Spring Clean Up Time in New England
Mother Nature has been very harsh this winter and we are all anxiously anticipating the arrival of warmer spring weather and an opportunity to get out and start our spring clean up projects.
Spring Clean Up
A light raking of your lawn is recommended to prepare the lawn for the growing season. Power raking and de-thatching should be done before applying crab-grass preventative treatments. Normal raking after this application is watered in, will not alter its effectiveness or control. Any mechanical procedure that disturbs the top half-inch of soil below the grass may reduce crabgrass control. We recommend scheduling aeration and de-thatching after the heat of the summer.
Spring clean up should include removing the winter sand from lawn and planting areas. Remove dead and damaged branches from trees and shrubs. Putting a sharp edge on your planting beds will keep grass roots from growing into the beds, because the grass roots will not survive when reaching the air of the edged bed. Also, March is a good time to evaluate your landscaping to determine if changes should be made or plan to implement the garden you have been dreaming about.
Spring is a good time to repair damaged areas by spot seeding. However, because crabgrass preventative treatment will prevent all seeds from germinating, it is recommended that any seeding be done by turning over the soil or using new loam, which will allow the new turf roots to establish. Or, avoid applications to the seeding areas and do this work as early as possible during the spring to give the new grass time to establish before crabgrass germinates in May.
Snow Mold (Typhula Blight) is often a lawn problem in the Spring. As the snow cover recedes, the moist, wet environment creates ideal conditions for disease outbreak. Chemical controls are not effective after disease outbreak. Vigorously raking the damaged brown spots to allow air to circulate around the crowns of the grass plants will dramatically help the turf recover. Make sure that all debris is removed and discarded. Proper fertilization will enhance the re-growth of the damaged areas.