Spring yard maintenance requires less intensive care as compared to a fall yard. If you had taken extra care of your yard in the late fall, chances are you will not require much maintenance as the weather starts to warm up again. The most important aspect of spring yard care is to ensure that the lawn has enough prospect of coming back to life in the early months of spring. If you are careful in the beginning, the soil and sun will do the rest for you.
Avoid Starting Too Early
It is always tempting to begin working on the yard as soon as the weather starts to warm up a little. But it is important to allow the yard to gradually come back to life. Let your lawn be fully green before you start working on it. If you start mowing your lawn when it is not fully green, you will risk damaging the new shoots. Let the lawn be fully green before aerating and mowing your lawn. You will obviously want to wait until all the snow has melted…thanks Colorado spring!
Start with Raking
Raking possibly is the last thing you did to your yard in the late fall. It is ideal to start your spring lawn care with raking. Give your lawn a deep and thorough raking prior to mowing or treating your grass. Raking extracts the thatch that may have hoarded in winter. It also allows you to find compact areas and dead spots that may demand your special attention. For compact areas, you may need an aerator that allows more grass to grow by loosening the soil.
Test the Acidity of Soil
Many garden centers and home improvement shops sell PH tests for soil that you can conduct at home. These are essential tools that can help you prepare your yard for the summer. Long and harsh winters cause the Ph level of the soil to become more acidic, making it difficult for the grass to be greener and mature.
Spreading a layer of lime over your yard can reduce the level of acidity of the soil. Lime neutralizes the Ph level, allowing it to support the soil.
Note: The amount of lime you spread must be enough to balance the level of acidity of the soil.
Fertilizing
For those who used a layer of fertilizer in the fall may not need to fertilize again in the spring. Winter enables the soil to hold fertilizer. Chances are that the fertilizer you used in fall is still working. However, consider a fresh layer of fertilizer as it starts getting really warm, for summer grass soaks up the fertilizer much quickly than winter soil.
Weeds
Is your yard prone to weeds? If yes, then spring is the best time to use herbicides for keeping the weeds from growing. It is much easier to get rid of weeds before they mature. In spring, to let your flowers and crops grow beautifully, it is important to keep weeds away from your lawn. Once you have taken all the right preventive measures to kill the weeds, your spring lawn is good to go.
Contact Co Home Base with any questions about home improvement projects to make sure you get the best ROI on your house or tips on the best way to stage your outdoor living space before selling. The front yard especially can have a huge impact on curb appeal.