Spring is the time to think about some preventive maintenance for your lawn. And while winter hasn’t given up yet, that time is upon us. Consider these recommendations from industry experts.
Aeration Is Crucial
As you prepare your lawn for spring and summer, there’s a non-chemical tactic you can employ that will pay significant dividends later on: Core aeration. Performing the core aeration process at least once a year will provide oxygen to the roots to maximize growth.
Aeration Is Crucial
As you prepare your lawn for spring and summer, there’s a non-chemical tactic you can employ that will pay significant dividends later on: Core aeration. Performing the core aeration process at least once a year will provide oxygen to the roots to maximize growth.
Not only does aeration dramatically improve the growing environment for grass; it also creates a valuable top dressing on the turf when it is mowed. The cores that are pulled up and dropped on the lawn simulate a microbial environment, and aeration helps improve the growing conditions for your lawn. Spring is the best time to aerate, but many people do it in the fall.
Maintain Your Mower
Sharpening your lawn mower blades is also essential to creating the best grass-growing conditions. Worn-out blades shred the tips of the grass blades and opens them up to disease pathogens that can cause browning. Sharpened blades, on the other hand, will give you a nice, sharp cut.
And don’t forget to clean out the mower deck. If a lawnmower is caked full of grass, it restricts airflow and doesn’t allow the machine to work the way it is designed. Some experts recommend using a mulching mower instead of one that requires you to pick up the grass by hand.
Proper Watering Techniques
Having your equipment in good working order is required, but it’s also crucial to tend to your irrigation water system. In preparation for the watering season, be sure all of your irrigation water faucets are turned off. Also remember to adjust your sprinkler heads and tweak the nozzles to ensure even water distribution.
It’s also important to note the downfalls of overwatering. After all, it’s much easier to improve a dry landscape than it is to recover from an overwatered one.
Other Things To Consider
• A healthy lawn needs good soil. Most turf grasses prefer neutral soils, so to be sure that your efforts aren’t in vain, always perform a soil test first. The results will tell you what to add to the soil to make it ideal for the grass you plan to grow. These tests indicate which elements are missing from your soil and how much to add to remedy the problem.
• Don’t apply a weed preventer (liquid or granular) or use weed and feed fertilizer when planning to sow grass. You can control weeds only after you have mowed new grass seedlings at least four times. Any weed controls applied when you sow seed will prevent germination and may kill immature seedlings.
