Spring Lawn Care- what to do first. 

Spring Lawn Care Tip #1: Raking

Raking will be your first task of spring lawn care. Okay, I can hear the groans coming from all lands near and far, wherever grassy carpets are cultivated: "But we already raked leaves in the fall!" Sorry, but raking is for more than just removing leaves: it's for controlling thatch too. A thatch build-up of more than 1/2 inch is considered excessive. As you survey your lawn in spring, see if there are any matted patches, in which the grass blades are all stuck together. This can be caused by a disease known as "snow mold." New grass may have difficulty penetrating these matted patches. But a light raking will be sufficient to solve this problem.

Spring Lawn Care Tip #2: Check for Compaction

If your lawn is subjected to high levels of traffic year after year, it may eventually start to show signs of decline. In such cases, your lawn is probably suffering from  compaction. For instance, the presence of moss plants signals compaction (among other things).

  Lawn aeration is the remedy for compaction.  The bad news is that the experts recommend postponing lawn aeration until fall. But if, during your "spring lawn checkup," you become aware of compaction, at least you can plan on setting aside some time in the fall to take care of it or call Saunders Landscape and get on their aeration schedule or 5 step process.

Spring Lawn Care Tip #3: Overseeding

Is your lawn riddled with bare patches due to dog spots dog, heavy traffic or neglect? If so, you may need to apply grass seed to fill in those bare patches. This solution is known as " overseeding lawns" Apply a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer when you overseed. Five weeks after the grass germinates, apply a quick-release nitrogen fertilizer.

However, spring isn't the very best time for overseeding lawns. Fall is the preferred time, when the new grass won't have to compete with crabgrass (see Page 2), which is killed off by autumn frosts. So postpone overseeding until fall, unless your situation is dire.

Spring Lawn Care Tip #4:  Mulching and Fertilizing

Lawns can be fertilized organically by using compost and mulching. . Too much fertilizer in spring can lead to disease and weed problems. And if you have, indeed, already fertilized in late fall, your lawn is still "digesting" that fertilizer in spring. Mulching your flower beds and trees is discussed in our mulching article found in this newsletter.

In addition to the above tasks of spring lawn care, don't forget weed control!

Spring Grass Care Tip #5: Applying Preemergent Herbicides

If you know that you have a problem with the annual weed, crabgrass, then fertilization in spring should go hand in hand with the application of preemergent herbicides. As their name suggests, preemergent herbicides address weed control not "after the fact," but before their seedlings can even emerge. Preemergent herbicides accomplish this by forming something of a "shield" that inhibits seed germination. Crabgrass begins its assault on lawns in spring, when its seeds germinate. In fact, my suggestion is that overseeding be carried out in autumn, rather than spring, is based in part on the threat posed by a spring crabgrass invasion. "So why not just begin by killing the crabgrass first with a preemergent herbicide?" Well, the trouble is that most preemergent herbicides work against not only weed seeds, but grass seeds, as well!

Keep an eye out for the emergence of the pernnial weed, dandelion during the spring season, unless you find the presence of their cheerful yellow flowers in your lawn desirable. At the very least, you'll want to snap off their flower stems before they produce seed. If you're more ambitious, you can dig them out by the roots. Spraying dandelion weeds  with postemergent herbicides is more effective in fall than in spring. If you do choose to spray, select an herbicide for  broadleaf weeds.