1. When is the right time to start prepping your lawn for spring?
When the snow melts and threat of frost is over. Avoid walking and working on wet grass.
2. Rake your lawn
First, you want to remove thatch from your lawn. If you have 1/2"-inch or more of thatch, it will get in the way of effective watering. You want to remove snow mold that may have formed on your lawn from repeated thawing and freezing. When snow is gone, gently rake the moldy, matted turf allowing it to dry.
3. Apply organic weed killer
Apply corn gluten meal for a natural, chemical-free solution that will kill crabgrass seeds and other perennial weeds before seeds germinate! Crabgrass begins to grow in early spring so eradicate it before it can grow.
4. Overseed to patch bare spots in your lawn
Caution: If over-seeding your lawn, don't use corn gluten meal. It will kill your seeds along with weed seeds! Apply grass seed to fill in bare patches. This solution is known as "overseeding lawns." Use a drought-tolerant grass seed blend like "Eco-Lawn" that once established, needs little water, fertilizer and is low maintenance.
- Eco-Lawn grows in sun, shade, doesn't need to be mowed, drought tolerant after first year. - Rake bare patch soil to loosen to about 1"-inch deep - Mix in 1/4"-inch of compost to soil - Add seeds according to Eco-Lawn seed instructions - Tamp seeds down with rake to make contact with soil - Water daily for first 3 weeks if doesn't rain
5. Fertilize when over-seeding
If you are growing a non-Eco-lawn, you should fertilize with organic fertilizer rich in nitrogen.
6. Water correctly
Lawns need less frequent but deeper watering. Water when grass blades look limp. Water to depth of 1-inch (about 30 minutes).
And make sure you visit
edenmakersblog.com for more great gardening tips from our Shirley Bovshow!
