After a long, harsh winter, you may feel the itch to start prepping your lawn for spring. If you feel like you took a beating this winter, you can bet your lawn feels the same! Cold and snow have been on the ground for some time now and there are still weeks before we see signs of spring. If you can see the light at the end of winter’s tunnel, follow these simple steps to set your lawn up for the warm weather ahead.
Keep Off the Lawn
Be patient! With snow still covering the ground, you will have to wait a few weeks before you can start prepping your lawn. Freezing conditions and frost itself doesn’t cause any real damage to the grass underneath. It’s only when it’s walked on when damage occurs. Pressure causes the frozen grass leaves to fracture, rupturing the leaf cells and damaging the leaf. So, keep off as much as you can until the ground thaws – if only other household tasks were this hands-off!
Clean Up Debris
Once the ground has thawed, you’ll have a good idea of what your lawn has collected over the winter. A general clean up will get rid of any branches, leaves, toys that you thought were lost and more! Now we can see what we’re dealing with.
Get Rid of Dead Grass
Once your yard is clear, it’s easy to see patches that didn’t make it through the winter season. Since the grass is dead, you can simply pull it out with your hands or pull it up with a rake. Once your lawn is free of debris and dead grass, you will want to check the pH levels of the soil.
Checking pH Levels
The winter melt can wash away nutrients and change the pH levels of your lawn. Sounds scientific, right? A pH analysis tells you the acidity and alkalinity of your soil and based on your grass species and climate, how far away this is from “ideal”. Based on this, you can fix your pH levels with fertilizer and the right kind of nutrients.
Find a Program That’s Right for Your Lawn
Weed-A-Way offers a variety of service and program options. From bare spots to grubs to weeds, we have a program that’s right for you. Call us at 905-858-3100 to find a program that works for you.
