Use a sprayer in the morning. Add fertilizer to your lawn maintenance routine. Train pets to use a small area. Replant thin areas of the lawn.
You can also choose to apply an organic or traditional “pre-emergent” herbicide. The best time to apply a pre-sprout is when the temperature at the top of 1 inch of the soil has been 55 degrees F for five consecutive days (often in March and April). Once the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees, annual weed seeds begin to germinate. Once you can see the weeds in your lawn, a pre-emergent herbicide isn't effective.
Also, consider a shredding lawn mower that returns grass clippings to the ground. This saves you time and energy, while improving the condition of your lawn. Since grass clippings contain up to 90 percent water, clippings dry out very quickly. It's almost as if the grass clippings disappear.
In addition, this returns 25 percent of the nutrients to the soil, a fantastic fertilizer. A turf lawn also has compacted soil, especially if people walk on it. If you see patches of moss or signs of decline, we recommend aerating the lawn; this allows water and air to reach the root zone faster, resulting in new growth and increased root development. However, this is usually best done in the fall.
Plan to rent a lawn aerator from your local home improvement store. If you air in spring, it's important to aerate the core before the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees F. As it warms, you're simply leaving room and inviting aggressive weed seeds to find a home. I never took into account the fact that leaving leaves alone in beds can act as mulch.
My wife wants to install 2 new flower beds in our backyard so that spring brings life to our yard. We'll need to hire a garden contractor to dig up the areas. If you're new to lawn care or just want the basics, we have tips for you. You may be interested in reading about 10 tips for raking leaves.
You can do this by removing weeds manually or by using selective herbicides (also known as weeds and feed). If you are going to use herbicides, make sure to wait at least 3 weeks between applications. Read our guide on ways to eliminate weeds here. If you overseeded, you must wait at least 50 days before performing this step.
Don't make lawn care confusing and difficult. Whenever you perform monthly lawn maintenance, always remember these 6 steps. During winter and fall, you will need to adjust the cutting height to 3 inches. For spring and summer, you can increase it to 4 inches.
Manually weed or apply weed control during the last week of spring. You can also get rid of weeds during the first two weeks of summer. Using a soil test kit helps you determine the right fertilizer for your lawn. You can find soil test kits at local garden stores.
Perform a soil test only during spring and summer.
