Getting Your Lawn Ready in the Spring

When spring does finally arrive the first thing you should do is just walk the lawn and pick up debris from the winter and then just let the lawn dry.  After that you can just go around and spot rake the matted down areas that probably are the result of snow mold. This will dry them up quicker and break the snow mold.

Mowing Your Lawn

When mowing for the first time in the spring lower your height of cut by ½ inch from your regular mowing height.  This will help pull up the dead decaying organic matter and mulch the grass blades so it can decompose quickly.  It will also let the soil dry by letting more sun into the soil layer and green the lawn up quicker.  After this initial mowing go back to your regular height of cut which we recommend at 3 inches for our area with 3 ½ a option if you want to save a little water.

Dethatching

If your lawn needs dethatching (if it has ½“ or more of thatch) then do this first thing in the spring once the soil dries. Usually every other year is enough to control thatch if you’re staying on top of mowing during the season. You want some thatch because this is where all the beneficial microorganisms are and covert organic material into beneficial elements for the lawn.  As stated above if you are going to dethatch lower your mowing height by ½” and you’ll be amazed at the difference a ½” will make in cleaning the lawn.

Overseeding

If you notice thin or bare spots when spring arrives, then overseeding should be on your mind.  When overseeding make sure you get good seed to soil contact.  For small areas just use a steel garden rake and rough up the area to be seeded, spread the seed and then rake over the area again to cover/incorporate the seed into the soil.  If you have large areas you may have to rent or call us and we can slit the grass seed into the soil with a mechanical seeder.

VERY IMPORTANT make sure if you’re going to overseed that you overseed before you put down a pre-emergent crabgrass control. The grass will need to germinate before applying the pre-emergent or you can apply the pre-emergent to only those areas that you didn’t overseed and then go back and apply to seeded areas after the seed has germinated.  If the pre-emergent is down first and then you overseed the seeds will not be allowed to germinate as this is the control mechanism for crabgrass seeds.

Fertilizing and Crabgrass Control

After all lawn chores are done and seed is up and growing then you should apply a fertilizer with a pre-emergent crabgrass control. Crabgrass comes from seed every year when the soil temperatures reach between 50 -55 for about a week.  This is around the time when lilacs are blooming as a general rule of thumb, but not always.  The pre-emergent will act like a blanket over the lawn inhibiting the seeding from growing through the blanket, therefore killing the seedlings.  By using a combination product we are controlling crabgrass and fertilizing the lawn all in one process, saving time and energy.