Spring lawn care is all about fear.

Spring lawn care or 10 secrets for lawn care after winter

A lawn with emerald, silky grass is a summer resident’s dream. The green surface of the grass is caressing and soothing. It feels good to walk on it barefoot. The turf humidifies the air. But the activity is problematic. Lawn care this spring will be successful if you know 10 important secrets.

Secret 1: The skirt.

Spring lawn care after the winter begins after all the snow has melted and the soil has dried well. You can’t do this earlier – you could damage the grass. The condition of the lawn should be assessed after the winter. If the lawn has become uneven, bumpy, hollow, with a “hill” of moles, it should be re-drilled. This operation is especially necessary when grasses are sown in the fall. In the first years, the lawn must be rolled. Lawn “with experience” is usually not required or used as needed.

A special garden roller is used for this procedure. The tool “Shop” can be replaced by a long metal tube. Twine or wire is spread over it, trim and roll the turf by hand with a roller.

Depending on weather conditions, rolling begins in April. In addition to rolling, combing, screeding, aerating the lawn, first feeding the grass, and dividing the new grass with the formation of “Propeshin” are done in this month.

Mystery 2nd Spring.

The next step in spring lawn care is combing out. Last year’s grass, dry leaves, branches, etc. are still left behind despite the fall cleanup. Plant debris keeps the lawn breathless and takes moisture away from the weed miles that have settled on the lawn. Various pests and diseases feel at ease in such trash. Regular rakes are not suitable for combing out. They are bad for the turf: the sharp teeth tear off the old and ready to awaken greenery.

A fan rake should be used. They make it quick, easy and good to clean up your lawn. They do not traumatize the lawn. There are special “Chesa” rules. The turf is first driven along the rake and then brushed crosswise and then diagonally as well. IMPORTANT: The combing operation should be done before fresh grass begins to grow. After this cleaning, the young grass will grow quickly.

Secret 3. Breaking the grass.

This includes scarifying in the spring (it will be done in the fall as well). This is the flat cutting of the floor with blades using a scarifier or scarifier. The tool makes incisions of a few centimeters so that the grass roots get more air and moisture. It’s a kind of loosening. Combing with a rake makes the turf “breathe,” but it doesn’t replace it. Over time, old stems die off and form what’s called “felt” in the grass, which keeps the grass from breathing and prevents it from growing and developing. The earth on the lawn is not loosened, unlike beds, the cut grass has to be loosened. This procedure is carried out at least once every two years. In the spring, the lawn, along with dry grass, stems and roots, is freed from moss. This also protects against fungal and bacterial diseases. Lawn mowing is a painful operation, so the lawn is watered abundantly afterwards. After cuttings, the lawn awakens to life and is quickly covered with lush new greenery.

Secret 4. Breathe deeply!

Another secret to a good lawn is ventilation. It must saturate the soil with oxygen. The lawn is ventilated by piercing the sod for 10-20 centimeters. Turf is ventilated in different ways. It is best to use a pitchfork. A hay fork is inserted fully into the turf, slightly turned, taken out and after 10-15 cm perform the same actions.

There is such a device as ventilating turf soles. These are thick galoshes with sharp spikes. They are attached to the shoes with straps or bunches and run across the lawn.

For large lawns, it is advisable to purchase a vent. This tool looks like a drum of spikes that the gardener pushes forward. It can be mechanical and require human effort. And with an electric gasoline engine, when the process is performed by a machine. The airing is done every year.

Secret 5. Restoring greenery

Lawns and lawn care in the spring may require a reset. On a lawn plot, you need to cover the bare spots that formed after the winter. We take the seeds (half as much as the first sowing), sow and mix half with fertile soil. Or put a thin layer of garden soil and compost, peat on the seeds. Be sure to water well.

When replacing the lawn, the individual damaged areas are cut out and laid. If the lawn is completely replaced, remove the grass rudiments with a shovel or dig with a hand tractor and remove the top layer. The other way is to kill the grass with chemicals, followed by the application of fertile soil and seeding with grass. Different types of grass have different wear tolerances. The most beautiful and demanding parent lawn should be renewed sooner than a regular lawn.

Secret 6. Who needs supplements?

Sanding is another process that takes place in the spring. On sports turf lawns, sand is added every year where there is a high degree of use. Heavy soils should be sanded. The lawn is evenly sprinkled with sand or a mixture of sand and compost. The floor becomes lighter after this process. New grass shoots emerge more quickly.

Secret 7. Feeding

If you look at your lawn after the winter: Fertilising is part of spring care. Lawns are vigorous-growing plants which take up large quantities of nutrients. Regular fertilization is the key to a nice, healthy green lawn. Young lawns especially need fertilizer. Lawn fertilisers mainly contain nitrogen in spring and summer and phosphorous and potassium in autumn. With the establishment of warm weather, the first “fertilizer” is done in the spring. Plants grow green mass: they need nitrogen fertilizer. To do this, if desired, add ammophoska, ammonium nitrate or urea (one matchbox per square meter is used). After the first mowing, fertilize with phosphorus-calcium-potassium fertilizer (2:1:1 ratio). Phosphorus makes the root system of lawn grass strong, potassium increases resistance to various diseases, hot weather.

Fertilizers are applied in dry and liquid form. They begin to “eat” after the snow melts, when the warmth sets in. It is not recommended to sprinkle dry “feed” during snow melting: some of the fertilizer can run off the lawn with the melted water. But you should not wait for green grass to appear before using it – the greenery can be burned. It is preferable to apply fertiliser in liquid form when watering. This way they penetrate the soil better and are absorbed without causing burns.

Dry fertilizer is used in dry weather on wet soils. Apply evenly and distribute it over the lawn in vertical strips. There are special spreaders available. After applying fertilizer, water is taken for watering.

In addition to the second fertilization, in May the lawn is mowed for the first time, watered and the first weeds are controlled.

Riddle 8. And without water …

Densely growing grass “drinks” a lot. Then it will be green, lush, and healthy. There is usually plenty of moisture in the soil in spring, but watering is still necessary. Depending on the weather, water the lawn once a week in spring (in hot weather – up to 2 times). In summer, water more often. The main rule of lawn watering is to moisten the soil deeply (at least 15-20 cm). A young lawn requires more watering than an old one. In severe heat, in addition to watering it is necessary to carry out spraying.

For large lawns, special watering systems are installed, including automatic watering, sprinkling and more. For a small lawn, a garden hose with a sprayer will suffice.

Water your lawn like other plants in the morning and evening. Watering in the afternoon (especially at noon) risks sunburn of the lawn and rapid evaporation of moisture. Watering late in the evening can provoke fungal diseases. Along with night fog, heavy dew and an evening “downpour”, lawn root rot can occur.

As well as watering, fertilise your lawn.

Secret 9. Don’t “mow to zero.”

The first low grass that appears in the spring immediately transforms the area. But the long-awaited mulch needs to be mowed. It’s an ironclad rule. The secret is that after the first mowing, lawn grasses begin to grow stronger, the grass becomes more resistant to the elements and disease.

The first mowing of dry grass is usually done in late April to mid-May. The timing depends on the region and weather conditions. Experts recommend mowing the lawn when the grass grows two centimeters from normal. This time is different for different types of lawn. The lowest height for a floor lawn is 3 cm, for a sports lawn a little higher – 4 cm, for a regular lawn – 5-7 cm. Mowing too low will quickly become dislodged. High – leads to thickening, poor ventilation. But the growth of grass – more than 10 cm. Do not cut the first bumps to “zero”. Usually the grass cover is cut by a third. When the grass has grown up, spend 1-2 mowing the lawn and shorten the grass to the desired level.

Secret 10: What a weed!

Spring lawn care includes mandatory weed control. If the lawn is decent and regularly mowed, overgrown hardy lawns are muesli. But you still can’t do without weeds. Weeds are dealt with in different ways. If there are only a few, they are pulled by hand. The first and most pernicious spring weed on lawns is dandelion. It is removed with the root using a root puller.

For large infestations, special lawn herbicides are used. They kill weeds without damaging the muesli of the lawn.

The preparation “Lintor” guarantees a lawn – free lawn. The herbicide effectively destroys harmful, hardy weeds: thistle, chamomile, marsh rosemary, vermilion, and others. Another product that fights lawn weed, BI-300. It gets rid of “tops” and “roots”. It is especially effective in the fight against thistles and seeding. The effect is noticeable in the first hours after application! When the appearance of lawn “Clean Degree” helps in the selected location. It will save you from a wide variety of weeds, including hard-to-root weeds. Chemical spraying is done strictly according to the drug’s instructions. Work in protective clothing, respiratory protection and gloves.

It is important to identify existing diseases in the spring and suppress their development. With high humidity, various forms and fungal diseases can appear on the lawn. Yellowed grass and mildew on it is proof of this. Therefore, it is necessary to apply fungicides. Iron sulfate is effective. The solution is created in accordance with the recommendations on the package.

To your own experience

Finally, about your experience in lawn care. Maintaining a green lawn only for the amateur seems easy and simple. And to think, grass! Let me tell you right off the bat: It’s a tedious activity that requires effort, time, and special tools. Our first summer weed, Solid, is over 10 years old. I call it an imperfect lawn, so I’ll share an observation.

One spring we seeded the entire area around the house. After a few years, the lime mosses were displaced, although we bought the lawn for dodgy spots. There isn’t much moss in the sun, but it’s there nonetheless. Because one hand waved at our heavy tone when seeding. In vain. We had to bring in sand and dilute the soil because the lawn grows best on sandy clay.

Every week since May, I’ve spent more than 2.5 hours with the lace mower! The electric lawnmower is followed by a cable – an extension cord – to get to all the corners. Then another half hour mowing the edges of the lawn in places with a complex contour with large scissors (I could not buy a small mowing machine – for ingenuity!). Grasses that were planted in the meadow and myself in the meadow, pestered to avoid shrubs.

My advice: if you really want an island of green grass, create a small round or oval lawn in a sunny spot. Next to the lawn, plant conifers, hostas, hydrangeas and other beautiful plants. Or all in one place and surround them with geogranes that won’t cramp the lawnmower. The lawn should be higher than the path, not lower, so it’s also convenient to mow the grass here.

I never leave grass clippings on the lawn. Although the renowned botanist Dr. Hession, now 94, gives such advice in his books. Some of the nutrients go back into the soil. To me, that’s not pleasant. From the lawnmower’s grass box, I send the grass for composting or mulching.

Over the years we have planted and overgrown our lawn in the spring with different types of grass. Some of them are no longer for sale. From my experience, I have concluded: no parterre lawns. You only need them for England with its gardeners. It is better to choose a low-growing regular or sports lawn. It withstands mowing once every 2 weeks, large – every week, and the first floor should be mowed twice a week. The composition also plays a role. Previously, the quality of mixtures was better: they were dominated by fescue, bentgrass and bluegrass. Long-lived, narrow-leaved, emerald grasses. And now there are many lawn mixtures of ryegrass (pasture grass) and broadleaf grasses. They grow faster, but form ugly bumps. And their color is light green. Our old lawn is covered with “patches” of various green grasses, with wide and narrow leaves, with silky mulleins and “brush.” I sow the same mix of grasses in the same area where I need to sow.

In the spring, I always thoroughly comb the lawn with a fan rake (although in the fall I carefully remove fallen leaves from lime trees and other debris). I dig in with a pitchfork (I do the same thing in the fall with our heavy clay soil). Long and tedious work. I wish I had bought a scarifier or at least an aerator for these areas. We decided that a lawn mower will do the job. For the garden it is better to buy a tractor with a walking engine, for the garden – an automatic saw. But a lawn needs care: the grass is not loosened, a thick lawn is good, but it needs to breathe! Prices for tools have skyrocketed this spring, you can not buy them. Let’s try to buy shoe panties with spikes. What we can’t find, we build ourselves. We cut thick boards, the size of the foot, hammer in large nails, make holes for strings, and go.

In one of the TV shows I heard a tip (useful advice) from an experienced “lawn mower”. He often “walks” in these shoes with the pads on his lawn. His lawn is gorgeous!

The biggest problem for me is weeds. In May, dandelions, in particular, begin to appear on the old lawn. They are replaced by various doddles, plantain, clover, and moss. Late young lawns are relatively clear. As soon as weeds appear, I pull them out right away. Dandelions are a problem. I’ve poured boiling water over it and weeded with citric acid. They keep growing, and the grass nearby turns yellow. I uproot them with a special fork. If part of the root remains in the ground, it comes out twice as much. I declare responsibly: no folk remedies can get rid of a lot of weeds in lawns. Either apply herbicides, or clean and sow a new lawn on thoroughly weeded soil. “Chemicals” have not been applied because there is a pool on the sunning lawn that we bathe in.

Despite all the problems, we love our lawn. Especially in the spring, when it is covered with bright, lush greenery and pleases the eye and heart. The neighbor’s cats love it, too: they enjoy lying on the grass. And the villain (or villainess?) chooses our meadow glade. Spring came, and the problem receded. I don’t know how to brandish kittier from the lawn, but that’s a topic for another article.

Lawn care in the spring.

Everyone knows the statement that it’s easier to prevent and prevent a problem than to fix it later. This fully applies to the lawn, and more specifically to lawn care. It is not enough to put up or sow your lawn. In particular, this applies to the lawn. Don’t let “turnkey lawn care” get away with it. Take care of your lawn properly from the first months of its life on your site.

Spring lawn care is one of the most important steps. Take care of your lawn in the spring. It’s worth doing a number of necessary and useful spring chores, and you won’t even know many of the problems that can arise with your lawn. By carrying out these agronomic measures you will nourish your lawn with all the necessary substances and give it active strength and proper development for the whole season. So what does it take to wake up your lawn?

1. A general cleaning of your pampas after winter is a must, especially if you haven’t had a chance to do it in late fall after the final leaf fall. You need to go through with a rake and collect all the branches and leaves, all kinds of garbage. Such cleaning is carried out immediately after all the snow has completely melted.
2. Scarifying. This is a spring course, which is very important in the life of the lawn. Why is it so important?

– Scarifying cuts out the pain: the grass gets thicker, forms more plates, flattens out and grows more actively, and the lawn gets rejuvenated. At the beginning of active growth of your lawn, the muesli divides and gets excited to actively reproduce.

– Debris accumulated over the years, consisting of moss, straw and other organic and inorganic debris, rises to the surface. A kind of “combing out” of the lawn takes place.

– It becomes easier for the lawn grass roots to breathe. The blocked and compacted bottom after the winter loosens up. Moisture and fertilizer also flow easily into the resulting furrows.

– Floor relief takes place, the resulting irregularities are removed and smoothed out, and the scraper acts like a small grader. And this is especially important after the snow melts. You’ll see where the floor has “gone a little” or “gone away,” especially if you’ve done the lawn yourself. You will understand where you need to “fill” the floor and where you need to “seed”.

The horror should be dry and preferably windless weather. Based on the weather, you can start in mid-April. An important indicator is the condition of the soil. It should be well warmed and dry, but not overworked. Fear of wet, damp soil will not do any good either.

Serious professional equipment with a gasoline engine is preferred. The clothes or knives of such a cleaver will float and penetrate deep into the ground. Perhaps you do not want to buy such expensive devices, then it is better to invite professionals with such a machine. It will not only superficially iron your lawn. The result is immediately visible and is reflected in the number of bags of garbage collected. Pay attention to an important point. Such a mower works better without a grass catcher box. As a rule, the worker walks behind the equipment and collects qualitatively with a fan rake, which the scrubber increases. The remaining change is collected when mowing with a lawnmower. And further. Fear can happen in different ways and in different directions. You can only go in one direction, along or sideways, or you can go along with a cross-country run. It’s important to make the right decision about what your lawn needs. If it’s the first time you’ve been strutting and your lawn is young (2 to 3 years old), it’s only done in one direction. If the lawn is declining and old, it can and should be done crosswise. Specialists will determine this right away and explain everything to you.

1. After the script is made, the lawn needs to be fertilized. Spring fertilization is one of the most important. Fertilizer for jumping buzzards is enough to be applied once a month until July. And, as written, the fertilizer will go straight into the furrows that are left after the scarifier. You can choose a suitable spring summer fertilizer with an emphasis on nitrogen. I like Fertikas lawn fertilizer. It contains not only the necessary macro, but also micronutrients. The consumption of 4-5 kg per 100 m² The result is always wonderful.
2. After application you should water the lawn. You can also water the lawn immediately after the frost application, but I always water the lawn afterwards and then spread it. This is more reliable for me so that everything suddenly reaches its destination. Again, I emphasize that script watering is a must, especially when the weather is dry, warm and sunny.
3. And, of course, you can start lawn repairs after the spring demonstrations. You’ll see all the weak and bare spots after the winter. According to the scripture, treatments are also very useful to improve the mechanical composition of your lawn’s soil. This can be sanding, mulching and applying dolomite flour, depending on what problems your lawn is having.

You understand that grass is a plant on your property just like any other. And it needs the same complete care. After all, a neglected or problematic lawn looks completely ugly against the background of expensive and less common plants. We all want our lawn to be soft, gentle and featherless carpet of velvety greenery. After all, it is so nice to walk on it barefoot after a day of work, to play with children or just lie on it.