Protect The Lawn During The Last Weeks Of Winter
Dont give into late-winter fatigue. Its important to protect your grass from regular traffic and snow piles through the last stretch of the season. Keep your driveway, sidewalks and paths clear of snow so that people have a safe place to walk. You should avoid shoveling snow onto the lawn or making snow piles that get in the way, forcing people to trample down the grass. At the end of winter, break up piles of ice and spread the snow around to help it melt away quicker.
As winter shifts to spring, new grass growth can easily be damaged by the pressure from feet or piled snow. Plus, piles of snow take longer to melt and can block the grass from getting those first warm rays of sun in the early spring. This results in the grass taking longer to turn green and start growing.
Nc Local Guide: How To Care For Your Lawn This Spring
This local guide will provide you with essential lawn care tips and practices.
As spring weather rolls in, many people across central North Carolina start to spend more time outside. Sometimes, they don’t like what they see.
Sure, the trees may bloom with beautiful blossoms. And yes, the sky may have brilliant blue colors. But, after a winter with little yard work, homeowners realize their lawns are in terrible shape.
Fortunately, your lawn doesn’t have to stay that way. It doesn’t take an expert to create a beautiful yard in North Carolina. All you need is some basic lawn care and spring maintenance to trim your space.
This local guide will provide you with essential lawn care tips and practices. So, without further ado, let’s jump right in!
Clear Away Winter Waste
Cleaning your yard of debris is ‘one of the more tedious lawn-preparation steps’, admits Jeremy Yamaguchi, the CEO of Lawn Love . Yet doing this is essential before you attempt any of the other spring lawn care steps. Over the winter, ‘your yard likely became full of fallen pine needles, leaves, pine cones, twigs/branches, and more. While clearing all of this out may not be that difficult, it can be incrediblytime-consuming, especially if you have a large yard. So, start early and dosmall-medium amounts at a time. This makes it much more manageable and isbetter for your back .’
Larry Yeates adds that ‘getting rid of all the unsightly winter waste will bring much-needed light and warmth to your lawn, the key ingredient to trigger spring growth.’ In other words, clearing out your lawn for spring is about more than just aesthetics but is actually important to your lawn health.
As a bare minimum, rake away any leaves and debris and consider composting it so you can recycle the nutrients. Removing weeds and fungus is also a key step to making your lawn look beautiful again, ensuring the soil’s nutrients are reserved only for your soon-to-be gorgeous green grass rather than any uninvited invaders.’
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Ensure Healthy Grass By Leaving The Leaves
Instead of straining your back raking up leaves, simply go over them with your mower. Fallen leaves act like mulch, protecting your lawn and keeping roots warm over the winter. Says gardener Garrett Hayes, founder of Birding Hub, Leaves are also marvelous habitats for garden-helping bugs to hibernate, which helps feed birds that stick around during the colder months.
Winterizing Fertilizer Is Crucial For A Healthy Lawn In Spring
Its that time of year again. The leaves are changing color, the air is getting colder, and winter is on its way. Applying a winter fertilizer is one of the most important things you can do for your lawn. If you are unfamiliar with the benefits of winterizing your lawn, this is the article for you!
Keep reading for the best tips and information on how to keep your lawn healthy through winter and into spring!
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Check Your Ph And Balance Your Soil
Having the correct pH level for your lawn can help alleviate many lawn care issues in the long run. Lawn Doctor can professionally test your soil to help you determine which treatment is right for your lawn.
Soil enrichment stimulates a stronger and healthier root system while improving the structure of your lawns soil. The process also improves root penetration and soil water retention, making regular watering more effective. Soil enrichment can also reduce damaging salts from the root zone and improve soil aeration.
Remove Dead Grass & Prep The Soil
Before planting new seeds, remove any dead grass and loosen the soil. Lay a layer of turf starter fertiliser such as Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Lawn Food then scatter Yates Lawn Seed Repair. This premium blend of grasses has a built-in slow release lawn fertiliser specially formulated to repair bare or patchy lawn areas.
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Dispose Of Lawn Clippings As Needed
It’s acceptable to leave grass clippings on your lawn unless they begin to form a thick thatch layer. Then remove the clippings and dethatch your lawn as needed.
Tip: If you use chemicals on your lawn, do not add the clippings to a compost pile.
Effective DIY lawn care during spring can save you time and effort later in the year. Follow these lawn care tips to make sure that your grass is greener.
When determining how much grass seed or mulch you need, don’t guesstimate, calculate. Know exactly how much you need with our project calculators.
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Lawn Care In Spring Requires Various Measures
Especially in spring, your lawn needs a lot of attention fertilization is particularly important. Before you can take action, however, there is some preparatory work to be done. This includes, above all, the collection of foreign objects, such as foliage or fallen branches. In addition, the first mowing of the lawn should take place before fertilising.
Has moss nested in your lawn or does it appear matted? Has part of the lawn died? If so, you must first cover the area i.e. remove moss and felting in a targeted manner. However, you should pay close attention to the soil temperature. Only from about 15 degrees Celsius can you even consider this measure. In the case of dead areas, it is also advisable to re-sow the lawn.
If winter has added so much damage to your lawn that there is no hope, only one thing will help: digging and re-creating the lawn. Care must be taken to remove the old lawn at least 5 centimetres deep so that the new lawn has enough space.
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Lawn Care Tips For Winter
For many homeowners, the cold winter months mean putting lawn care efforts on hold until the spring thaw. But just because you can’t mow the lawn or plant new flowers doesn’t mean you can’t have a great looking yard! As the weather outside gets frightful, its important to give your lawn the extra care it needs to stay healthy and beautiful all winter. With a few extra steps, you can ensure that your lawn is the envy of the neighborhood – even under a blanket of snow!
Here are a few tips to get your lawn ready and keep it looking great throughout the winter:
Cutting Heights Vary By Grass Variety
Knowing the variety or varieties of grass that make up your lawn determines the optimum mowing height. As a general rule mow tall and never cut off more than one-third of grass blades, even if that means having to cut overgrown areas over several mowings.
You may think that the shorter you cut the lawn, the less often youll have to mow. Unfortunately, it doesnt work that way. Cutting grass too short can harm the lawn and invites weed seeds to settle in. Longer leaf blades crowd out weeds and indicate a deeper root system, which is much healthier for the lawn.
Mow in a different direction every time to help prevent ruts from forming and it makes for a more attractive lawn.
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Preserve Perennials By Skipping The Fall Trim
While its often advised to cut shrubs and perennials back in the fall, skipping the chore and leaving it for spring will benefit your plants far more. Thats because dried stems insulate the plants root base, protecting it from cold. Experts say coneflowers and ornamental grasses do especially well if pruning is left until warm weather returns in the spring.
Mowing And Lawn Care Tips
Before mowing in spring, inspect your lawn mower and perform any necessary maintenance, such as changing the oil or spark plugs. Make sure your lawn mower blade is sharp to guarantee a clean cut. Be safe, and always remove the spark plugs before doing any work on your lawn mower.
- Start mowing when the ground is dry enough and grass is long enough to require cutting. Avoid mowing too low: Grass cut too short allows sunlight to reach the soil and encourages weed seeds to germinate.
- Consider setting the mowing height high enough to remove only the top one-third of the grass blades. Longer grass blades encourage deeper, healthier roots, but may require mowing more frequently.
- Check your mowers manual to see if it has a recommended setting for your specific type of grass.
- Consider lawn mowing early in the evening, when the temperatures are usually cooler and any fog or dew has dried. Dont mow when its raining or just after a rain, as the mower will not cut your lawn evenly and may become clogged with clumps of wet grass.
- Vary the pattern each time you mow. This helps prevent ruts from forming and keeps the grass from always bending in the same direction.
- Mowing should be done when your grass needs it, not on a set schedule. Grass usually needs to be mowed more often in the spring and early summer than at the end of the growing season.
Tip: Make sure your lawnmower’s tank is empty of gas at the end of mowing season so you can start the next cutting season with a fresh tank.
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Adjust Your Care For Lawn Diseases Or Plagues Accordingly
Which diseases or plagues affect your lawn depends mainly on the weather. For most problems, however, it is sufficient to thoroughly cover the lawn. The basic requirement for this is that you determine the infestation at an early stage. Otherwise, only chemical aids that affect not only your wallet, but also the environment will help.
Why Choose Greengate Turf For Your Spring Lawn Care Fertilization Service
- Locally born, owned, and operated. You will always get a local friendly Texan on the phone when you call.
- We guarantee our service. See weed activity between treatments? No problem! Give us a shout and well be out within 5 business days.
- All of our technicians are licensed applicators with the state of Texas and have yearly continuing education requirements.
- Great communication guarantee!
- Well send you an email the day before your scheduled service and a text when your technician is en route to your property.
- Free soil test and analysis for new fertilization customers!
- Easy auto-pay and online account access.
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Looking After New Lawns
Lawns from turf should be left completely un-used for their first week. Lawns from seed should be left un-used until their first mowing. Avoid using new lawns heavily in their first season.
Newly laid lawns can be fed like established lawns. They need watering, but should not be over watered, as this may result in shallow rooting and poor establishment.
For advice on aftercare of newly sown lawns, see our advice on lawns from seed.
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Fertilize Before The Ground Freezes
Just as you would in spring or summer, fertilizing in fall helps your lawn stay strong and green all season. Choose a fertilizer made specifically for fall lawns so that your grass can make the most of the nutrients, and be sure to do it before the ground freezes so the fertilizer has time to soak in.
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The Importance Of Fall Lawn Care
The average joe may not necessarily agree, but any hardcore lawn care enthusiast will tell you that fall is the most important time of year for lawn care! For many reasons, tending to your lawn before winter is crucial for maintaining healthy, green grass come spring. If lawn care becomes neglected as winter draws near, you will likely find yourself with dead and thin patches everywhere. This is due to the fact that grass enters into a state of dormancy during winter, meaning it stops growing and becomes more susceptible to damage.
Fall is the time of year when your lawn needs the most protection. Weather conditions around this time of year are often cold and damp, two conditions that are perfect for the growth of fungi. Fungi thrive in these types of conditions, and they can quickly kill your grass if they go undetected. Applying a winterizing fertilizer before winter will help to prevent this from happening. Below are a few more issues that often plague lawns in fall:
- Pests As the temperature cools down, many pests will begin to look for a warm place to spend the winter, like your lawn and home!
- Diseases Fungal and bacterial diseases love cold and damp conditions, especially clumps of wet and sickly leaves.
- Weeds Certain invasive weeds perform well in colder temperatures, especially if you have let your guard down!
- Compaction After being compressed by foot traffic all summer, colder soil temperatures will cause your lawn to become hard and compacted.
Focus On Fungi Prevention
Fall is the time of year we associate with seeing colorful toadstools and other mushrooms, David Truby of Greensleeves points out. However, there are also pervasive fungi, such as fusarium and red thread, that can infect lawns and cause massive damage, he warns.
The first step to treating lawn damage is establishing its cause. Symptoms such as brown spots, patches, or sliminess are tell-tale signs of certain fungus types, yet lawn damage can also be caused by molds, moss, insects, and wildlife.
While scarification, aeration, and overseeding can help reduce a fungus invasion, the best course of action would be to call the professionals to deal with the problem using an expert fungicide formula.
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Spring Tips For Southern Lawns
In southern lawns, spring lawn care builds slowly. Common warm-season lawn grasses, such as Bermudagrass or Zoysia grass, are just beginning to exit dormancy on their way to greening up. These springtime tasks for southern lawns can help your lawn move from early to late spring so its ready and positioned for the surge of summer growth:
Start spring with sharp, clean mower blades.
Always read product labels thoroughly and follow instructions.
Pennington with design, One Step Complete, Smart Seed and Water Star are registered trademarks of Pennington Seed, Inc.
UltraGreen is a registered trademark of Central Garden & Pet Company.
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Should You Tackle Lawn Weeds In Spring
To get rid of lawn weeds, apply a combined fertilizer, weed killer, and moss killer in mid-spring.
If you would rather not use moss killers and herbicides, apply 4oz per sq m of blood, fish and bone mix monthly, from mid-spring to late summer if rain isn’t expected for two days, advises John Negus, gardening expert for Amateur Gardening. ‘This encourages grass to grow robustly and outpace the moss and weeds.’
There are steps you can take to combat weeds in your lawn
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Pick Up Sticks And Mow High
Storms during the winter season likely deposited a smattering of fallen leaves, branches, and twigs on your lawn. Once you’ve picked up this debris and disposed of it properly, you’re ready to mow.The best-kept secret to lush, thick lawns? Mow high. Setting your mower to the highest possible setting for your grass type allows the blades to grow thick and develop a deep root system. This method also crowds out weeds, putting you well on your way to cultivating the most enviable backyard on the block.
Spring Lawn Care Service
GreenGates Spring Lawn Care includes our 8-step lawn care & fertilization program, designed specifically for our challenging & unique soils. Our Spring lawn care also consists of a free soil test & analysis for all new customers.
With soil results in hand, we create the best lawn care program for your unique lawn and landscape, no matter how awful your soil may be. We have performed thousands of soil tests over the years, which is why we are the soil experts and the ONLY company in town offering a truly customized lawn fertilization program.
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Behind Every Great Lawn Is A Great Lawn Mower
To keep your lawn in tip top shape, ensure that your mower is up to the task. Begin with a tune up, replacing the spark plug and the filter as necessary. Next, change the oil and sharpen the blade — we recommend doing this at least once a year. After your mower’s essential parts have been brought up to snuff, clean it off — use a putty knife to remove caked-on grass, and wax the deck to keep clippings from sticking to it. Finally, you’ll want to lubricate the wheel bearings and other moving parts to improve the efficiency and extend the lifespan of your mower.
