Top 5 Essential Spring Lawn Care Tips for a Healthy, Vibrant Lawn
Top 5 Essential Spring Lawn Care Tips for a Healthy, Vibrant Lawn
Spring is the perfect season to revitalise your lawn and ensure it thrives through the year. At Green Lawn Supplies, we understand that a lush, green lawn starts with the right care. Follow these top 5 spring lawn care tips to get your yard in top shape.
Lawn Maintenance 101
Spring is an excellent time to revisit the basics of lawn maintenance. For a step-by-step guide on essential lawn maintenance tasks, including tips on mowing, watering, fertilising, weed control and renovating your lawn you can refer to our previous post Lawn Maintenance 101. The below will go into the 5 most critical things to remember;
- Conduct a Sprinkler Audit
Before diving into spring lawn care, it's crucial to ensure your irrigation system is functioning optimally. Conduct a sprinkler audit to check for leaks, clogs, or uneven watering patterns. We recommend testing your sprinklers using catch cups so that you know exactly how much water you are irrigating with. 10-15mm twice a week is the optimal amount to help drive a thicker and deeper root system. Watering more frequently will encourage shallow roots meaning it will struggle to stay green in the heat of summer. Proper catch cups are recommended as measuring the water is done on depth of water (mm) not volume (ml). The other advantage to using catch cups is it will let you know the areas that may need extra hand watering come summer to help prevent dry spots due to uneven watering patterns. If you are looking for Catch Cups most retic stores stock these.
- Increase Your Mowing Frequency
Now is the time to start increasing your mowing frequency, even if you don’t feel your lawn need to be mowed, what this encourages is your lawn to grow laterally instead of vertically. A good rule of thumb is, on a regular mow, to not cut any more than 1/3 of the leaf blade off at a time. If you do your lawn will do into repair mode, using the nutrients and energy into repairing the plant instead of thriving. The more often you mow will also reduce the time it takes each time also giving you more time to enjoy it with your family.
- Timing is Everything: Don’t Renovate Too Early
While spring is a great time for lawn care, it’s important not to rush into renovations. Performing lawn renovations too early in the season can lead to slower recovery and poor results. Wait until the soil temperature is consistently warm before undertaking tasks such as vertimowing or scalping. For detailed guidance on when and how to renovate your lawn effectively, check out our Lawn Renovation Guide. Please also keep in mind that some lawn types like kikuyu can be renovated earlier than varieties like buffalo, so keep this in mind when selecting when to renovate your lawn. Making sure your lawn is actively growing well and preparing your lawn with the right pre fertilisation plan is key to a quick recovery.
- Select the Right Fertilisers and Soil Improvement Products
Choosing the right fertilisers and soil improvement products can make a significant difference in the health of your lawn. We get asked all the time, “Which fertiliser should I be using in spring?” well it can depend a number of factors, people cutting their lawn with a cylinder mower under 10mm will opt for products like Black Label Pro Elite mini prill so as the fertiliser falls nicely into the canopy of the lawn so as to avoid it being picked up by the mower on your next cut. If you are looking to improve your soil conditions, you can use products like Black Label BioSmart as it contains a myriad of micronutrients that improve your soils overall health and lastly a good allrounder granular fertiliser that offers the added benefit of 3% iron to boost your lawn colour is Black Label Turf King.
Additionally, wetting agents and soil conditioners can be considered even more important than pricking the right fertiliser. Healthy soil means a healthy plant. Wetting agents like Hydraplus can offer the benefit of a truly balanced approach to your soils water profile, allowing for an even flow of water through the soil whilst also helping to retain moisture, making it available deeper in the soil for the plant when needed. Products like Humic Pro can vastly improve the natural leaching of nutrient through your soil. Finally, seaweed or kelp extras lie Kelp Force will improve your plant’s ability to better handle environmental and pest stresses, this works well to strengthen your lawn year round.
- Use Preventative Products for a Healthy Lawn
Preventative measures can save you time and effort overall. Apply pre-emergent herbicides like Spartan to prevent weed growth and consider grub protection products like Acelepryn to protect your lawn from pests such as Lawn Beetle and Armyworm. Using these products in spring can help support the health of your lawn by preventing common issues before they arise. One thing to add here is, if you are considering renovating your lawn, please wait to apply a pre-emergent herbicide until after your lawn has recovered.
Enjoy Your Lawn This Spring
By incorporating these spring lawn care tips, you'll set your lawn up for success and enjoy a beautiful, lush yard throughout the year. For more expert advice for your individual lawn, feel free to drop us an email at info@greenlawnsupplies.com.au or hit the chat button in the bottom corner and we will be happy to help.