As the cold Missouri winter fades, your lawn begins to come back to life. To ensure your grass thrives, apply these spring lawn care tips for Springfield.
From cleaning up your yard, aerating the soil, controlling weeds, and applying fertilizer, lawn care in the spring and through the year is a lot of work. For that reason, you might want someone else to mow your grass and maintain your lawn, and we can help with that.
If, however, you prefer to do your own lawn care, we’ve got you covered. Let’s get started with some spring cleaning for your yard.
1. Clean Up Your Yard
Before you can actually tend to the grass, it’s important to clean up any debris on your lawn. Pick up sticks, leaves, twigs or other organic matter to allow your lawn to get everything it needs this spring.
Getting air, fertilizer and water down to the soil is important, but it can’t happen with debris in the way.
See Related:
— Best Ways to Clean Up Leaves in Your Yard
— How Much Does Yard Cleanup Cost?
2. Aerate the Soil
Winter can be hard on your soil. It can cause the soil to compact, making it a challenge for water, air, or those important nutrients to get through to the roots. You can aerate your lawn in April to create holes, allowing these things to get deep into the soil and create a healthy, vigorous lawn.
To see if your lawn really needs aerating, conduct the screwdriver test: Push the screwdriver into the soil, if it’s too difficult to do this, your lawn probably needs to be aerated.
See Related:
— How to Aerate a Lawn
— Benefits of Aerating Your Lawn
— What to Do After Aerating Your Lawn
3. Hold Off on Watering
Watering too early in spring can do more harm than good. According to the University of Missouri Extension, homeowners should wait until the dry conditions of early summer set in and your grass starts to show signs of wilting before resuming regular watering.
This approach encourages your lawn to develop a deeper, hardier root system, making it more drought-resistant when the heat of summer arrives.
See Related:
— Best Time to Water Your Grass
— How Often Should I Water My Lawn?
4. Control Weeds
As spring continues, you may have the frustrating problem of weeds popping up everywhere in your yard. In particular, many homeowners see crabgrass as a recurring problem.
You can start early with your weed control by applying pre-emergent herbicide before you even see any weeds, preferably by April 15.
Then follow up with a post-emergent herbicide if you do notice some weeds emerge.
See Related:
— Most Common Weeds in Missouri
— When and How to Apply Crabgrass Preventer
— Why Is Crabgrass Bad for the Lawn?
— Best Pre-Emergent Herbicides for Lawns
— Best Post-Emergent Herbicides
5. Fertilize at the Right Time
Although the best time to fertilize cool-season grasses is in fall, spring fertilization can do a lot for your lawn. However, timing matters. Apply 0.5 to 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet in April using a slow-release fertilizer to provide steady nutrients without overwhelming your grass.
Avoid fertilizing past May 1, as late applications can make your grass more susceptible to lawn diseases.
See Related:
— How to Fertilize Your Lawn
— How Do You Know You Over-Fertilized Your Lawn?
— Common Fertilizer Mistakes to Avoid
Set Up Your Lawn for Success This Spring
Giving your Springfield lawn the right care in spring ensures it stays healthy and resilient throughout the year, but as we’ve already noted, it is a lot of work.
Need professional help? Visit our Springfield Lawn Care page to hire a local LawnStarter lawn care crew for all your lawn care needs. We also provide lawn mowing and trimming — and lots of other yard services — in other Missouri cities, including St. Louis and Kansas City.
Read More:
— Best Grass Seeds for Missouri
— Best Landscaping Plants for Your Missouri Yard
— Best Trees to Plant in Missouri
Main Image Credit: Diedrichb / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
