If you want your lawn to look lush and healthy all summer, it’s important to care about your lawn year-round. And now the time is here to have work done on it again. Does this seem early? Here are important reasons to start your Buffalo Grove, IL, lawn care service early in the season.
Removing Excess Grass
Once the leaves start budding, get ready for your grass to show growth soon after! In spring, there’s a lot of prep work to be done to ensure a healthy lawn all summer. Think about all the use your beautiful lawn will get once the kids are out of school or when your July staycation kicks off. For now, as you wait for the grass to start coming in, your lawn likely needs a good raking. Some leaves have probably fallen since your fall cleanup, and any thatch can be removed at this point. Any more than a half inch is too much and will prevent new grass from growing.
Feeding and Liming
Grass goes dormant in winter; if you had your lawn fertilized in the fall, it should come into spring looking healthy and vibrant. Your lawn can be fertilized using compost spread with mulching mowers or chemical fertilizers that are specifically designed for light feeding in the spring and a heavier feeding in the fall. Liming your soil could help neutralize acidic soil. Since the need for liming can vary, your lawn care professionals will be able to advise you whether your lawn would benefit from lime.
Weed Control
Spring lawn care service includes weed prevention, which can be a complex process since not all weeds are treated in the same way. Some weeds such as crabgrass require pre-emergent herbicides applied in the spring, as well as another application of post-emergent herbicide later in the season as needed.
Related: 4 Ways Lawn Service Helps To Eliminate Weeds From Your Lawn In Wilmette, IL
Aerating
When soil becomes compacted, water and nutrients cannot effectively reach the roots. Aeration solves the problem of compacted soil, and can revive a struggling lawn. Dry/cracked, wet/spongy, or heavily used grass needs aeration at least once a year (spring) and preferably again in the fall.
Watering
Just because the temperatures are low right now doesn’t mean your grass isn’t thirsty. Keep your grass irrigated with about 1 inch of water per week to ensure it has a good healthy root system.
Related: Winter Lawn Care Service For Better Spring Growth In Northbrook, IL
Mowing
During the summer, your grass will need mowing to just over 3 inches tall to help hold moisture in the soil. But in the fall, the grass can be cut shorter, to around 2 inches, to encourage the plants to put their energy into their roots.
Seeding
What about seeding a lawn? Seeding is usually best done in the fall; otherwise, since newly planted grass requires additional fertilizer, you may end up feeding more weeds than grass, and weeds are typically faster-growing and more aggressive than grass. Your lawn care service can seed your lawn in early fall in a way that ensures a dense and weed-resistant lawn.
If you follow these tips and you’re diligent with early-season lawn care service, you can expect to enjoy many lush, barefoot-in-the-grass days on your lawn all summer!
