Neglecting spring lawn care can lead to serious problems in the following months. From fertilizing to aerating to power raking, proper lawn care requires a lot of important responsibilities. Cutting corners early on in the spring season could mean extra work for you later on in the year. 

Don’t procrastinate--stay on top of your game and you’ll have a lush, healthy lawn that’s easy to maintain for the rest of the year. Here are some tips for each important task to help guide you through the spring lawn care process:

Raking/Power Raking

Don’t assume that just because you raked up some leaves in the fall you can skip the first step. Raking isn’t used only for clearing up leaves: it’s for controlling thatch build up as well. A spring raking will help remove dead grass blades that otherwise could build up to become thatch.

Power raking is a good alternative to conventional raking or dethatching as it is a gentle way to remove thatch from the lawn without causing any serious damage.

Fertilizing

When is the best time to fertilize your lawn? Springtime, when the flowers are blooming and your grass is growing. Your first feeding should happen around this time, which usually falls somewhere from mid to late April. 

Your second feeding should happen around mid May. After the initial first two feedings, you should fertilize every six to eight weeks afterward straight through to October. For the third feeding, you can use an organic material instead of traditional lawn fertilizer for greater results. But, be careful not to over fertilize in the spring, as it can lead to disease and weed issues.

Weed Control /Pre-emergent and Post-emergent Weed Killer

It’s often a smart idea to use pre-emergent herbicides along with fertilization. Pre-emergent herbicides can prevent seedlings from taking root, which helps with weed control. Spring grass care is about about weed prevention as much as it is about healthy lawn growth. Not all weeds are battled in the same manner.

• Pre-emergent - kills weeds as they germinate
• Post-emergent - controls weeds that have already taken root

One of the most difficult weeds to kill that you should keep an eye out for is crabgrass. It’s common for crabgrass to be fought with both pre-emergent and post-emergent crabgrass killers. Keep in mind though, that pre-emergent herbicides work against weeds as well as grass seeds, so if you plan on overseeding it’s important it gets done in the fall before crabgrass takes root.

Don’t wait to deal with pesky weeds. If you wait too long they could become a serious problem that you’ll spend your entire summer battling. Preventing them from even sprouting with pre-emergent herbicide is ideal.

Checking Mowers

Mowing a lawn can be tiring enough without having a difficult lawnmower. Get a tune up and save yourself some hassle.  A valuable skill any lawn owner could learn is how to tune up a lawnmower yourself. Getting a tune up every year will ensure that your machine is always ready to go to work, but learning to do it yourself could save you both time and money.

 If you have an old lawnmower, or one that doesn’t suit your needs, consider buying a new one. The tools you use are every bit as important to upkeep a fine lawn as anything else.

It’s important to keep your lawn mowed during the spring. Cutting the grass after letting it grow too long could stunt the roots so they don’t reproduce properly. Mow every five days for the first six weeks of spring to ensure a thicker and healthier lawn.

Sprinklers

Just as with a lawn mower, check your sprinklers to make sure they function properly as well. If you take care of any potential issues early in the spring season, they won’t cause you grief when you start the planting process.

What is the Difference Between Aeration and Dethatching?

Although both processes are used to improve overall lawn health, they are not the same thing. They both address different problems and have their own place in lawn care.

Aerating

Although some people recommend waiting to aerate until the fall, if you become aware of compaction during the spring it doesn’t hurt to do a little extra aeration when needed. Compaction is caused when the soil becomes inhospitable to grass roots because of how dense it is. 

Aeration will create openings in the lawn to help nutrients, water, and air to permeate the compacted soil. It keeps your grass healthy, alleviates soil compaction, and helps to reduce thatch build up. Because aeration does not expose a great deal of soil, it is a much more gentle option than thatching. 

Thatching/Dethatching

Thatching, or dethatching, is used to remove a dead layer of roots and stems caught between the grass and soil. If a thatch is bigger than ½ inch, it can prevent your lawn from receiving water, air, and other nutrients. Thatching removes a layer of thatch and exposes more soil, allowing you to groom the grass roots so that they have more room to grow.

Thatching tears out grass tissues entirely, which makes it much more stressful to your grass than aeration. The most applicable time to choose Thatching over aeration is if your lawn is thinning out because of thick hatch. 

Don’t Let Yourself Fall Behind

Staying on top of your lawn upkeep from the start of the season is a smart move. You won’t find yourself rushing to catch up as summer approaches, nor will you find yourself with a large workload later on. Doing each one of these steps will help you achieve a healthy, thick, lush lawn.