April Lawn Care Advice

Winter can take its toll on your lawn. As your grass begins to break dormancy, you may notice brown spots or bare patches in places where the lawn was healthy last fall. Many of these problems can be traced back to poor soil conditions including compacted, heavy clay content, poor water penetration and shallow root systems. One of the best ways to fix these issues is to aerate. Aeration helps break up heavy clay soils and allows water, air and nutrients to get down to the roots, which in turn helps build stronger root systems and makes your lawn more disease resistant and better able to take up the fertilizers you apply.    Core aeration or “plugging” as it’s often called, uses a machine to extract a plug from your lawn, leaving the remains on top of the grass as it goes. You can leave these cores in place. They will break down over time. If they bother you, rake them up and toss them in the compost pile.  

Core aeration should not be confused with power raking. Sometimes called dethatching, power raking removes the material that builds up on top of the soil. It does nothing to help build the soil your grass is growing in. Power raking can be destructive and should not be employed; aerate instead. Once the lawn has been aerated, the next step is to work on improving the soil your grass is growing in.  

You can do this by adding a humate-based soil conditioner. Humates improve soil structure and strengthen fertilizer utilization.    In addition, top dressing your lawn with Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost and earth worm castings two to three times a season will add organic material and build soil quality.  

 

Animals, both domestic and wild can cause considerable damage during the winter. Applying Dog Spot Treatment or liquid Revive will often restore the damaged turf. If after a couple of treatments, the turf has not started to green up, then it’s time to consider reseeding the area.

When it comes to seeding your lawn, there are two important factors to consider. First, you need to know the type of grass you have, so you can select the right seed. Second, you need to know when’s the best time to apply your grass seed. Turf grasses are divided into two categories: cool season grasses and warm season grasses. Cool season grasses include Kentucky Blue Grass, Perennial Rye Grass and Turf Type Tall Fescue.  Cool season grass seed can be sown now and will begin to germinate as soon as the soil temperature reaches 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  While Kentucky Blue grass is the predominate turf grass in our area, many lawns are combinations of blue grass, Perennial Rye grass and Turf Type Tall Fescue. Choosing the right grass seed is the first step to getting your lawn in shape for the coming season. We carry a variety of turf grass seed, and we can help you select the right seed for your lawn situation. 

Crabgrass and other annual weeds can be controlled by applying a pre-emergent at this time. Annual weeds typically sprout in the spring, grow quickly, flower, set seed and die before winter. A pre-emergent works by suppressing seed germination.  Pre-emergent and lawn fertilizer can be combined to feed and control seed germination, or you may apply them separately. Note: Don’t use a pre-emergent if you’re planning to seed your lawn.