Lawn Tips this Spring for Homeowners

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As a homeowner, you want your lawn to appear its best. You can’t simply leave your yard alone and hope it “springs” into action every growing season. You may have a couple of nice blooms, but you should manage the yard every season throughout the year.

Lawn Tips this SpringContrary to common belief, lawn care is really a year-round job. When you walk out of your front door in the spring, you will want to be able to enjoy the beautiful landscape that may have been planted in the earlier months. But you won’t be able to do this without getting your yard ready for spring.

 

Cleaning Up Your Lawn

Your home needs a spring cleaning, and so does your yard. You will want to remove debris and prep your lawn and garden for the warmer months. To tackle the cleanup, you should begin by removing the litter, dog feces, and leaves on your lawn that you’ll find after the snow has melted. Be sure to wear gloves as you never know what may have accumulated under the snow throughout the winter months.

 

Rake Your Lawn in the Spring

Your lawn will require a light rake this spring to get rid of the thatch build-up. Don’t get over ambitious and start raking up too much grass.

 

Mowing and Maintenance

Once the leaves begin to fall, many homeowners stop cutting their lawns. However, as mentioned, lawn care is a year-round job. You will want your grass cut to a minimum in the fall or second frost of winter once your grass finally stops growing.

Further, once your grass stops growing, you’ll be inclined to discover your leaves and bag them for disposal. However, not all lawn care consultants agree with this method. Here are a couple of reasons for keeping your leaves on the bottom are as follows:
– Helps to fertilize naturally
– Provides shelter and nutrients for animals and cuts back emissions from landfills
– Suppresses weed growth

If you don’t just like the sight of a yard packed with leaves, you’ll be able to mow them and make them into mulch. These smaller leaf particles provide a healthy overall plant food for your yard during the fall.

 

Repairing Your Lawn

Overseeding is meant to repair the bare spots on your lawn, and the process is fairly simple. There is a special blend of seeds specially created to work for bare spots. To seed your lawn:
– Rake the patch of soil to remove any loose or dead grass
–  Spread a fine layer of soil
– Generously sprinkle on the seed
– Rake it slightly to secure the seed, but not to fully bury it
– With your hand, pat down the area
– Lastly, sprinkle a bit more soil on the area

 

Water Your Lawn Frequently

Watering your lawn, especially after overseeding, is crucial to your lawn’s development. If you’ve overseeded certain areas of your lawn, it is recommended that you water for 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening each day until you begin to see seed germination. In any other circumstance, water your lawn about 1-inch each week.

 

Aeration and Seeding

Over the summer, your lawn sometimes suffers from heat stress and soil compaction. This will lead to dark spots, and patches of missing grass. The best remedy for this can be aeration.
Aeration usually includes removing soil plugs from the lawn to create space for nutrients that feed to the roots of your lawn. And once you aerate the lawn, it preps your lawn for lush growth in the spring and summer months. If fall seeding doesn’t turn out an abundant growth, spring seeding may be too late for a seeding.

 

Prune Trees and Shrubs

Any dead limbs should be removed from your trees and shrubs, so you avoid disease, and your yard looks more aesthetically pleasing. Pruning off dead limbs is easy because you can’t destroy something that’s already dead. However, be careful when pruning healthy limbs.

 

Lawn Maintenance Schedule

As a rule of thumb, you should maintain a lawn maintenance schedule for your home or business this spring and summer. You should also keep a schedule in the fall if you are planning any seeding or aeration.

Keeping your property up could be a full-time job. Remember, landscaping is a year-round affair, and the longer you perfect it, the better your results will be.

 

Backyard Deck

Now that you have a beautifully landscaped and lush lawn, you may want to have a deck built to host friends and family and show off your backyard, especially over the summer. Whether you’re looking to host a BBQ, create a spot for laid-back summer evenings, room for alfresco dining, or create a party space,  your backyard is a haven for entertaining during the warmer months. 

If you are interested in having a deck built for your home or business, contact Albrite Building at 630.655.9436. Albrite Building is a General Contractor company located in Westmont, Illinois. We specialize in commercial building projects as well as specially selected residential projects.