After a long, wet winter, spring has just about sprung! In only a couple of weeks you’ll be spending your days outside, and if you don’t take care of your grass now you may be wondering why your spring lawn is brown or has bare patches. 

While it’s still chilly and the lawn is still dormant, taking care of your equipment is a good idea. This will help get your Spring lawn ready earlier. Get your lawn mower a tune-up so you’re ready for that first cut. A healthy lawn needs regular trimming with a sharp blade, so make sure the grass blade is sharpened or replaced if needed and spark plugs and oil are checked. Remember that your mower may be slow to start on the first day, so place it in the sun for a while to warm up before you start.

Before taking care of your soon to be Spring lawn you’ll want to do a quick clean up. Raking up dead grass, fallen branches, and any other debris will make it easier to prep your grass for spring. If what you rake up contains weeds you’ll want to bag it and put it by the curb; if not you can put it on a compost pile along with grass clippings and vegetable kitchen waste for later plantings.

Lawn Care in the Cooler Months

In northern climates, bare spots are often caused when crabgrass dies off in the winter cold. For cool season grass you can fix these bare patches with products like Scotts® EZ Seed® from hardware stores like Brinkmann’s Hardware. Wait until the new grass is at least 2” tall before mowing. To prevent more crabgrass from moving in you can use Scotts® Turf Builder® Halts Crabgrass Preventer with Lawn Food. 

In southern climates, where weeds are more of an issue, fertilize with Scotts® Turf Builder® Bonus® S Southern Weed & Feed, which kills dollarweed and clover, plus many other weeds commonly found in the south. This will have your Spring lawn filled with grass opposed to weeds. If you also have issues with fire ants apply Scotts® Turf Builder® Southern Triple Action instead.

If you have none of these issues you can use Scotts® Turf Builder® Lawn Food to northern lawns just before or after your first mowing. In the south you can use Scotts® Turf Builder® Southern Lawn Food to help protect your lawn against heat and drought.

It is a good Spring lawn care technique to have the blade high when you mow. Taller grass creates deeper roots and has a greater ability to crowd out weeds. The majority of turf types do best with a 3-4” blade height, which is usually the mowers highest setting. The general rule is to only remove ⅓ of the total grass blade length when you mow.

Lawn Care in the Warmer Months

When the warm weather really sets in you can get down to the business of Spring lawn care and really making your lawn perk up. Overseeding can help you to thicken your lawn, For cool-season grass types (such as Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue, or tall fescue) use Scotts® Turf Builder® Thick’R Lawn™, which combines grass seed, fertilizer, and a soil improver into an easy-to-use product you apply with a spreader. If you have a warm-season grass type (bermuda, zoysia, centipede, or bahia) use the appropriate Scotts® Turf Builder® Grass Seed product for your grass type and get your grass off to its best start by using Scotts® Turf Builder® Starter® Food for New Grass. Water newly seeded areas daily for at least the first 2 weeks.

Have dandelion trouble? Kill those prolific seeders with Scotts® Turf Builder® Weed & Feed3. It’s guaranteed to kill dandelions and clover, and it’ll also help your lawn develop stronger roots. Did you forget to treat for crabgrass? Then Scotts® Turf Builder® Triple Action is a great choice. It’ll kill weeds like dandelion, and it’ll help prevent weeds like crabgrass from moving in on your turf. 

Fall has arrived. It may not yet feel cold and wintery on Long Island, but it’s time to winterize your lawn mower. A few important steps are required, so you want to make sure you set aside the time to prepare the machine’s fuel system and make sure the deck and the mower blade, air filter, and spark plugs are clean.

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