How to prepare your lawn for the summer

How to prepare your lawn for the summer

It’s very important to start planning the preparation of your summer lawn in advance; in order for the grass to grow healthy and strong. Cleaning up, applying fertilizers and pesticides beforehand; can really ease the maintenance tasks during summer and help homeowners save time and money.

Pest prevention

There are many pests that hibernate during the winter and wake up in springtime to feed on your grassroots once again. If homeowners treat them early on, they can prevent an infestation on time and save themselves a lot of trouble. In order to prevent crabgrass, a mix of herbicide, pre-emergent and fertilizer, needs to be applied to the lawn in early spring. If this is not done on time, it’s will be very difficult to remove.

Mistakes to avoid

• They leave the accumulated winter debris to ruin the ground.
• They put too much manure which can lead to overgrowth of weeds.
• When they start with the irrigation, they do a bit every day, instead of a thorough session every two weeks, which is the recommended time.
• They water the lawn during the day, instead of early morning or the evening.
• They don’t research the proper fertilizers and pesticides for their type of grass.

How to prepare your lawn for the hot summer

Cleaning

Remove any thatch and weeds by using a rake. Thatch is a decomposed plant material that piles up on the ground. If too much thatch is accumulated it can interfere with the well-being of your lawn. The best time of the year to do this is early spring and autumn. By doing so you will protect the grass and help it grow as healthy as possible. It is a good idea to combine raking and aeration and do it at least once a year.

Fertilising

To ensure that the ground takes in the new seeds and produces healthy and lush grass, you will have to fertilise beforehand. Choose the best type for your specific grass type and apply it in both directions to ensure full coverage. We recommend that you use a special fertilise-spreader to make the whole process a lot easier. And if you’re planning on spreading new seeds, use one that will help them grow.

Seeding

Seeding in early spring will give plenty of time to the grass to grow strong and healthy. Still, make sure it’s not too cold, otherwise, nothing will grow. Another reason why we recommend overseeding in early spring is that it helps with revitalising thin and damaged grass back to its attractive state in time for the summer. Oftentimes, seeding and aerating are combined to enhance the results and save time and effort. Before you start, make sure the whole lawn is dry, mow it carefully and spread the seeds. Choose seeds that are made to grow in colder weather such as Ryegrass, Bluegrass, Fescues, etc.

Aerating

Aeration is a really important process for your lawn. It allows it to breathe and get the nutrients it needs. Aeration includes the perforation of the soil in order to allow air inside along with important nutrients and water so that they can reach the roots of the grass and stimulate growth. It really helps if your soil is quite compacted and it prevents proper air circulation and basically starves the roots from everything they need to survive.

Watering

The healthiest option for your grass is to water it in the morning – the earlier, the better. This allows the soil to make the most of the water supply you provide. Afternoon irrigation can lead to only a small quantity of water being absorbed by the soil and it may dry easily. Probably the worst choice is to water in the evening – this is nothing but a sure way to say ‘welcome’ to a bunch of insects and other pests you don’t need.

Feeding

Early spring is the best time to begin feeding your lawn, right before the most active period of growth, so that the roots can become stronger in time. Use a combined type of lawn fertiliser. Melbourne-based providers of garden and lawn care suggest doing this on the days when the grass needs to be mowed for the first time in the year. You should keep going even in the late spring – this is the time when the grass grows like crazy. The bad news is weeds develop at the very same time. So, find a product that provides both weed control and enough nutrients.

Mowing

Before you mow the recently planted green spot, you should wait and make sure the grass is at least 8 to 10 cm high. It doesn’t matter if it’s a completely new lawn or you only covered some bare areas. Use a mower with a sharp blade for the initial lawn mowing process. Do not cut more than about 3 cm off and choose a time of the day when the grass is not wet. After that, keep mowing regularly and don’t let your lawn overgrow.

If you need any help, don’t hesitate to turn to a gardening professional. They know what is best for your green space, have the expensive and high-end tools you will need and can give you precious advice on how to maintain your lawn.

Feature photo by Paul Johnston on Unsplash