Spring Tips For Lawn
Spring Tip:1
Raking will be your first task of spring lawn care. 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.
Even if you raked in the fall, I still recommend a spring
raking: it will remove grass blades that died over the winter -- dead
blades that are just waiting to become thatch! But there's often another good reason for a spring raking. 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.
Spring Lawn Care Tip #3: Liming
Besides compaction, the presence of moss plants also signals acidity. But grass likes a neutral
soil pH, about a 6.5 . You can solve this problem by liming your soil. But don't
expect a quick fix: the effects of liming are slow to take place.Liming is only a corrective measure,
not a preventive measure. A soil that is too alkaline will also cause your lawn problems, so too much lime is as bad as not enough.
Spring Lawn Care Tip #4: Overseeding
So you ask when is the best time to plant seed? For cool season grasses, the ideal planting times are late fall or
early spring. For warm season grasses, a constant soil temperature of
70º is recommended for optimum seed performance.
There are two times of the year that are best for
overseeding a lawn: spring and fall.
Overseeding can be employed to renovate an existing lawn to grow
off-season grass to keep the lawn green when the primary turf is
dormant. Spring is the best time for lawn overseeding for lawn
renovation. Overseeding in the fall is generally done in warmer,
southern climates to ensure green grass during the winter when the warm
season grasses are dormant. Regardless of the time of year during
which you seed over existing grass, these tips will help your lawn
project be successful.
Spring Lawn Care Tip #5: Fertilizing
Fertilizing Tips
Watering and mowing alone will not make a healthy
lawn. It must be fertilized.
There are 16 different mineral elements necessary for the proper
growth of all lawns. The 3 elements that are of most importance and used
in greatest quantities by your lawn are nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium.
Nitrogen is by far the element needed most by your lawn. It promotes
root and blade growth and is responsible for the healthy green color of
the grass. Without enough nitrogen your lawn will grow slowly and become
yellowish. With too much, a lawn will grow too rapidly causing thatch
build-up that can lead to disease problems. Nitrogen is also the element
used up the quickest.
Phosphorus is less important than nitrogen but is still necessary for
for the proper development of a lawn. Phosphorus helps the early
formation and growth of roots. This is why starter fertilizers have a
higher percentage of phosphorus. Established lawns need very little
phosphorus because it is not flushed from the soil as readily as
nitrogen.
Potassium is an essential element for lawn growth. It is commonly
applied to lawns as part of a balanced fertilizer.
Potassium, often called potash, helps lawns
use water and resist drought. It promotes healthy green lawn grass. Potassium is called the regulator of plants.
A complete fertilizer is one that contains all three of these major
elements. A fertilizer bag will have a set of 3 numbers, for example,
18-6-12, printed on it. This series of numbers represents the
percentage, by weight, of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contained
in the bag. A 50 lb bag of fertilizer with a Guaranteed Analysis of
18-6-12 will have 18% or 9 lbs of nitrogen, 6% or 3 lbs of phosporus,
and 12% or 6 lbs of potassium.
When
using fertilizers or any other chemicals on your lawn, follow the
directions closely or you could do more harm than good. Over
fertilization not only accelerates growth but can burn your grass.
When fertilizing start with a dry lawn. Using either a broadcast or
drop spreader, apply one-half of the recommended amount in one direction
then spread the remaining half at right angles to the first. After
fertilizing, it is necessary to water your lawn to wash the material off
the grass and into the soil.
The following is a brief
summary of what each feeding will do for your lawn. Because of the
differences in the environment these are a general recommendations. The
color of your turf will help tell you when to fertilize. A properly
fertilized lawn will be a uniform, dark green throughout. Yellowed or
stunted turf needs to be fertilized.
Early Spring (March-April)
In the spring the roots begin growing before the leaf blades do.
Fertilizing now will deliver more nutrients to this root system and help
strengthen it for the coming growing seson. A feeding now will also
green-up the lawn after being dormant over the winter.
Late Spring, Early Summer (May-June) Warm season grass only
Prior to the onset of the hot summer months, one more application is
recommended. Fertilizing at this time is done to strengthen the lawn for
the hot, dry weather ahead and to help keep it’s green color. Remember
that these cool season grasses actually go semi-dormant in the summer. A
fertilizer with a slow release nitrogen source and slightly higher
potassium is recommended at this time.
Important Note: Do not apply fertilizer during periods of
heat stress. If limited or no watering is available then reduce
fertilization by the same percentage your water is reduced.
Early Fall (September-October)
As soon as the weather cools, another feeding will help replenish
nutrients used up and help the lawn recover from the effects of summer
stress. The grass will be growing up at a faster rate again and will
benefit from a fertilizer similar to that used in the spring.
Spring Grass Care Tip #6: Applying Preemergent Herbicides
More to comeAs the name suggests, pre-emergent herbicides must be applied before
weeds emerge to have any real effect, since they work by preventing weed
seeds from germinating in the first place. If you wait until after the
weeds emerge, the herbicide won't have any effect. Yet many unsuspecting
people do just that, which not only results in a waste of money, but in
many cases results in pollution of the soil, ground water and nearby
rivers, lakes or oceans.
Timing is critical. A common misconception about the ideal time for
pre-emergent herbicides is that application should coincide with certain
events, such as daffodils or forsythias in bloom. In nearly every area
of the country, the weeds will have already emerged by that time.
Determing the best time for Pre-emergent is as follows. According to garden experts from many regions of the U.S., the two dates
to remember are March 15 and September 15. Those are the two dates of
the year around which pre-emergent fertilizers should be applied so that
they activate before seasonal weeds make an appearance.
Two Weed Growth Periods In Some Regions
There are two application dates because generally there are two types of weeds, winter weeds and summer weeds. This is especially true in regions that don't completely freeze over in the winter.
The summer weed date is March 15th, because that is usually when
average soil temperatures reach above 50 degrees. Major summer weeds
like crabgrass or clover will only emerge once the soil is consistently over this temperature.
In warmer areas, the date will probably be earlier.
The September 15th date is to catch weeds as they set new seed. This
fall application will limit any late fall growth and hopefully begin
weeding work for next year.
If you use a pre-emergent herbicide, keeping these two dates in mind can help you get a head start in weed control.
If you missed the window of opportunity for applying a pre-emergent
herbicide, you can apply a post-emergent product. Post-emergents work by
destroying already established weeds. However, take care when applying
post-emergent herbicides. Some are selective, meaning they target
specific weeds, while others are nonselective, which means they destroy
anything and everything green, whether they're weeds, your grass,
flowers or shrubs. Therefore read the product label.
Keep in mind that you'll never get rid of all the weeds in your lawn.
The wind will blow weed seeds from nearby lawns into your lawn, birds
will deposit them and kids running from one lawn to the next will
transport weed seeds on their shoes. So do what you feel you must to
battle the weeds in your lawn, but do it wisely. Raise the height of your
mower to help prevent weed seeds from germinating in the first place.
Fertilize twice a year with a natural product to promote vigorous grass.
Spring Grass Care Tip #7: Applying Postemergent Herbicides
Post-emergents work by destroying already established weeds. However,
take care when applying post-emergent herbicides. Some are selective,
meaning they target specific weeds, while others are nonselective, which
means they destroy anything and everything green, whether they're
weeds, your grass, flowers or shrubs. Therefore read the product label.
Keep in mind that you'll never get rid of all the weeds in your lawn.
The wind will blow weed seeds from nearby lawns into your lawn, birds
will deposit them and kids running from one lawn to the next will
transport weed seeds on their shoes. So do what you feel you must to
battle the weeds in your lawn, but do it wisely. Raise the height of your
mower to help prevent weed seeds from germinating in the first place.