Spring Lawn Maintenance

Spring cleaning for your yard is just as important as it is for your home. If you want your lawn to be healthy all summer there are a few things you want to do this spring to help it along. First of all, remove branches, leaves, litter and other debris from your yard. Next, you’ll want to de-thatch your lawn with a good raking. Generally, a thatch build up of more than a ½ inch is considered excessive.

The next step is to mow, being careful not to ‘scalp’ the grass with the first mowing. Experts advise mowing down to two inches, but never removing more than ½ inch of growth at a time so you want to start early enough in the spring and preferably before the grass is over 2.5 inches tall. The shortened grass will allow fertilizers to reach the soil better and stimulate new growth for the coming months. And don’t concern yourself with collecting all the clippings during this mowing. They will decay quickly and actually help fertilize your lawn, which is the next step.

After you have mowed, applying a good quality fertilizer that contains an effective weed killer will promote new growth and help keep your lawn looking beautiful. Fertilizing should be limited to late spring, early fall and late fall. Fertilize lightly in late spring for a lush, green lawn in summer and then concentrate most of the fertilizer application in fall. Too much fertilizer in spring can lead to disease and more weeds.