With spring just around the corner and your lawn awaking to nature’s call, it’s time to prepare it for the next 6 months of growth, and make it the envy of your friends and neighbours. Here are a few tips and tricks to ensure your lawn is the best in town.

Rake

Raking you lawn before the spring growth allows you to remove any leaves and dead grass blades that died over winter. Its important to remove the dead grass or else these add to your lawns thatch layer. Raking your lawn also loosens up the matted grass patches. Just make sure to rake when your soil isn’t wet or muddy, or else you can risk pulling up healthy grass and create uneven surfaces.

Seeding

Get on top of repairing trouble spots early so its ready to enjoy come summer. If your lawn has thin or bare spots the cheapest way to repair it is through seeding. Dead grass from weather or pet damage should be cut out as soon as possible.

When you seed, you should look to apply a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer. After a further five weeks after seeding give the lawn another feed. The sooner you can seed the lawn the better to ensure it has lots of time to root before the end of summer.

Aerate

One thing that is often over looked but is vital for a healthy lawn is aeration. Spring is a great time to aerate your grass. Your lawn needs to breathe and letting it aerate is the solution for compacted soil.

Aerating is important for your lawn because it promotes the flow of water, oxygen and proper nutrients to encourage grass growth.  This can be done by either power raking or buying proper aeration tools at your local hardware store. Alternatively, you can hire a professional like Evergreen Landscapes soft landscapers for this labour-intensive task. Aerating will ultimately encourage better grass growth, thicker and better coverage.

Weeding

To get your lawn looking perfect you must remove those pesky weeds. Coming into spring, herbicides can be used to get rid of weeds like thatch, dandelion, clover and crabgrass. Just make sure to read the bottle first to make sure it won’t kill your grass to!

If spraying isn’t something you like to do then you can dig out the perennial weeds as they start appearing, but this can be a time consuming task.

Fertilise

When spring arrives, and the grass has started growing and turning green, it’s a good time to feed up your lawn with some fertiliser. You should look to apply fertiliser after the first or second mow. You don’t want to apply it to early or you risk feeding the weeds instead of the lawn! If you need any lawn fertiliser or someone to apply it, make sure to contact the experts at Evergreen landscapes.

Water

Watering in early spring isn’t normally necessary in the South Island with temperatures still mild. But spring is still a good time to check out your irrigation system is still function after winter, so when you need the water your system works. If you need an irrigation system installed or some maintenance on your current one be sure to contact Evergreens Irrigation team.

You should look to avoid the temptation to green up your lawn by watering it. Let your lawn green up naturally, and water it only if rain has been scarce and the lawn starts to show signs of drying out. You should also check that your yard and lawn have good drainage to ensure there aren’t any spots where water sits.

Mowing your lawn

Look to mow when the ground is dry enough and the grass has started growing again and requires cutting. The first mow should only remove about a 1.5cm, but no more than about one third of the grass length. Cutting your grass to low allows sunlight to hit the soil and this encourages weeds to germinate. If you cut less off your grass but mow more often, it will result in the grass growing tougher and more sustainable.

Seeing you’re about to be mowing regularly over the next 6 months, spring is the best time to check your lawnmower or give it a quick service. You should look to sharpen the blades, change the oil and replace the old fuel.

Evergreen Landscapes has been landscaping Christchurch and Canterbury for over 30 years! If you need help maintaining your lawn or have any further questions be sure to give Evergreen Landscapes a call and our expert team will be more than happy to help. Other than that make sure to keep your lawn looking healthy and green so you can enjoy it over summer!