The temperatures are rising in Warren County, Iowa. The buds are beginning to grow on the trees, grass is waking up, and the birds are singing. It is officially Spring, and after a long cold winter stuck inside, it’s time to get back out there and enjoy some lawn care. Take these handy tips from Warren Lawn, and watch your property come to life!
TUNE UP YOUR MOWER. Even if you bought a brand new mower last season, it is always good practice to change the spark plug(s), change the air filter and replace the oil. Your mower went through a full season and likely had to sit untouched all winter in the cold temperatures and it will need some TLC. Once the internal work is finished, it’s time to clean it up. Take a brush and clean off the extra dust, grass clippings and anything else that built up since last season. Don’t tip the entire mower upside down, but check underneath and make sure the under side of the mower deck is free from any old, moldy grass sticking the inner walls.
Now that the mower is running and looking sharp, it’s time to make sure it cuts sharp. Mowing with a dull blade will yield you less than amazing results when you go to mow the grass. Make sure the blade doesn’t have any large nicks and chips taken out of it. If it looks good to go, then find your angle grinder or take your blade to the nearest mower mechanic and have them sharpen the blade for you. You don’t want your mower ripping the blades as you mow, you want it slicing them. This will keep the lawn healthy and looking great.
TIDY UP. Winter was not super friendly to your lawn. Between leaves, sticks, gravel, trash and more, its likely that you’ll need to take a walk and clean things up. Better yet, get the kids off the iPad and send them out there to clean it up for you!
REPAIR ANY BARE SPOTS. There could be spots in your lawn that are just bare ground. It’s best to treat these areas with high quality seed and water. At Warren Lawn, we like to use a garden weasel to cultivate the dirt, then we over seed the ground with a high quality blend of Kentucky Blue-Grass and Turf Type Tall Fescue. Never skimp on the type of seed you use. Using a cheap blend of seed will leave you disappointed. Keep the area damp by watering it each day for about a week or until the grass is growing on its own and is able to be mowed. To play it safe, allow the grass to grow higher than the rest of your lawn, this ensures the roots have had a chance to be established before stressing it out by cutting it too soon.
PREVENT WEEDS. For your lawn in Central-Iowa, you likely have a mix of Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass or Turf Type Tall Fescue. All of these grass varieties are cool-season grasses. Because of this, they thrive in the Spring and Fall, and struggle to fight their own battles in the heat of Summer. One of the main battles they fight is the battle with Crabgrass. Preventing Crabgrass in the Spring is much more cost-effective than treating it after it appears. At Warren Lawn, we double down with two rounds pre-emergent, which helps build a barrier to prevent crabgrass and other grassy weeds from growing in the lawn. This will help keep crabgrass and other grassy weeds to a minimum and allow your lawn to thrive during the hot summer months when weeds want to take over.
EDGE GARDEN AND LANDSCAPE BEDS. Since last Spring, the edge of your garden and landscape beds have probably broken down some. Creating a sharp, new edge is much easier in the Spring since the ground is already soft. Use an edging tool or a spade to keep the edges clean. Doing this also keeps the grass and weeds from creeping into your beds, and allows the mulch to have a place to sit and not escape into the lawn. A weak edge, allows the mulch to escape and the grass to creep in.
APPLY MULCH. It is always easy to want to jump on mulching the first nice weekend of Spring. It’s hard to look at a bed with stale mulch. But, if at all possible, wait until later in the Spring when you have everything cleaned up and the helicopter seeds from the trees have fallen. Applying mulch too early allows those to ruin your hard work. Shredded mulch comes in a variety of colors and is often more cost effective to purchase in bags at your local big box store, like Walmart. It provides the final, vibrant touch to the Spring work you have accomplished.
Get out there this Spring and enjoy some lawn care. If you are needing any high-quality fertilization and weed control services and you are located in Norwalk, Indianola, Winterset or within the Warren County area, feel free to give us a call at 515-612-7737. We would love the opportunity to work with you this season!
