Prepping Your Lawn For Spring

Over the winter months debris, leaves, and twigs tend to accumulate in our yards. Head out onto your lawn with a yard waste bag and rake to begin cleaning up. As you rake to remove dead grass and thatch, allowing your your to breathe, take note of any thinning or sparse areas that could use a little extra TLC during the growing season. Cleaning up your lawn and exposing the rootzone is especially important if you plan to apply pre-emergent weed control as any debris left behind could interfere with the accuracy and effectiveness of your application.

Soil amendments like Humic DG, BioChar DG and HumiChar can be applied all year round but it is especially important to apply them at the beginning of and during the growing season. By applying amendments in early spring, you begin to support healthy microbial activity, creating the ideal environment for your grass to start off the new growing season in.

Applying a pre-emergent weed control in the spring can help cut down on landscaping time devoted to weed control throughout the year. For your lawn, apply Barricade® in early spring prior to soil temperatures reaching 55 degrees Fahrenheit at a four inch depth.

Revisit the thinning or patchy areas that you noticed during your cleanup. If you need to seed those areas but chose to apply Barricade weed prevention, you'll want to time your planting carefully. Climate determines how long you should wait to seed or overseed after applying Barricade. Refer to the table near the bottom of our blog, Prevent Weeds All Season Long with Barricade, for more details on timing. When seeding, be sure irrigate and fertilize the areas you’re repairing. New Lawn Starter 20-27-5 has an ideal formula for newly seeded areas and adding BioChar DG at the time of planting can aid seed germination. If you prefer a patch repair products, check out Pure Patch™, which includes seed, mulch, fertilizer and soil amendment in one bag. Other seed options include Drought Defy, Stadium Mix Kentucky Bluegrass, Rio Bermuda and Perennial Rye Blend.

As temperatures continue to rise your grass will come out of winter dormancy and begin to actively grow. At this time, you can provide a boost of nutrition through a fertilizer application. Our Core™ 12-8-12 with all quick-release nitrogen and added iron is perfect for spring applications. Or, if you prefer organic products, you can apply Lawnbox Grass Genie 10-0-6.