Beginner’s Guide: Spring Lawn Care

Do you like to garden in the spring when flowers bloom and birds sing? After all, it's the perfect time of year for gardening and lawn care. In case you are a beginner and don’t know anything about lawn care, here are a few tips you need to mind.

Water Properly

The best time to water a lawn is when it needs it. During early spring, you don’t have to rush to water. The grass just started growing, and it’s the roots that grow first. Deep roots help the grass survive a drought.

If you walk on your lawn, and the blades of grass don’t spring back in footsteps, then that's a sign you need to water. Customize the spray pattern according to the shape and size of your lawn.

Use Seeds and Sods

You don’t need to wait until the fall to seed or sod; you can easily do it in springtime. Just don’t leave bare patches unattended because weeds will have a party there. Fill in bare spots with grass seed or with sod ASAP.

Prepare the soil and loosen the surface of the soil with a rake.

If you plant grass seed, sow the seeds and cover them with some topsoil and dampen. If you use sod, then cut the patch to fix and press it gently into the soil. Make sure you have good soil contact.

Aeration

Aeration means perforating the soil with small holes. This lets the air, water, and nutrients pass and penetrate all the way to the grassroots. It allows the roots to grow deeper and makes your lawn strong. Aeration also alleviates soil compaction.

Compacted soil hinders the circulation of air, water, and nutrients within the soil. This is obviously something you do not want.

The trick here is to know what’s the best time to aerate and what equipment to use. If you live in the north have grass like fescue, ryegrass, or bluegrass, you can aerate anywhere from early spring to fall.

If you live south and have grass like Bermuda, buffelgrass, st. Augustine, and zoysiagrass, then it's best to do it in late spring.

We have Bermuda grass since we live here in Texas.

Watch Out for Weeds

If you have a healthy lawn, it will resist weeds (for the most part), but you still have to watch out for those hardy interlopers.

I swear weeds love my lawn. We are trying a new lawn service this year in hopes of having a decent looking yard — for once. Our house is right at the entrance of the neighborhood, so everyone sees it, ugh.

I try to take a few minutes to grab any dandelions, chickweed, and other weeds I physically see. If hand weeding is not possible for you, then you might want to try a natural herbicide.

If a weed is really stubborn, take it to your local garden shop and ask for help or hire an expert. They often have seen it all and can help you get rid of your weed problem quickly.