Why would a homeowner think about his lawn in winter? Snow might be in the forecast. It’s cold and the ground is hard. Most homeowners won’t require the expertise of a lawn company in winter. However, your lawn does need a little attention. Here are four tips for prepping your lawn for spring.
- Check It Out
Broken tree branches litter your yard. Leaves missed in the fall cover the ground. Dead grass and thatch need to be removed. Check your lawn for these and high traffic areas that could choke off your grass. Now that you know the problems, it’s time to get out the rake.
- Rake The Lawn As Deeply As Possible
Over the winter, dead grass and thatch cover the soil. New grass can’t grow through these. Thatch is a layer of tissue made up of dead grass. It lies between the green plants that you can see and the soil beneath. If more than one-half inch lies on the ground, it will choke off the live grass.
Raking as deeply as possible removes thatch and dead grass. It will also expose bare patches of ground as well as blades of grass stuck together due to a grass disease known as snow mold.
- Eliminate The Weeds
Every homeowner does battle with crabgrass. Crabgrass is a weed growing in circular patches from a central nucleus. It features long blades that can grow sidewise or straight up. The weed produces 150,000 seeds when it starts to grow and can hibernate for up to 30 years before coming out. It waits until the soil is around 55 degrees to grow.
Keep an eye on the forsythia and lilac bushes. When they appear, the soil is warm enough for growth. You’ll need a preemergent crabgrass control agent put on the lawn before the temperature reaches 55 degrees. Charlotte Lawn Service will tell homeowners that you can’t seed your lawn with new grass until eight weeks after you’ve put down the preemergent crabgrass control agent. Please note that aerating your lawn isn’t a good idea, because the crabgrass seeds will find their way into the holes.
- Know Your Soil
Before you seed your lawn, you should know if the soil is acidic or alkaline. Take a soil sample to your local university’s agriculture department. Your local co-op can also help. If your soil is too acidic, these experts can tell you how much lime to apply to how many square feet of lawn you have. You’ll need a spreader to apply the lime.
The local ag department might tell you that the pH of your soil is seven or above. This means the soil is alkaline or not acidic. The agriculture department will tell you whether the pH in your soil should be raised. They will then inform you of the type and quantity of garden lime to be used for proper soil pH.