Step-by-Step Instructions For Transitioning Your Lawn from Winter to Spring

You want to keep up with all of your Northeast Ohio lawn’s needs throughout the year. 

And spring is an important time. You certainly don’t want to delay too long or mess up the start of the season. As Northeast Ohioans, we crave spring, and you don’t want to have a lawn that can’t keep up with your quest for green grass and sunshine. 

You want to enjoy your lawn after all – not hide from its bare patches and weeds. As your neighbors emerge from their winter cocoons, you don’t want to be the one with the lawn they stop and stare at for all the wrong reasons. 

What you need is a guide to spring grass preparation. Let’s talk about how to prep your yard for spring in Northeast Ohio so you can get a better handle on what tasks you need to focus on come springtime, so your lawn looks like the best on the block. 

Essential Steps to Preparing Your Lawn for Spring

Lawn care is certainly not a one-time thing. It’s a process that is a year-long endeavor to ensure good grass health. 

And spring is when the year kicks off for your grass; it’s a time you don’t want to mess up as its growth kicks into high gear. 

Follow these spring grass preparation steps to ensure you give your grass the best start possible. 

Step #1. Start By Cleaning Up 

Spring cleaning doesn’t only happen inside; it happens outside, too.

Once the winter chill begins wearing away, it’s time to clean up your yard as part of spring grass preparation. To do this, lightly rake up any dead leaves or debris. Don’t be too aggressive. You don’t want to remove pieces of your lawn, you just want to ensure it receives sun, air, water, and nutrients. 

As you do this, look for bare spots or areas where your lawn looks matted down by snow mold. Also remember at this time to keep your eyes open for bare spots or any salt or snow plow damage, as well as areas where your lawn seems impacted by snow mold. Flag them for repair and overseeding later. 

Step #2. Prep Your Mower 

You might be excited to mow, but, first, you have to prepare your mower as part of your spring grass preparation.  

How can you do this? Start by sharpening your mower blades, filling the tires with air, changing the oil, and making sure everything works like it should.

When it’s finally time to mow, make sure you mow to the right height and at the right frequency.

The ideal Northeast Ohio lawn height is 3 to 4 inches. This height ensures good lawn health and thick, green grass that rejects weeds. Don’t be tempted to cut your lawn short or you might stress it out and encourage more weed growth. 

Mow weekly to maintain this ideal height and don’t cut more than one-third of your grass during any single mowing. To get the best cut, don’t mow when your grass is too wet. 

Step #3. Fertilize

Your lawn needs nutrients to grow, and they are stripped away from soil through foot and rain traffic and years of wear and tear. 

That’s where an organic-based granular fertilization comes in as part of preparing your lawn for spring. It helps to give your lawn the nutrients it needs that your soil can’t provide. 

Fertilization is important in the spring when the growing season kicks off to build top growth. 

Step #4. Fight Spring Weeds Early

Weeds compete with your grass for water and nutrients, and they want to get out there and start growing, too, once spring arrives. 

In spring, putting down a pre-emergent herbicide application as part of how to prep your yard for spring can help you tackle those nasty weeds like crabgrass that are best controlled prior to germination. Pre-emergent herbicides are commonly applied earlier in the spring and then again later in the spring to help control those sneaky weeds that aren’t operating on a perfect schedule. This provides an extended period of control.

Embrace Spring Grass Preparation for Your Northeast Ohio Lawn

Taking care of your lawn can be time consuming. To succeed, you must maintain proper mowing, watering, fertilizing, weed control, and other treatments to ensure lawn health and success. And we hope following these preparing lawn for spring tips can help you stay on top of things as winter fades away.

Spring prep process can certainly be daunting, and it can be easy to get confused. We completely get it. Who wants to waste their time on lawn care tasks, especially if they aren’t sure whether or not what they’re doing is working. 

Want your weekend time back? We’re happy to take this job off of your hands. Call Turf Pride. You can choose from our different lawn care programs based on the results you’re after and your budget, and we’d be happy to check out your lawn and tell you what services you may need in order to start spring off right. 

Ready to learn why Turf Pride could be your choice for lawn care services in Northeast Ohio? We want to learn more about you and help you have the best lawn on the block. Get started today with a free quote. Together, we can prepare a customized plan that is perfect for you and your lawn.