Spring has sprung!
Once the cold and bitterness of winter leaves (which happened early for us Coloradans this year), plants all over start to wake up from their long hibernation. If you don’t start preparing for the season early, you will have quite a bit of work cut out for you later on. I have been working on my lawn the past few weekends, but I still have a long way to go. We will get there together!
Please note that these are just recommendations. You can change up the order and your lawn will still be in good health. For the sake of making a list, I put it in this order.
Step 1: Cleaning Up
Towards the end of the season last year (September/October), I threw in the towel and gave up on my lawn. In return, my lawn has left me with a huge mess to take care of. Wind blew anything and everything all over; my grass was covered in crusty leaves, broken branches from bad storms, knocked over planter pots, and an unruly 100ft hose strewn about. My spouse and I filled 8 yard waste bags in one day and we were only halfway done with the backyard! Before you do any lawn treatments, whether that is hiring someone or taking care of it yourself, cleaning up is a must. It would be a little embarrassing to get that phone call saying “Sorry we couldn’t aerate your lawn today because there was too many fallen branches…” I want to spare you that, just follow this guide and you should be good to go!
Step 2: Start Watering Your Lawn
The sun is shining and your grass is starting to grow. Now that you have cleaned up your lawn, it now needs the necessity for survival: water. If you use sprinklers, it is time to get those turned on and working properly. If you use a timer based system, set it up to start watering on a regular schedule. If you are like me and can only hand water from the hose for now, try getting into a habit of watering at the same time everyday.
Step 3: Aerating
Now that your lawn is cleaned and watered, let’s aerate! I have mentioned the different types of aeration techniques in a previous post. To guarantee a successful aeration with deep plugs, the ground must be recently watered. Call us at Erbert Lawns today to set up an aeration!
Step 4: Weed Control & Fertilizing
Your lawn now has opened up. The aeration has made it so your lawn if fully ready to absorb all nutrients, water, and air in an efficient way! Yay! Unfortunately it is also an open invitation for those pesky weeds to start pushing through. Laying down a great weed control spray should help manage those weeds before they have much of a chance to grow. You should also lay down a fertilizer at the same time, your lawn is hungry after the long winter! The two together will bring out the health of your lawn.
If crabgrass is a concern, also lay down a pre emergent. This will prevent crabgrass from germinating all together. If you have bare spots in your lawn that you are planning to put seed over, skip this step. Pre emergents are great at stopping crabgrass but also prevent any type of grass seed from germinating. I go more into this on a previous post.
Step 5: Mow Regularly
Your lawn now has been set up for success and should be growing. It is stressful on grass to lose more than ⅓ of the blade at once. Mowing weekly should keep your lawn healthy without too much added stress.
I hope this helps you get ready for the season and also that it helps you get closer to the lawn of your dreams this summer!
