Spring Lawn Care Tips for Riverside, CA

Spring is a beautiful time of year in the Riverside area. The temperatures are in the 70s and there is a flurry of activity with blooming plants and wildlife that is riddled with spring fever. Many Riverside homeowners will find that their lawns stayed green all through winter or begin to brighten up quite early in the year. Prepare your lawn now for the upcoming growing season with these spring lawn care tips.

Consider Aerating

The year-round growing season of the Riverside area is great for those homeowners who love a nice lawn but not so great for the thatch that can build up on area lawns in the process. Thatch is a build up of old stems, roots, and debris that can suffocate the lawn by creating an impenetrable surface beneath the grass. Aerating your lawn is a great way to break up the thatch as well as allow essential sunlight, rain, and fertilizer to reach the root system of the lawn. Consider renting an aerator from a local garden center into order to provide your lawn with an extra boost of energy in the spring.

Check the Soil

Riverside homeowners can find soil testing kits at their local garden center in order to make sure that their soil is primed and ready for the upcoming spring season. Local homeowners can also choose to send in a sample of their soil for a more detailed analysis. Testing your soil is a great way to make sure that your lawn has enough nutrients and isn’t lacking anything important. Soil types vary greatly in the Riverside area so finding out what kind of soil you have is important to adding nutrients.

Some soil types are better at holding nutrients than others so finding out what kind of soil you have is the first step with a soil test kit. One of the most important parts of a soil test is determining the pH level of your soil which is usually between 5-8.5 in the Riverside area. Depending on your test results, you can pick up a wide variety of fertilizers and soil conditioners that have different components in order to specifically target your soil’s problem areas.

Add Nutrients

Once you have tested the soil you can choose a fertilizer that will best benefit your lawn. Choosing a quick release fertilizer is good for those homeowners who want their lawns to grow quickly. However, be careful when using quick release fertilizers as you can easily add too much nitrogen to the lawn and create burned areas. Slow release fertilizers are great to use for those homeowners who want to provide a smaller amount of fertilizer over a longer amount of time on their lawns. Many experts agree that slow release fertilizers are better for those homeowners that are new to lawn management as well as those who are patient in allowing their lawns to green up for the season.

Consider Grasscycling

Many Riverside homeowners choose to incorporate grasscycling into their lawn care which is the use of grass clippings as mulch for both their lawn and garden areas. Mowing your lawn without the bag on will allow the cut grass clippings to fall back onto the lawn and create a boost of nutrients for the soil. This is a great way to add a natural addition of energy to your lawn that requires no work at all. Consider bagging your grass clippings once in a while to add important natural mulching options to your landscaping which will help to deter weeds in the warm growing conditions of Southern California.

Change Watering Techniques

You may think that setting your sprinklers to come on every morning is a good way to water your lawn but it can actually promote short roots for your lawn. Consider changing your sprinklers to come on once or twice a week for an extended time of an hour. The University of California Agriculture & Natural Resources office suggests that this will help to give your lawn a deep soak which can help establish a strong root system that grows deep into the soil. Less frequent longer watering will also allow your lawn to be able to withstand periods of drought and not be reliant on daily watering.

Make sure to follow these spring tips when caring for your Riverside lawn. Aerate and test the soil in order to provide essential nutrients to the lawn. Add fertilizer and allow grass clippings to return to the lawn for a free boost of energy. Consider changing your watering techniques as well to grow a strong lawn that can withstand the coming summer drought season. Choosing any or all of these tips will help ensure that your lawn is ready for a busy spring season in the Riverside area.

Need help preparing your lawn? Visit our Riverside lawn care page to get in touch with a professional! In addition to Fresno, we provide lawn care services in other California cities, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Fresno.

Featured image source: Zillow Riverside