It’s that time of year again, where Spring is just around the corner. March 21st, marks the first day of Spring. Your lawn is beginning to awaken from its Winter hibernation. So what steps should you be taking to ensure that your lawn looks fantastic this Spring season? Well, we’ve put together a short checklist to refer to when embarking on your lawn care journey.
Clean-up the Winter mess
We’ll begin with the simplest of tasks, a quick clean up of your lawn. You’ll want to pick up and dispose of any large branches or twigs that may have fallen over the Winter months. Next, rake and compost any fallen leaves from the Fall season. If you’re not the person to compost, then mulching these leaves with your lawn mower can work as well. Once you’re done cleaning up any large debris from your lawn, we can move onto the next step.
Recommended Reading: Getting Your Lawn Ready For Spring
Core Aeration
Aeration is a process where the soil is perforated with small holes to allow water, nutrients and oxygen to be absorbed by your lawns roots. By aerating your lawn, you allow for the grass roots to grow deeper and help build a strong, lush lawn. Aeration also helps loosen compacted soils, which prevent nutrients from circulating freely.
Aeration can help with improved oxygen flow between the soil and air, as well as, strengthen your lawn against environmental factors such as drought or excessive heat. By aerating your lawn, you improve its chances of absorbing more nutrients from your fertilizer, which in turn gives your grass a lush, healthy & green look. Healthy grass also means improved cushioning, perfect if you have kids that play outside! Aeration is best performed during the growing season because it allows the grass to heal and fill-in any open areas. In Toronto & Markham, where cool season grass is very common, early to mid spring is the most ideal time to aerate your lawn, as the soil will be moist from all the rain.
Does My Lawn Need Aeration?
At My Landscapers, our expert landscapers get asked this question by quite a few homeowners. Here are some identifiers to spot if your lawn could use aeration.
- Has your house been recently constructed/built (~within 2 years )?
- Does it see heavy traffic from kids & pets?
- Does it dry out easily, even after watering?
- Do you have thin, patchy grass?
- Is it difficult to stick a pencil into the soil?
So if you’re lawn meets any of the above conditions, it is likely in need of aeration.
Check Out Our Spring Lawn Care Package which includes Core Aeration!
Dethatching
Thatch is dead grass, leaves, stems, and other organic material that accumulate just above the soil. It will look like a tightly woven layer of debris. While some thatch is good for the lawn, too much will create a barrier that will prevent proper drainage and prevent oxygen and nutrients from reaching the root system. Too much will also allow for more insects and disease. Thatch should be able to naturally decay, but sometimes there can be an excess of thatch that can severely damage the lawn. More than 1/2 inch of thatch is too much.
Fertilizing Your Lawn
If you’re like most homeowners, you’ve likely gone to your local gardening store and purchased the first bag of fertilizer on the shelf. Without knowing the individual needs of your lawn, you run the risk of potentially harming your lawn. Most common commercial fertilizers focus on only three nutrients ( Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Potassium ) while ignoring all of your lawn’s other nutritional needs. With the lack of additional nutrients, your grass can become weaker, instead of stronger.
We use customized Organic lawn fertilization, instead of this one-fertilizer-fits-all approach. We take a closer look at your lawn’s individual nutritional needs, which in turn allows us to make your lawn look healthy, thick and green. By choosing an organic fertilization solution instead of a chemical one, we’re not only helping your lawn, but also helping to make the environment you live in, healthier.
Overseeding
This is the process of planting new grass seeds over the existing turf to fill in bare or thinning spots of grass. This is sometimes called reseeding or just seeding your lawn. Overseeding is needed because over time or with the intense heat of summer, lawns can begin to become bare or overrun with weeds. Seeding your lawn with new grass, especially new varieties of grass, will help it be more resilient and more resistant to disease, drought, insects, and weeds. Planting these new grass seeds over existing turf can really help to improve the condition of your lawn, making it more vibrant and thicker.
Check Out Our Spring Lawn Care Package
Take advantage of our complete spring package! Aeration + Dethatching + Fertilization + Overseeding! At My Landscapers, we provide professional lawn care services in Toronto, Markham, Vaughan, Newmarket & Mississauga areas. To learn more or to request your FREE estimate, give us a call today.
