a great step to take. Lawn aeration is the cure for compaction caused by high traffic levels that will compact your lawn. Core aeration in the spring allows water and air to reach the root zone more quickly. The result of this is new growth and will give the lawn increased root development. Core aeration needs to be done before the soil temperatures reach 55-60 degrees. If the soil gets to that temperature the voids made in the lawn will be an open invitation for aggressive weeds seeds.
5. Winter weather can be ugly for your lawn with salt and snow. Spring is a perfect time to do some reseeding to any areas that were damaged. If you are going to be laying a pre-emergent down, you’ll need to be careful. Pre-emergent weed control is non-selective and will prevent any seeds from germinating. If you can, it’s best to wait to apply crab grass control as long as possible and do the turf repairs early so the seeds have plenty of time to germinate. This will allow them to establish before the pre-emergent is applied.
Landscape Design & Construction, Lawn Maintenance & More in Amagansett, Aquebogue, Baiting Hollow, Calverton, Cutchogue, East Hampton, East Hampton North, Greenport, Jamesport, Laurel, Mattituck, Montauk, Nassau Point, Northville, Northwest Harbor, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southold, Springs, Wading River, Westhampton Beach in East End of Long Island, New York
Contact Mickey’s LawnScapes to get your lawn ready for the summer months by having some lawn maintenance done this spring. Call us today!
