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4 Spring Lawn Care Tips

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Just mowed lawn.Spring is here, which means the smell of fresh cut grass is in the air! Chances are you have questions about taking care of your yard, lawn and garden. From picking the right seed to watering, I’ve got the answers. It’s time to break out that fertilizer, lawnmower and other equipment to create the ultimate lawn.

Repairing your lawn

If only it were as easy as lightly raking your lawn when spring arrived, sigh. Unfortunately, one of the most common problems facing our lawns today is uneven ground. And low spots can cause poor drainage, which can result in bad growing conditions for grass and other plants. What you need to do is grab a shovel and cut away any areas that are raised. Another issue that can plague our beautiful lawns is soil compaction. This occurs when soil is densely packed, making it diffiult for grass to take root and easy for weeds to take over. Test your soil by sticking a garden fork into the ground. If the fork cannot penetrate two inches, your soil is most likely compacted. You must loosen the soil with an aerator designed to remove small plugs of soil.

Planting grass

Once you’ve figured out all the problem areas of your lawn, you may need to reseed parts that are brown or bare. Planting new grass can dramatically change the appearance of your lawn. Before buying seed, figure out which varieties will work best in your particular region and climate. Also, consider the amount of sunlight your backyard receives. If you’re seeding a large area, it’s best to use a broadcast spreader. However, smaller areas can be seeded by hand. Once the seed is planted, it’s important to water it regularly and fertilize. Wait until grass is three to four inches high to mow.

Continue fertilizing grass

Now that you have rejuvenated your lawn, it’s best to encourage growth and discourage weeds from growing. You can do this by applying a combination of fertilizers and herbicides. When applying these products, take into consideration where you live and your weed problem. Fertilizer can help grow lush, thick grass. However, when used improperly it can actually damage the grass. Herbicides must also be used with care. It’s best to apply a pre-emergent herbicide before the seeds germinate in the spring. Keep in mind that if you use this treatment you cannot plant new grass.

Properly mow lawn

It may surprise you that there is actually a proper technique to mowing your lawn. Cutting your grass too short can be harmful to your lawn. And mowing with a low blade can remove important nutrients that are stored in leaf blades. Therefore, it’s always better to cut your grass at the tallest height recommended for your grass type. See below:

  • Common bermudagrass: 1-2 inches
  • Fescue: 2-3.5 inches
  • Kentucky bluegrass: 2-3.5 inches
  • St. Augustine: 2-4 inches
  • Zoysia: 0.5-1.5 inches

A little bit of lawn maintenance now will ensure that your yard looks healthy all summer long. It’s critical to properly clean, fertilize and mow your lawn early in the season. Follow these spring lawn care tips for the best results possible.

Attached Images:

Ann Michaels is a freelance writer and lawn advocate. Her favorite hobby is making her yard look as beautiful as possible, which is why she buys religious garden statues from Saint Francis Garden to improve the overall look.

Zip it Up–Top Tips to Protect Your Plants from Winter’s Cold

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With winter at its peak, you’ve probably never thought of tending to your garden. However, keep in mind that the cold temperatures this season brings can be difficult on your plants. So to make sure that they’ll make it through the winter, it’s never to late to zip them up so that they can brave the cold. You can also do other gardening chores this season that will ensure you’ll have a healthy garden as spring approaches. Here are some of the best tips to accomplish such things.


Around the garden

If there are remaining potted plants outside, wheel them in a sun room, shed, greenhouse or garage. Although they may not be at their best indoors since they won’t be receiving sufficient sunlight, the shade will ensure that they’ll make it long enough to survive through the winter.

Don’t forget to rake around your garden for fallen leaves because if you leave them be, they can cause heavy damage and may even serve as a breeding ground for diseases come spring time. Likewise, it might be the worse chore for winter, but you still need to do some weeding since weeds don’t take vacations. Most weeds are undergoing their flowering and seeding stages during winter, so before they spread their seeds, uproot them to save yourself from future weeding.

Trees and Shrubs

For your trees and shrubs, it’s all about covering them up against the cold and pruning. If snow has built up on the branches of the trees, make sure it doesn’t turn into ice by knocking it off from the branches using an upward motion to prevent the limbs from breaking. After you’ve done this, you can prune most of the shrubs and deciduous shade trees around your garden, but avoid pruning flowering trees.

Check around if there are newly planted trees, especially those with thin barks, and shrubs that you forgot to wrap. If there are, cover their trunks from the base up to keep moisture at bay. Then, build wind breaks around trees and shrubs that are not protected. Position poles on the ground, making two sides of a triangle. The triangle’s tip should be positioned on the spot that receives the most wind. Then attach a burlap or cloth around the posts, but make sure that it doesn’t touch the leafy parts. This will protect the trees and shrubs from freezing.

Indoor plants

Although your houseplants may not be totally exposed to the perils of winter, they still require special attention so that they will not succumb to the cold. Hence, check all of your plants for pests or diseases. If some of them are affected, treat them with organic products to prevent the pests or diseases from spreading.

When watering the houseplants, do it minimally. The water should just be enough to saturate the soil and drain through the container holes. Make sure not to over water the plants, or else they’ll end up soaking in standing water that can damage their roots. Also, take the time to turn plants every other week so that all the foliage will receive sufficient sunlight. And during extremely cold nights, draw down the curtains or blinds to protect the plants on your windowsills against the cold.

This guest post was penned by Ericka for http://www.steelbuildingsdesign.co.uk/. Ericka is passionate about learning and sharing information about gardening. She is also fond of writing articles about home improvement.

You can tell it’s spring around here

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It’s that time of year again when people start working on their houses. Whether inside or outside, it seems spring is the time to either renovate or repair the house or yard or add something new.

I’ve noticed a lot of changes in my neighborhood as I walk around with my dog. Some houses are getting painted or having a new fence put in. Others are having some landscaping done. Still others must be having either some home repairs done or some renovations because I can hear hammering or sawing as I walk by or I see those big bins in their driveway for reno materials.

One house that I walk by regularly just got a new metal garage put up and it’s kind of cool looking. It has a sign on it that says – metal residential buildings and I guess they’re the makers of the building. No idea how much that would cost but it’s going to last for a long time I think.

Anyway you can definitely tell it’s Spring around here, there’s lots of work getting done! I’ve been working on my garden and getting some work done in the house – with more to come … How about you?

Rain rain – make my flowers grow

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It’s been raining and raining all day, but hey, you remember that saying – April showers bring May flowers? Well since tomorrow is May … I guess we’ll see if all that rain helps make the plants in my garden and the gardens around me blooms. I’m sure it will.

There’s actually been plenty of flowers around since early March. We had a warm winter and that gave all the plants a head start. My garden is at least a month ahead of itself in growth and I have flowers blooming and plants coming up that I normally don’t see until the end of May! I’ve even had kids stop and try to pick some flowers for teachers on their way to school.

I’m glad that I do have so many flowers blooming in my yard. There’s been some years when things have been very slow to get started. On those years I believe I actually bought flowers and some blooming plants to have in the house just because I was longing for some colour after a long drab winter.

Have you been getting lots of rain in your area? Is it helping the plants grow?

Spring is definitely here

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It looks like the weather is starting to get warm again. I couldn’t believe it in March when for over a week we had almost early summer like weather. It was amazing! Of course, it cooled off again to almost winter like temperatures, doesn’t that figure.

Spring is definitely here and it’s way ahead of itself this year. My garden is weeks ahead of itself. If I didn’t know it was the beginning of April I’d think it was early May when I look at how big the plants are in my backyard and how many leaves are already on the roses and so on.

One of my friends is so ready for summer to get here that he’s already getting his cottage prepared. He’s been up there getting it set up already and he normally doesn’t open up his cottage until the end of April! Oh and he’s already looking for a pwc battery for his Jet Ski. The water in the lake is still too cold to use a Jet Ski but if the weather keeps up the way it has I’m sure people will be in the water by May.

How’s the weather in your area? Has spring sort of jumped into early summer or at least into late spring due to a warmer than normal winter in your area too?

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