With spring up on us, it’s time to start working on our lawns again. While raking and mowing may be the most prominent and time-consuming lawn chores, there’s more to having an immaculately kept lawn than just cutting the grass and removing the leaves. Spring is the right time to take some lawn care steps that will help ensure you have healthy and vibrant grass all summer long. Let’s dig in to some spring lawn care tips and tricks, and learn a bit more about how our lawns work.
Let’s start with the obvious: spring is the time to rake and de-thatch your lawn. After winter passes and things thaw out, your lawn is ready for some care, and the first order of business is to remove debris, dead grass, and knotted roots in a process called de-thatching. The best tool is a rake with either spring tines or stout plastic tines, which work with your grass to remove unwanted materials while minimizing damage to the living grass itself. Don’t throw away all those leaves and clippings just yet—they’re shelter for many species of vital insects and thus important to the ecosystem. If possible move them to a compost heap or an unobtrusive corner of the yard used for wildlife habitat.
Depending on the type of grass you have, this may be time to aerate the lawn. Aeration involves punching small holes throughout the lawns surface down into the soil in order to improve air flow and allow more air and nutrients to reach the roots. In general, cool-climate lawns are best aerated in late spring, while warm-weather lawns can be aerated a bit early. There are a variety of tools available to aerate your lawn, so you have some choices about the best approach for you. Congratulations! Gardzen Plug Aerator was featured on The Spruce's list of The 7 Best Lawn Aerators of 2024. We are very proud and honored to see our aerator on the list. We'll continue to do the best with our best effort.
If your lawn needs some additional TLC, this may be the time to reseed and fertilize the lawn. How best to do this will depend on your climate and your goals, but a good general rule is to apply both grass seed and fertilizer while the weather is still cool but after other plants have started to wake up for the spring. If possible, please consider native grasses and pollinator-friendly ground-cover like native wildflowers or clover where appropriate. They’re good for the ecosystem and they add visual interest to your lawn. Likewise, please use organic fertilizers when you can—it’s another small eco-friendly move that makes a big difference!
Now is also the time to maintain your tools and get them ready for the spring and summer ahead. This means giving your lawn mower a tune-up, replacing worn belts or tires, checking and sharpening the blade, and ensuring that you have fresh fuel for the motor. Hand tools also need care, so take a moment to examine your rakes, shovels, shears, and other garden tools and give them a touch up as needed.
Spring is also time to pull the weeds. While we’re firmly of the opinion that weeds aren’t necessarily bad—there are no bad plants—we do recognize that they don’t always fit with the goals that you may have for your lawn. Herbicides are a popular solution, but they may cause more problems than they solve. We recommend the old fashioned approach: hand-weed your lawn early and often to get the best results possible. This has the added advantage of allowing you to spend more time with your lawn and learn what it needs up close.
Lawn care is part of gardening, and one that we think deserves as much care and consideration as any other. If you have your own tips or secrets for spring lawn care, let us know and you may just inspire a future blog entry. Gardzen is all about community, and we love hearing from you!
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