Spring Lawn Care Guide

 

If you want a great looking lawn then Spring is the time to get started. As soon as the snow is gone for the season and the days are getting warmer, take some time to inspect your lawn and see how it has held up over the winter months.

 

Then take the following actions and you will be well on your way to a lawn that is the envy of your neighbours.

 

 

1. Spring clean up, time to rake up and bag leaves and grass clippings; they can be added to your compost pile or direct to your early season garden as mulch.
2. While you are raking, it is an opportune time to give the lawn a once over; take a careful and close look. Spotting possible problems now gives you the opportunity to fix them before they get worse. For example, moss patches may indicate; low fertility, insufficient sun light or poor drainage. If a patch stays in the tines of your rack, then white grubs may have moved in. White grubs are Japanese beetles or pill bugs and dealing with them now, is much better than later.
3. It is time for a soil test. Drop by the garden center and purchase a soil testing kit; follow the instruction. You want to know your soil’s pH and ideally your soil for the lawn should have a pH of between 6 and 7. You will also want to know the levels of the big three (potassium, nitrogen, phosphorus) so that you can plan your fertilizing regime.
4. Time to aerate. You can uses a manual aerating fork, if you have a small lawn or a lot of time or you can rent an aerating machine. Aerating gets rid of thatch and enables the soil to retain and release nutrients.
5. Fertilize – use natural fertilizers such as blood meal, chicken manure, cottonseed meal or you can also buy organic fertilizers.
6. Reseed – time to reseed the bare spots
7. Watering- Do not water your lawn shallowly; when it is time to water, every 7 to 10 days, allow the water to run long enough in one spot for about 3 hours, sue a sprinkler because you cannot do this by hand.

 

If you follow the above steps you will have a healthy vibrant lawn; one important point to remember the healthier your lawn is the better that it will withstand drought and any accompanying water restrictions.

 

My suggestion is that when it comes to lawn, less is better.