Every homeowner with a lawn knows how much work it can take throughout the year to keep it healthy and thriving. The growing season from the first days of spring to the final days of autumn is obviously the time when most lawn maintenance is going on, yet the secret is to do the right things at the right time - which can be hard, when life gets in the way. Think ahead and make 2022 easier by planning your lawn care service now in Buffalo Grove and Highland Park, IL.
Related: It’s Not Too Late To Switch Lawn Care Service Providers In Glenview And Northbrook, IL
Lawn Inspection
Before any work begins, a lawn care professional will visit your property to evaluate your lawn’s needs. Due to the complexity of various lawn issues, a homeowner may not be able to correctly diagnose and develop a plan to move forward. First, the lawn care professional will perform soil testing to determine one potential cause of a struggling lawn. They will identify areas of dead, diseased, or damaged grass. Shortly after the inspection, the lawn care professional will schedule a plan of action for your lawn and begin to move forward.
Weed Management
Weeds are quite hardy and will take advantage of opportunity to sprout - and often weeds will out-compete the lawn for nutrients, sunlight, and water. Weeds will release their seeds during the late summer so they absorb into the soil during the fall and winter. By spring, the resulting sprouts will grow as fast as possible to break through the soil and claim their piece of land.
Unfortunately, weeds grow much faster than grass. Luckily, healthy grass won’t allow sprouts to break through the canopy. Lawn care professionals will strategically apply herbicides throughout the year, choosing either pre-emergent or post-emergent weed killer as needed. Keep in mind that weed killers can be dangerous around children and animals, so it’s important to let professionals handle this task.
Proper Application of Fertilizer
Choosing the right fertilizer depends on the individual needs of your lawn including the soil pH and composition. One of the first tasks to schedule in spring is the application of fertilizer to help the turf grasses come out strong and healthy. Like weed killer, fertilizer can be toxic around animals and children and it’s possible to actually do more harm than good with improper application, so it’s best to let a lawn care professional handle this task.
Aeration and Dethatching
Aeration and dethatching are some of the most tedious tasks yet they can do a great deal in ensuring a healthy lawn. Aeration is the process of using spikes to make holes in compacted soil, to enhance water and nutrient absorption. Dethatching involves removing the dead grass that accumulates at the base of each plant; left untouched, this thick thatch can prevent water, air, and sunlight from ever reaching the soil. Both can be done once a year, preferably during the late summer, to rejuvenate the lawn after it has been baked dry by the summer sun.
Mowing
Of course, the most regular maintenance task is mowing. Here, too, lawn care pros can make a difference. Not only are they trained to mow the lawn to the correct height to prevent too much moisture retention or too much moisture loss; but they also use pro-level equipment with very sharp blades that cleanly slice the grass instead of tearing at it (those brown tips you see on some lawns are a direct result of dull mower blades).
