The awakening of spring seems to be happening so quickly and suddenly you find yourself with so much gardening work to do that you hardly know where to start. If you are concerned about the lawn, you may need a guide that will give you an overview of spring lawn care.
When do you mow, when do you scarify and when do you fertilize? And do you have to remove sand or lime and in what order does it all actually happen? Don't stress, you'll know how to care for your lawn after winter in just a few minutes!
3, 2, 1… Let’s start spring care for the lawn!
So that the lawn becomes lush green again in the new year and invites you to stay, you should start with the right lawn care in good time and, of course, ideally in the right order. After all, there is no point in re-sowing if, when you rake up the remaining autumn leaves, you distribute all the seeds where they are unnecessary. So, how do I care for my lawn in the spring?
Should you lime?
If at all, do not lime until the last of the snow has melted. This step comes before any others that follow in the rest of the article. However, before you resort to lime, it is important to measure the pH of the soil. This care measure only makes sense if the garden soil is too acidic to compensate for this value.
1. Remove everything that doesn't belong on the lawn
By this we mean, of course, the foliage already mentioned. You have probably already diligently disposed of the fallen leaves in autumn and sometimes at the beginning of winter. But even after that, a lot of garden waste still comes out, just from the wind, for example. So clear the lawn by collecting leaves, twigs and branches.
The clean-up work also includes removing dead/dried blades of grass and molehills. A rake is very suitable for this, as you can use it to pull the dead stalks out of the grass when raking the leaves and distribute the soil from the molehills evenly.
You can do this first step of spring lawn care at any time before the second step.
2. Aerate compacted soils while sanding
This step is not necessary every spring, but rather when necessary. Sooner or later the time comes when the lawn soil becomes too compacted. Not only the heavy snow contributes to this, but also normal use. Sometimes not the entire lawn is affected, but only certain areas. If puddles form, you can assume that the ground there has become too dense.
It may be enough to pierce the affected area with a digging fork, for example, so that the water can drain away. In the long term, an aerator is the better option. Nowadays, scarifiers often also include this ventilation function. If this is the case with your device, you can only carry out aeration when scarifying. In any case, this is also a good time for sanding, which loosens the soil by spreading sand. Loamy soils in particular benefit greatly from this. But you have to do this several years in a row.
Ventilation can also be necessary and beneficial if there is moss and many weeds. It is important to use this step to prepare the lawn for the first mowing. The ground should be dry for this.
3. The first mowing in spring
You can finally mow again, removing the tired old grass and encouraging new growth. But when can you actually mow the lawn?
You can tell when the time is right when the lawn has started to grow again. As soon as it has reached a length of around 7 centimeters, you can start the lawn mower. This is usually as early as March or April at the latest.
It is important that you do not overdo it with the cutting depth. The blades of grass have not yet gained as much strength and blades that are too short could therefore dry out. So for now, leave the lawn height at 4 or 5 centimeters.
Although some people mow the grass without a basket and simply leave it lying around as fertilizer, which is not a bad thing, it is advisable to wait until the next mowing at the earliest. It is now important to keep the area clear so that not only can enough light reach every blade of grass, but also that moisture does not build up under the grass clippings, which can make the plants sick.
4. Fertilizing as an important step in spring lawn care
You will be aware that you should fertilize the grass in spring. But when is the right time for this? The first lawn fertilization takes place after the first mowing. Now the lawn needs strength to grow and turn green. You can use the forsythia as a guide in terms of timing. When they start to bloom, you can also fertilize them.
Use a slow-release fertilizer that will nourish the plants for several months, but also provides them with sufficient nutrients right from the start.
5. When can you scarify the lawn?
This step of spring care for the lawn is usually carried out when necessary. It is primarily used to remove thatch from lawns. This care step takes place later because at the beginning of the season the ground is simply too soft for it and the lawn could be damaged. Generally, you scarify at the same time as fertilizing.
6. Sow the lawn
If you have followed these steps, you can also reseed the lawn if necessary. It always happens that some areas suffer damage during the winter. Of course, this doesn't look nice, but it can be remedied quickly and easily by sowing new lawn seeds.
The best way to press the seeds into the soil is to then roll the surface. This also reduces the risk of them being washed away when it rains.
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