Spring Clean Up
There is the possibility that the temperature will break 50 degrees today. As Homer Simpson would say, “Woohoo!”. The snow should melt and I would venture to guess no one is sad to see that. In Dayton and Cincinnati, it is time for Spring Clean Up…and maybe a little golf. Here are a few tips to make your Spring Clean Up successful:
1) Pick up Winter debris – All those tree limbs, leaves, and debris from the Winter that are scattered all over the lawn and mulch beds need to be picked up. If you have kids or grandkids, I heard they will do this for candy, money, or Facebook stock. I would sell short on the stock though. Getting all that debris up will clear the way for the rest of the tips.
2) Rake Matted Grass – Again children are highly motivated by corn fructose syrup, so first see if they will help. Take a leaf rake and lightly “fluff” the matted down grass. Dayton and Cincinnati lawns will have a little snow mold fungus from the snow laying on top of the grass for such an extended period of time. This fungus will be all over in the Dayton and Cincinnati area this Spring. The good news is that it usually does not kill grass. The bad news is children get bored quickly if the Mountain Dew source has run dry, so you may have to do some “fluffing” yourself. This “fluffing” and patience will help grow the snow mold out. By fluffing the grass you are allowing it to breath and this will help it recover quicker.
3) Spring Spot Seeding – If you plan on doing any Spring Spot Seeding I would suggest small areas and leave the bigger projects for the Fall when we do 90% of our Seedings. You will get much better results for your money in the Fall. Also if you wait until the Fall to seed, you can put down a crabgrass barrier this Spring to help reduce the amount of crabgrass that pops up in the Summer. Whether you are applying a chemical premergent or Corn Gluten Meal, it will help the effectiveness to get it down by the end of April. This treatment is time sensitive and is based on soil temperatures. DO NOT put down a chemical premergent or Corn Gluten Meal in areas you plan on spot seeding. These treatments will inhibit new grass from germinating. Work the soil with a metal rake, rent a slice seeder (children will have to sit this one out), or better yet hire us to do the seeding. After the soil is worked up, sprinkle some seed in the area, work the soil a little more to mix the seed into the soil, and then make sure you stay on top of the watering. Water 1-2 times per day, for 10 minutes each time, for the next 3 weeks if it doesn’t rain. If you put straw, compost, or peat moss down as a cover make sure you do not put a thick layer down. This will suffocate the new grass coming in. Scatter the straw (not hay) thinly, put down 1/4 inch of compost, or get a thin layer of peat moss to cover the area with. This is optional. If you water correctly you really do not need any of these.
4) Mow Low for the First Couple Mowings – You DO NOT want to scalp the lawn…ever. If you dropped your mower down to 2 inches for the Late Fall, which you should do, your mower is set at the proper height. Mow your lawn a couple times at the lower setting, but then start to gradually increase the height to 3-4 inches for the Late Spring-Early Fall. Mow the lawn often too. These mowings may not be cutting much grass, but will excite the grass and have it growing sooner. You will have a quicker Spring green up with horizontal growth. Who doesn’t want a greener thicker lawn? Call us at PureLawn this Spring for a FREE LAWN ANALSIS!