HGTV.comHGTV.com

Lawn Care in Early Spring

Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-1201 -- More Projects »
It's a great idea to take stock of your lawn in early spring. During the winter, chemical changes may have altered your soil's pH, physical changes may have led to soil compaction, or biological compaction may have set the stage for an invasion of weeds. A casual stroll through the yard will help you identify these changes and deal with them in the weeks to come.

Getting the jump on weeds

"Even if you can't see weeds in early spring, they're in your lawn," says master gardener Paul James. "The seeds or young sprouts are just waiting for optimum conditions for growth." If you typically use organic or synthetic herbicides early in the season to control weeds, keep in mind that those products work by preventing weed seeds from germinating in the first place, not by destroying already up-and-growing weeds. As a result, the timing of your application is critical.

You must apply the pre-emergent herbicides before the weeds appear, which is why early inspection is so important. If you miss the optimum application window, you'll have to wait until later in the year--about midsummer--to apply a post-emergent herbicide (which will destroy existing weeds) or wait until fall to apply the pre-emergent herbicide, which will destroy the seeds of the current year's weeds.

Another extremely important reason to carefully time the application of the pre-emergent herbicide is because, in a few weeks, you may also want to sow a cool-season grass such as fescue and rye. If the pre-emergent herbicide is already active in the soil, it will have the same effect on your grass seed that it has on the weed seed: it will prevent both from germinating.

PHOTO

Figure A
Just to be on the safe side, you should allow roughly six weeks between the time you apply your pre-emergent herbicide and the time you sow your grass seed. But having said all that, just how do you know when to apply your pre-emergent herbicide? For decades, people have relied on visual clues--i.e., when forsythia and daffodils are in bloom (figure A). But those clues are only marginally dependable at best.

"Ultimately, the only surefire way to know when to apply a pre-emergent herbicide is to begin carefully inspecting your lawn in mid to late winter. And on the day you spot your very first weed, pull it up and apply your herbicide."

Loosening compacted soil

PHOTO

Figure B
Compacted soil makes it especially difficult for plants to thrive, especially shallow-rooted turfgrasses, because water and nutrients can't penetrate deep into the root zone. The simplest way to test for compaction is to stab a garden fork into the ground (figure B). If the tines of the fork don't penetrate the soil to a depth of two inches, then your soil is compacted.

Thwarting thatch

PHOTO

Figure C
PHOTO

Figure D
You should also inspect the lawn for thatch, which is caused by a buildup of both above-ground and slightly-below-ground roots, forming a dense mat and making it hard for water and nutrients to penetrate into the soil (figure C). Thatch is most common in dense, spreading turf such as bermuda and Zoysia, and, to a lesser extent, St. Augustine and centipede grass. Mild cases can usually be controlled by annual aeration, but, for severe cases, use a specially designed dethatching rake (figure D). As you drag the rake through the grass, it rips the thatch with relative ease. For larger properties, gas-powered dethatchers are also available. To prevent thatch from returning, soak the lawn each time you water to encourage roots to reach deep into the soil.

Finally, you should walk all over your lawn to identify both high and low spots, and level them out as best you can by either cutting away the high spots with a shovel or filling the low spots with topsoil. The reason for leveling is simple: the high spots will get scalped by your mower, and low spots won't drain well. Both situations stress your grass, so it pays to keep your lawn level.

PHOTO

Figure E
The reason it's best to sow seeds early in the season is simple too. Within a few weeks of sowing, you can see the exposed areas and fill in the bare spots (figure E).

"You may have noticed I haven't said anything about fertilizing the lawn, and the reason is simple," says James. "It's just a tad too early in my neck of the woods. In the meantime, however, I do have one more lawn-care suggestion for you: Get your mower ready." James recommended having it tuned up and the blade sharpened.

Also in this Episode
Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-1201
•Lawn Care in Early Spring
•The Mighty Oak
•Working with a Side Yard
•Timing Is Everything
HGTV.com
Services Popular Content About
Our Sister Sites

Comparison Shop for Home Decor & Garden Tools at Shopzilla & BizRate

UpMyStreet and uSwitch.com provide UK comparison services.

© 2008 Scripps Networks, LLC. All rights reserved.