Get Ready for Spring!

The days are slowly getting longer and it won’t be long until the temperatures start to rise and Spring will be here. This means growing season for your lawn and August is a great time to start getting everything ready to ensure your lawn is in great condition for enjoying through the warmer months. Have a read through for things you can do with your lawn now.

Your lawn mower – with mowing season nearly upon us, now is a good time to give your lawn mower a service to make sure everything is running smoothly and don’t forget to include getting your mowers blades sharpened. Sharp blades make a big difference to keeping your lawn healthy and they should be sharpened at least once a year. If you have raised the level of your lawn mower for winter mowing, you may want to lower it again once spring growth kicks in and you need to mow more frequently.

Aeration – this involves breaking up the soil allowing it to become more porous so that oxygen, nutrients and water can penetrate down to your lawn’s root system. This is especially important for high traffic areas where the soil may have been compacted. Aeration can be done manually with a fork or strapping on a pair of special aerating shoes. Alternatively you can hire a machine or let our team do it for you. If you do decide to aerate, make sure you are mindful of any under turf irrigation you may have.

Weed control – the warmer temperatures don’t just benefit our lawns and gardens unfortunately, they also signal growth for weeds. Now is a good time to think about your weed control for the coming months. You can look at applying a pre-emergent which will help with weed control before their seedlings emerge. Pre-emergents work well with annual weeds. Perennial weeds such as Dandelions require a post-emergent or you can try removing these by hand. Before purchasing any herbicide, please read the label thoroughly to make sure that it will be compatible with your lawn type.

Watering – while we have had some rain our winter hasn’t really been that wet. Once the temperatures start increasing, you can easily check your soil hydration by poking your finger in and seeing how far down any dampness goes. You can then see if you need to start with watering. If you have an irrigation system, now is an ideal time to check it over and make sure that everything is running smoothly, no parts need replacing and that there are no blockages or leaks. If you are considering an irrigation system, give our team a call on how to go about this.

Until the soil temperatures warm up more, we recommend holding off on the fertilising, scarifying and top dressing for now as most lawns won’t have emerged from their winter dormancy yet. If you are looking at getting turf laid or growing a lawn from seed, now is a great time to get stuck in!