Lawn Care Tips for Every Season
Knowing the best lawn care tips for every season is important - because believe it or not, there’s more to tending to your lawn besides just mowing it in the summer.
In fact, the healthiest-looking lawns are cared for throughout every month of the year. There’s a lot of planning and preparation that goes into a gorgeously green lawn - here are some tips to keep in mind.
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What Are the Benefits of A Well-Maintained Lawn?
Although lawn care can sometimes be a dreaded chore, there are lots of benefits to having a well-maintained home.
The most obvious benefit is that a lovely lawn can provide some serious visual appeal. It can upgrade the look of your entire home, making it appear clean, stylish, and fresh. If you’re trying to sell your home, you can’t beat the impact that a nice lawn will have on your home value. It can dramatically improve your curb appeal and attract more potential buyers.
Not only that, but having a well-maintained lawn offers a variety of environmental benefits, too. It can help prevent wind and water erosion, reducing the likelihood of flooding, and also provide valuable wildlife habitat. It can even create a cooling effect during hot weather!
With those benefits in mind, keep reading to figure out what you should be doing during every month of the year to keep your grass looking great.
The Best Lawn Care Tips for Every Season
Ready for the most gorgeous lawn ever? Follow these simple tips - no matter what time of year it might be.
1. Spring
Springtime is “go-time” when it comes to lawn care!
Wait to fertilize until late spring- you don’t want to start feeding grass too early. It won’t necessarily be detrimental to your lawn but it won’t allow your grass to use nutrients in the most efficient manner. Roots store enough carbohydrates from the autumn months to facilitate their growth in the early spring.
Wait to apply an organic lawn fertilizer until a month or so into the spring. Use one that is a light, slow-release type to make sure you don’t burn your lawn.
In the spring, there tends to be a lot of moisture left in the grass from heavy winter rains or snowpack. Wait to water until the soil seems exceptionally dry - you can test it by digging into the soil with your finger up to the knuckle. If it still seems moist, you don’t need to water.
Don’t water with your sprinklers right away. Instead, provide just an inch or less of water per week. Overwatering will drown the roots and encourage weeds to pop up.
Instead, use the extra time to oversee. You can replenish the grass by scattering seeds now - they’ll take hold and appear just in time for summer!
Spring is also a good time for pest and weed control. By getting a jump start on these tasks (and applying pre-emergent herbicides), you can save yourself a lot of work come summer.
2. Summer
Your number one lawn care task in the summer is going to be mowing.
Make sure your lawnmower is adjusted to the proper mowing height. Lawns that are maintained at least three inches or slightly higher will develop deeper root systems. Try not to mow too often, particularly if your lawn has cool-season turfgrasses whose growth will slow when temperatures get hot and dry. A weekly mowing session is realistic so you don’t cut more than a third of the blade at once.
Now you can turn your sprinklers back on, too. Water deeply - the exact amount will vary depending on your soil type. Clay soil should be watered at a rate of 2.2 to 3.2 inches per foot while sandy soil will be much less.
Water in the early morning before the sun gets too high - wait until later in the day, and the moisture will evaporate before your grass can adequately absorb it.
If weeds appear during the summer, you can hand-pull them. This should take care of the vast majority of problems, but if you’re overrun, you can use a post-emergent herbicide instead.
Last but not least, keep an eye out for summer lawn pests like turf caterpillars and grubs. Soil webworms are some of the most frustrating pests of all and can cause extensive damage during the late summer months.
3. Fall
Winter’s on the way, but it’s not here yet. Take advantage of the still-warm (yet admittedly shorter) days by taking care of a few lawn tasks.
Dethatching is one important step. This involves removing the build-up of grass, leaves, and other debris that accumulates over your lawn with a vertical mower or power rake. You can rent this equipment if you don’t want to buy it.
You should also do some aeration - which involves breaking down compacted soil by plugging holes into the lawn. This lets nutrients and water reach roots more easily. Again, you can rent an aeration machine if you don’t want to invest in one.
Some lawns benefit from a bit of fertilizing in the early fall. This can make them less likely to turn brown. Look for a slow-release product and make sure you water before fertilizing to prevent burning.
4. Winter
Unless you live in the deep south where winter conditions aren’t overly harsh, you’re probably not going to be able to keep working on your winter landscape once the deep freeze truly sets in.
Instead, you should plan ahead to have all of your lawn care tasks finished by the time the snow flies. Be sure to take away all dead leaves to prevent wet spots and respect the lawn during the winter by avoiding parking cars or trucks on it.
Even though you can’t see the grass, it’s still alive under all that snow during the winter months - and parking a car on it can kill it in a hurry.
Similarly, don’t leave lawn furniture, toys, or anything else on the lawn over the winter. This can smother the grass and create favorable conditions for pests and diseases.
Make the Most of Your Lawn Care Chores
Lawn care doesn’t have to be stressful - nor does it have to be tedious. Organization and proper planning will be instrumental in your success.
By being aware of all of the lawn care tasks that need to be done at any given time throughout the year, you can stay on top of your game and enjoy a gorgeous green landscape 365 days of the year.
Author’s Bio: Kym Preslar is a bit of a gardening and home improvement fanatic. She’s been working on her garden for over 5 years and loves writing about everything landscape-related. Whether it’s keeping care of sod or the greenhouse, she’s been there and done it all. Currently, she’s enjoying her time working at SodLawn as their Content Manager.
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