You’ve enjoyed a well-deserved respite from major lawn care over the winter, but now it’s time to get into the spring swing of things. After all, the best way to enjoy the spring and summer weather is with a flourishing, green lawn. It’s about more than aesthetics, though – a little bit of work upfront could save you considerable time and money as the season progresses. The best way to take care of your lawn is by working with the professionals at TaskEasy who allow you to save time, money and headaches with a wide variety of services. (Save 12% on each mow by using the promo code INVHOMES.)
Whether you tend to your lawn yourself or rely on the innovation and convenience of TaskEasy’s spring lawn care services, it can seem daunting to cater to all your lawn’s needs and ensure it remains healthy enough to thrive throughout the year.
Follow these steps to set your lawn up for success this spring:
• Get your equipment in gear
• Reduce the effects of winter weather
• Know when to aerate
• The need to seed
• Get out of the weeds
• Mow properly
• Know when to fertilize
• Water, water everywhere
• Sign up for services with TaskEasy
Get your equipment in gear.
Quality equipment in good working order can make all the difference in keeping your lawn looking great. Make sure your lawn mower is filled up
with
gas , change the oil and install a new spark plug . It’s recommended that you refresh the oil once per season or after every 25 hours of use. Tune-ups can not only extend the life of your lawn mower and reduce the need for expensive repairs, but they also help the environment: a newly restored mower can reduce emissions by 50%.
Reduce the effects of winter weather.
You probably took some steps in the fall to protect your lawn from winter damage, but it’s inevitable that some debris made it onto the ground (and was likely obscured by snowfall). Give your lawn a good clean-up before starting your spring routine to make the work easier and more effective.
Know when to aerate.
Aeration is a process that relieves soil compaction, allowing for deeper grassroots that better absorb water and fertilizer. The best time to do this is in late winter or early spring when temperatures are between 50-65°F (10-18°C). This can make all the difference in having a thriving, lush green lawn as opposed to seeing unsightly patchy grass in the summer.
Aeration is often best left to professionals. Check out TaskEasy’s lawn care services and have one of our contractors take care of your aeration needs.
This is also a good time to dethatch your lawn. Thatch is the layer between grass and soil that often consists of debris and dead grass, preventing water and necessary nutrients from reaching the soil. Excessive amounts of thatch can cause serious root problems. Fair warning: when a lawn is properly dethatched, it will take a little while to recover, but once it does, you’ll be able to enjoy a healthy, flourishing yard.
You need to seed.
Seeding your lawn – adding seed to help the grass grow, thicken existing grass, and take care of patchy grass – may sound simple, but it’s another project best left to the professionals. The difficulty can vary depending on the type of grass in your lawn and requires precise maintenance. The soil must be precisely readied and watered regularly for seeding to be effective. In fact, some experts forgo spring seeding altogether because temperatures might still be too cold in some climates until May for seeds to thrive, or at least escape the cruel fate of being eaten by birds. However, in the right circumstances, it can be the best approach, and it’s better to plant too early and have time to course-correct than to plant too late and be stuck with an unhealthy lawn.
Spring lawn seeding is best tackled in mid-March to late April. The ground must be prepared so that the seeds will interact directly with the soil. Simply spreading seeds on the ground is much less effective. Once the seed is applied, it will need light, and frequent watering – although natural rainfall may account for the majority of the necessary moisture. It typically takes around two to three weeks for seeds to begin to germinate.
Get out of the weeds.
When people think of fresh spring lawns, they may picture green grass and beautiful flowers. They tend to forget about that much more intrusive and less beloved spring arrival, weeds. Unfortunately, weeds are not a one-and-done problem. Most weeds operate on a reliable annual schedule: sprouting in the spring, fully blooming in the summer and then dying out in the winter.
While weeds are a natural part of the landscaping process, it is possible to lower their impact by targeting them with a weed killer around April and preventing them from sprouting in the first place. More importantly, you’ll stop them from spreading the seeds that will encourage weed production in later years.
Proper weed control goes beyond the spring, however. More treatments will be required throughout the summer, and the longer you wait before your initial treatment, the more treatments you will likely need.
Mow properly.
Finally, it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for: enjoying the sight, sound and especially the smell of a freshly mowed lawn. Lawn mowing is what TaskEasy was founded on, and we recommend diving into these posts from our blog archive to understand the importance and appeal of a properly mowed lawn.
Related articles:
• Lawn mower safety tips
• The importance of regular lawn mowing
• 5 lawn care myths – debunked
Want to save money, time, and frustration? Get an instant quote with TaskEasy and start recurring, automated services so you can spend less time working on your lawn and more time enjoying it.
Know when to fertilize.
Fertilization is another aspect of spring lawn maintenance that is dependent on the type of grass growing:
Cool-season grasses, which are most often found in the northern U.S., thrive in temperatures between 60 and 70 degrees. A light layer of fertilization in the spring and a heavier one in the fall should do wonders for cool-season grasses.
Warm-season grasses, found primarily in the southern U.S., grow best in temperatures around 80 to 95 degrees. The best time to drop your first layer of fertilizer is just after the grass starts getting green, and then add another layer once the highest temperatures of the summer have passed.
The benefit of fertilization is that it provides more nutrients for your lawn, and the process is just as vital as water and sunlight. Plus, it will help encourage plant growth and reduce weeds from sprouting. Fertilization should be done annually.
Water, water, everywhere
In many parts of the country, the rain will take care of the lion’s share of lawn-watering duties, but in dryer areas, you’ll need to break out that sprinkler. Most cool-season grasses will require approximately one inch of water per week to maintain their appearance and health. (One inch should penetrate about four to six inches deep into the soil.) Warm-season grasses require a little bit less.
It’s best to water your lawn in the very early morning – ideally before the sun even rises. One spring lawn care life hack: take an empty tuna can and set it somewhere on your lawn that your sprinkler hits. Check to see how long it takes to fill a half-inch, and that will tell you how long to run your sprinkler every week.
Why use TaskEasy?
Not only does TaskEasy offer the most convenient and reliable automated services available for lawn care and maintenance, but Invitation Homes residents can save 12% on each lawn mow by using the promo code INVHOMES. Sign up today – your lawn will thank you
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