You probably want to get going on your lawn — as soon as it stops snowing. But remember: Raking too early can harm the grass. Fertiziling too early can be a waste of fertilizer. Read on for timely tips:

Rake the lawn ONLY if it feels firm underfoot. If it’s still wet and spongy, put the rake away. You can damage the fragile grass crowns and compact the soil if you rake too early. Once the soil is firm, you can go ahead and seed thin spots. Seeding will encourage thicker growth and discourage weeds.

If you haven’t done so in a couple years, areate your lawn. It’ll help your grass absorb water and nutrients.

Wait to fertilize until the grass is actively growing and has been mowed at least once. If you fertilized in the fall, you can skip it this spring.

(You may want to consider a ”green” fertilizer with natural ingredients such as corn gluten meal, soybean meal, blood meal or feather meal. Or top dress your lawn with completed compost or composted cow manure instead of fertilizing. • When you mow, keep the grass longer (2½ to 3½ inches). That will encourage deeper roots, which help grass plants survive hot, dry weather.

And don’t bag your grass. Leave the clippings on the lawn. They break down and add nutrients to the soil.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 10:19 am and is filed under Lawn care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.