Now that we’ve finally had some long overdue and much needed rain, there’s a few things you can do to start getting your lawns ready for spring.
Removing dead grass and leaves
It’s certainly been a long dry winter on the back of a pretty dry year overall. So I’m guessing your lawns were looking pretty brown and dusty. Once we get a bit of sunshine you should notice things starting to green up almost overnight.
You’d be forgiven if you haven’t mowed the lawns for a couple of months over winter. But the truth is that you should be mowing them at least once a month even if they don’t appear to be growing. The reason for this is to help prevent the build up of dead grass and leaves.
Not removing all the grass that has died over winter can lead to thatch and cause problems for your lawn in the heavy growing season. Leaving leaves all over the lawn can cause fungus and other diseases.
At this time of year the overnight temperatures are starting to warm up a little. This makes it a perfect time to get your lawns ready for spring. This is the time when you should be cutting the grass a little lower that you usually would. Once the grass is dry and the ground is firm enough to mow you should get onto it straight away. If you’re really keen you can get out there with a nice stiff rake and scrape up all the dead stuff. You’ll be surprised how much comes off it. And your lawn will love you for it. Don’t wait until the grass gets long to do this or you might regret it.
Dropping the mower a notch or two lower than you usually would will mean your lawns will look their best when cut at the desired height in spring and summer.
If you choose not to do this now you may find that even mowing on the highest level in times of heavy growth may “scalp” the lawn which can lead to long term damage and disease.
Fertilise
Now is also a pretty good time to fertilise. I prefer to use a slow release pellet type fertiliser such as No. 17 or Scott’s Lawn Builder. But don’t put fertiliser on a lawn that hasn’t been mowed all winter. You need to get rid of all that dead stuff first. Then give it a few days to recover before spreading out the fertiliser. Spread it evenly. Using a spreader is the best option to get a nice even coverage.
Weed Control
About a week after #fertilising, I like to give it a nice light mulch mowing just to literally take the top off. Then I’ll hit it with a selective broad-leaf herbicide to take care of any bindii, clover and any other broad-leaf weeds that may be present.
Other things that can help
If you’re in the St Clair area you might even want to consider aerating. And spreading a bit of topsoil every two or three years wouldn’t hurt. I’ve notice a lot of lawns in the area are based on rocky hard baked clay. most of the topsoil seems to have eroded away which is not the best recipe for a nice healthy lawn.
Maintenance
Once you’ve laid the ground work it’s really only a matter of regular #lawnmowing, keeping the water up to it and keeping an eye out for weeds.
And just remember that things can turn around very quickly at this time of year. Now that we’ve had some good rain you’ll need be mowing your lawns at least fortnighly and even weekly very soon. So best get on top of it now.
Or just give me a call
I’m also quite happy to take bookings for regular mowing services in advance. The early bird catches the worm 🙂 If you need me to do the initial tidy up for you, feel free to give me a call, email, sms, facebook message or fill out my quote form.