Now that we’ve passed the shortest day of the year, we can begin to fantasise about the warmer weather. Spring is slowly approaching, and it’s the growing season for most Australian lawn types. That makes now the perfect time to start preparing your grass by doing some simple spring lawn maintenance.

Winter is just as hard on your grass as it is on you. The long, cold, sunless days are likely to leave your grass looking brown and sparse. But, it’s not as bad as it looks. Doing these short, simple steps can prepare your grass for spring and leave you with a lush lawn this summer.

Start Simple:

The first step to spring lawn maintenance is to take your rake around the garden and pick up any fallen leaves, twigs or branches that have collected over the winter. Vigorously rake at patches of dead, brown grass to remove it and provide the new growth with as much sunlight as possible.

Weeding:

Over the winter months, weeds are likely to begin to pop up throughout your lawn. But, unless you’re completely over-run, you should be able to deal with them by hand. Single weeds can be pulled and large flat weeds are often manageable. However, if you’re planning on manually removing your weeds it is essential you do this before they begin to seed. Alternatively, if your lawn has been struggling over winter and the weeds are unmanageable, select herbicides can be applied at this time of year. Find the perfect herbicide for your lawn with some help from the experts at ANCO Geelong.

Look after your Mower:

It’s very likely that your lawn mower has been sitting untouched over the cooler months. So, before you start it up, it’s a great time to do some yearly maintenance. Change over the fuel and oil, and invest in some new spark plugs to keep your machine running smoothly. Plus, before you start mowing, sharpen your blades to keep your lawn healthy and lush over the summer.

Aeration is the key to spring lawn maintenance:

Aerating your grass works wonders. It reduces soil compaction and thatch build up, while increasing the amount of air, water and nutrients getting through the soil. This in turn will lead to stronger roots and a healthier lawn. Aerating can be done with spiked rollers, which are available for hire at ANCO Geelong. Otherwise, coring machines can be used and are typically available from hire companies.

Fertilise and Sow:

Fertilising your lawn helps to speed up new growth and create strong roots in time for summer. Drought tolerant or warm season grasses should be fertilised in early spring and cool season grasses should be fertilised all year round. But first, a word of caution, don’t overdo it. Regular fertilising throughout the spring, summer and autumn with light doses is much more effective than one or two heavy doses a year.

Regular mowing and fertilising in spring and summer will help your grass repair and thicken in damaged areas. Think about your mowing height, as it’s different for different grass types. this means that you shouldn’t automatically mow your grass high to thicken and even out your lawn as this can be bad for certain grass varieties. If you’re wanted to know how to get your lawn looking its best have a talk to us at ANCO Geelong for top mowing tips.

Renovate your Lawn:

During your spring lawn maintenance is the perfect time for grass renovations, particularly for drought tolerant varieties. These grasses can be mown very short and top-dressed with a fine sand or otherwise, scarified then top-dressed. This takes out all the thatch from under the leaf and by doing this; your lawn will end up softer, greener and easier to mow. However, don’t be concerned if your lawn starts looking bad for a few weeks, it’ll recover better than ever. When completing this process, make sure you’re watering every couple of days for the following weeks to achieve best results.

Watering:

Spring is a tricky time of year for watering, as it’s easy to overdo it. With regular rainfall coming out of winter you shouldn’t need to do much extra. The soil hasn’t started heating up and the nights are still cool, so water lingers in the soil for longer than you’d expect. If you’re not sure if you need to water, dig your finger into the lawn – if it’s damp, don’t water.

This might seem like a long to-do list for lawn preparation, but they’re all simple steps that’ll make a huge impact.