No garden is complete without a beautiful lawn and spring is the time to get your lawn ready for the summer season. A good spring lawn care regimen ensures a healthy, fresh-looking lawn for the rest of the year. Here are 10 spring lawn care tips to get your lawn in prime condition.

#1: Remove winter debris from your grass

It doesn’t matter how carefully you raked and cleaned your lawn in the fall, new leaves, sticks, weeds, and other debris will have made their way onto your grass caused by wind and rain. Taking the time to clean off your lawn before beginning other spring lawn care will make it easier for you to treat and maintain your lawn.

#2: Start overseeding 

Apply grass seed to help fill in bare patches or the areas where the lawn died during the winter. Make sure you purchase the correct grass seed to avoid a patchwork of different grasses in your lawn and have the right sun or shade grass formulation. Remove all debris and dead grass with a rake, which will also loosen up the soil. Apply the seed, cover with soil and water daily (or even twice a day) to keep the soil moist until the grass sprouts and reaches the desired mowing height.  As an alternative, you could purchase a grass roll from your local nursery, cut it to size, and work it into place for an instant solution.

#3: Perform weed prevention

Show me a lawn that has no weeds. Spring is the best time of year to treat your lawn with pre-emergent weed control. Pre-emergent as the name suggests will help in preventing weeds from germinating. Applying pre-emergent is a very effective way of controlling annual grassy weeds. Prevention is always better than the cure.

#4: Prevent lawn disease

Did your lawn develop dead patches during the winter? That could be a sign of lawn disease. That’s why spring is the perfect time to focus on preventing lawn disease and keeping your grass healthy. Proper lawn disease prevention can rejuvenate your yard. Our Lawn Maintainance Care program will help prevent lawn disease and lawn pests throughout the year.

#5: Give your lawnmower a tune-up

Get your lawnmower ready for the season. Your annual lawnmower maintenance should include changing the oil, replacing the spark plug and air filter, and sharpening and balancing the blades. Always read and carefully understand any and all safety information associated with your lawnmower. A well-maintained lawn mower will help keep your lawn healthy by preventing extremely low cuts or a malfunction that could delay a regular mowing schedule.

#6: Mow and grass-cycle the lawn

Now that spring has arrived time has come to start mowing your lawn more regularly or start looking for a professional mowing company near you. Grass-cycling is the process of leaving grass clippings on the lawn. Instead of bagging the clippings, let them spread out on your lawn to recycle grass elements back into the soil and to help your lawn retain more water. This process can help give your yard a boost at the beginning of the spring season.

#7: Check the pH balance of your soil

Having the correct pH level for your lawn can help alleviate many lawn care issues in the long run. Shamrock Landscape 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 lawn’s 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.

#8: Fertilize 

Fertilize your lawn during the spring even if you fertilized it in the fall. This helps your lawn replenish and build a robust root system allowing it to grow thick and lush. The right time to apply fertilizer and which type of fertilizer to use both depending on where you live and what the growing conditions are like. Be sure to follow the directions carefully. If you do, you’ll be ensuring a beautiful lawn that you’ll be proud of.

#9: Watch for thatch build-up

When soil becomes compacted over time, it restricts the grassroots access to vital nutrients and makes it difficult for the soil to absorb water. Thatch is a combination of living and dead plant matter that accumulates over time. Grass clippings do not generally contribute to thatch buildup as they can be easily broken down. A small amount of thatch may be beneficial; however, excessive thatch can cause root problems. Between compacted soil and thatch, your lawn could need some relief as part of your spring lawn care. Lawn aeration helps alleviate thatch, improve water absorption, and facilitate better grass growth.

#10: Water your lawn

Normally, here in the San Francisco Bay area, the spring season brings plenty of moisture for your lawn. Unfortunately, we have learned in recent years that we cannot count on that and it’s time to turn the sprinklers back on.  And if the new grass seed that you added needs watering, we recommend no more than one inch per week. Overwatering in the spring can cause your lawn to have shallow roots and encourage weed germination. You should only water your lawn when it begins to show signs of drought stress. This also encourages deeper roots that are ready for the summer stress. If you live in areas with regular rainfall, you should avoid turning your sprinkler system back on until the weather warms up.

Following these spring lawn care tips should help you achieve beautiful grass that your family can enjoy all season long.  You can either take care of your lawn yourself or hire a professional to do it and use the time saved to spend on things you really love. Shamrock Landscape can perform any lawn care maintenance to keep your lawn beautiful and weed-free all year long. Just give us a call at (707) 647-2000.