Spring is just around the corner and it is time to begin cultivating the ‘Best Lawn on the Block’! The best indicator is the ‘Early Blooming Forsythia’ (see photo). Once you see Forsythia beginning to bloom, it is time to get serious about your lawn.
Spring is the time of year when the sun is warm, the breeze is cool, and the steady hum of lawnmowers once again fills the air. American homeowners take a great deal of pride in their yards, spending about $6.4 billion a year on lawn care. They buy seed, fertilizer, herbicide, lawnmowers, string trimmers, and other equipment in an effort to create the ideal lawn: a lush, green expanse of grass that feels cool between the toes.
A healthy summer lawn starts with spring maintenance. Winter can alter soil pH, compact the soil, and create conditions friendly to weeds and disease, so it’s crucial that you properly clean, fertilize and mow your yard early in the season. So what can you do when winter’s receding snow reveals bare spots, invasive plants and other problems with your patch of green? Don’t panic — break out the broadcast spreader and click through our list of spring lawn care tips. Springtime is a lawn’s best friend, offering moderate temperatures, and consistent moisture. Unfortunately, spring conditions are also very friendly to our archenemy —Weeds! Now is the best time to jump-start your lawn with the nutrients while controlling those pesky weeds. Weed Control 101-Grass & weeds are in a constant battle for precious real estate in your yard. Remember that strong healthy grass will always be victorious over the weed. However, undernourished, or moisture depleted grasses, do not stand a chance! That is why it’s vitally important to feed and irrigate your lawn. Once established in Spring, crabgrass grows rapidly in hot weather and, chokes out the good grass as it spreads. When it gets a foothold, there’s not much – short of hand-pulling the weed – that can be done to stop it.
Lawn Care Check List:
- Clean Up – It almost goes with out saying, but it’s important to rake up the leaves, sticks, and other debris, that may have accumulated during the winter.
- Mow your lawn as soon as weather permits. Set your mowing height slightly lower for the initial cut. This will allow more sunlight to reach the base of your grass enabling earlier ‘greening’.
- After the first cut, treat your lawn with a pre-emergent crabgrass preventer.
- Feed Your Lawn with a good Lawn fertilizer!
