subject: Useful Lawn Care Tips For Impatient Home Owners [print this page] Do you wish your lawn could to be in tip top shape throughout the year? Spring is the time to help you get your lawn preened and green. From winter clean up to aeration, mowing and seeding, this is the time to give your lawn a good once over. Here are 7 spring lawn care tips for a healthy lawn.
De-litter: Get rid of any lingering fallen leaves, twigs and branches. This saves you time later on when grooming and cutting.
Take Out the Thatch: Keep the thatch level under control. Once it reaches over half an inch rake it up and away. Less than that will keep weeds in control and minimizes evaporation. So less is more. Excess thatch layers prevents rain water from seeping through and can choke your lawn.
Core Aeration: If your grass is thin and the dirt is compacted it is a good idea to rent a core aerator. Extracting small plugs or cores of soil will loosen things up, allow deeper root penetration and help beneficial micro organisms grow. This will help your lawn to bounce back from dry spells quicker.
Weed Prevention: You don't want unwelcome guests like crab grass settling in so apply a quality pre-emergent. Do so like two weeks before crabgrass typically germinates or emerges. Your local extension service should be able to help you with timing it right.
Banish Bald Spots: Struggling with bald spots? Reseeding or putting in sod are your two best options. If you are able to keep the birds away seeding works well and is cheaper. You also need to keep off the newly seeded area for about six weeks to let the young grass take hold. To encourage a high germination rate sow the seeds when the soil temps are high enough. For cool season grass, 50 degrees is good. While for the warm season varieties 70 degrees will do.
Optimize pH levels: A pH level of 6.5 is ideal for turf grasses. You need the right pH for a healthy lawn. If a soil test finds the pH to be lower than that you'll want to apply lime. While a higher pH tells you the soil lacks sulfur. You can buy soil pH test kits. Or have it done perhaps at a local garden center.
Watering Truisms: Water more but less often. Deep watering so that the soil is wet four inches down encourages deep root growth. Keeping the lawn longer helps it take a dry spell better too.
Spring time is a season to celebrate life and there's no better time to revive your lawn. With these simple pointers you will be able to enjoy a healthy vibrant lawn all year long.
