Spring is the most critical time of the year for lawn care. Regardless of whether you grow anything in your yard, the changing climate will affect your grass and shrubs. To keep your lawn’s appearance from degrading, call a professional or set a lawn care schedule using this guide.
Service Your Hardware
Your lawn mower wears down over time. Blades dull, mechanical parts degrade, and eventually even fuel can go bad. If you fail to plan for any of these issues, you won’t trim your grass effectively — if your lawn mower even starts.
Before mowing your lawn for this first time this spring, perform some routine maintenance. First, add new gas to the tank. You can either dispose of the old fuel or combine it with new. Next, sharpen your mower blades to guarantee that they will cut effectively. Finally, switch out your old spark plugs and air filter. After you perform these three steps, your lawn mower should run like new again.
Prepare Your Lawn
During winter, you probably didn’t mow your lawn at all. After three months of cold weather, lots of debris remains as a result of wintry winds and precipitation. Before you start mowing, trimming hedges, and completing other routine maintenance tasks, you need to clear the area of natural impediments.
If you want to do this yourself, the first step is to rake your yard. When piling leaves and other remaining rubbish, pay special attention to twigs and branches. These items can damage your lawn mower. If you fail to remove them before your first mowing of the year, you could suffer the loss of your expensive hardware.
Fertilize and Aerate
You want your lawn to look its best, particularly during spring and summer. To achieve this goal, you need to fertilize in the early spring. The trick is to select a type of grass that responds well to warm weather. Optimal spring grasses include Bermuda and St. Augustine. By selecting either of these fast-growing grasses, you can fertilize after mowing only two or three times. If you have a different type of grass, research the perfect time to fertilize or speak with a professional.
Aeration is a simple process that involves punching small holes in your lawn, giving water, seeds, and fertilizers a direct path to the ground below. This helps the roots grow strong quickly. When you aerate, select a day when the ground is already damp to maximize the effect.
Apply Herbicides
You’ll want to kill all weeds and blights that can degrade the quality of your lawn. By attacking them in the spring, you’ll have less concern the rest of the year. Simply apply herbicides early, then monitor your lawn each week. If you see any signs of potential infestation, add a second round of herbicides to prevent additional issues or hire a professional service to do so.
Having a beautiful lawn all summer long starts with the work you perform in the spring. Follow these lawn care tips, and you’ll have a gorgeous yard all year.
