The snow has finally cleared, and the harsh winter winds have begun to die down. Your mind might be on the lazy days of summer, but before you can relax, you need to tend to your winter-ravaged lawn. Spring in Boston is a good time to revitalize and rejuvenate your hungry blades, so consider our list of spring lawn care tips for a luscious yard this summer.
1. Rake and Remove Debris
Rid your lawn of any excess debris, as this can compress your grass and prevent its access to light, air, and water when it’s needed most. Additionally, you can rake your lawn, which will help fluff and lift the grass to prepare it for the exciting growth season ahead. Now is also the time to get your yard tidied up for summer if you neglected any tasks throughout the winter. Such as taking care of outdoor furniture or sharpening tools and lawnmower blades. Doing so will help prevent more significant problems later on when you would rather be enjoying the summer instead of spending time playing catch-up.
2. Test Your Soil and Fertilize If Needed
Conduct a simple soil test to find out what nutrients your lawn needs. A soil test should be done every year to every other year, as winter can deplete your soil of nutrients, as can a hungry grass type throughout the year. You can purchase a reliable, low-cost soil test from your local lawn care cooperative. In some cases, they will even do it for free.
3. Top-dress With Compost
Compost is a great way to fertilize your lawn without having to resort to potentially harmful (and expensive!) chemicals. Compost will add fresh nutrients to the soil and will also help supplement developing grass blades with the nutrients for which they have been hungering all winter long.
4. Overseed Any Bare Spots
If you notice any holes in your lawn, perhaps caused by furniture left out over winter or an overzealous plowing job, now is the time to overseed to remove bare spots. Mix quality seed and soil in a pail or seed spreader, then broadcast evenly on the ground to ensure thorough distribution.
5. Mow The Lawn
It’s good to begin mowing as early as possible in the spring. Doing so will help jumpstart your lawn’s growth by removing the dead tops of the grass. Keep the blade height tall, however, mowing no shorter than three inches. A taller lawn this time of the year will help support deep roots and will shade the emerging seedlings. It may even prevent annual weeds from germinating.
When you mow, consider leaving the clippings on the lawn instead of bagging and removing them. It can help add nutrients and a boost of natural, organic fertilizer without the need for expensive chemicals.
6. Apply a Pre-emergent Herbicide
Spring is the time to kill off any crabgrass before it emerges. Herbicide can be applied in early-to-mid spring, but should only be applied in sunny areas where it is needed. Avoid trying to poison other weeds, like dandelions, because the moist, loose soil conditions of spring make it easy for weed killers to travel to your grass blades. That being said, it’s more challenging for these weed killers to make their way to weed roots. You only want to use poison if you have a definite plan for administering, to avoid killing the grass you’ve worked so hard to cultivate.
Need help tending to your lawn? Visit our Boston lawn care page for more info!
