Photo by Lisa Fotios
For many homeowners, their lawn is their pride and joy, with countless hours spent during spring and summer months tending to their turf and ensuring it’s full, lush, and green. Some common maintenance efforts might be counterintuitive, however, or downright detrimental to your lawn’s overall health.
Once the snow has thawed, you might eagerly want to get out outside and start raking and mowing. But if your lawn has been in a deep sleep all winter season, it needs to be awakened gently — much as you would! With spring rolling around, here are just a few lawn care pointers to make sure your green space is the best it can possibly be this year.
Aerate Your Lawn
Aerating your lawn allows the soil below to receive water, oxygen, and nutrients. Aeration is especially important in Canada, since the ground will have been compacted during the winter months from heavy snowfall and high moisture levels.
Factor in Watering
The amount of water that your lawn needs will depend on your geographic location. Climate, humidity levels, and the amount of rainfall varies greatly between provinces and from month to month. For example, residents in Toronto experience a semi-continental climate where they see hot, humid summers; therefore, Torontonian homeowners are advised to soak their soil 1 inch deep once weekly for optimal grass strength and growth.
A friendly reminder that if you have an automatic irrigation system, now is an ideal time for sprinkler servicing in Toronto — and beyond! — before the summer heat strikes.
Watering before 10 a.m. is ideal as the water won’t evaporate immediately, nor will the beads of water burn the blades of grass in the midday sun.
Don’t Cut Too Low
While you may think cutting your grass as short as possible will save you work in the long run — the shorter it is, the longer between mows, right? — this isn’t necessarily true. Cutting your grass too short — especially during the first mow of the season — can hinder growth and encourage weeds and pests.
Instead, cut your grass frequently. Leave the grass blades 3 inches long throughout the season, cutting around 1/3 of the blade every mow.
Feed Your Lawn
In some regions in Canada, cosmetic pesticide use is now banned. That said, there are some natural lawn fertilizers which can buoy grass growth, including alfalfa, seaweed and kelp, and agricultural manure. Another great boon to your lawn is to leave grass clippings sprinkled across the lawn after mowing — they provide a great source of (free!) nutrition for the blades and soil below.
Overseed
If you’ve noticed patchy grass areas, it’s not too late to overseed in the springtime, leaving 30 days between treatments. To overseed, add a layer of lawn soil, scatter it with seeds, then gently cover these seeds with a small sprinkle of lawn soil. Then water thoroughly and frequently every day until the seedlings are established.
Takeaway
Lawn care needn’t be an all-consuming activity. By breaking the facets of lawn care into manageable tasks, you’re setting attainable goals and guaranteeing a bountiful green space for the year ahead.
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