Albuquerque Spring Lawn Care – 3 Strategies to Invigorate Your Lawn

You need to take good care of your Albuquerque lawn during spring. Otherwise, you will have to deal with numerous challenges in maintaining its health for the rest of the year. For example, you need to pay attention to crabgrass prevention and fertilization during spring season. Let’s take a look at few of the most important strategies that you can follow to invigorate your lawn during spring.

Properly feed the lawn

The best time to revitalise your grass is in the spring after a long, brutal winter. You can use either synthetic or organic fertilizer. Today, organic fertilizers generated from raw materials can be used instead of highly refined chemicals. Natural fertilizers reduce the possibility that runoff would harm nearby waterways and animals.

Early in the spring, a sparing application of rapid-release fertilizer will provide a significant boost of nutrients to encourage winter recovery and support a robust, healthy turfgrass during the following months. Your grass could start to turn green a few days after treatment. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time on your lawn during the season, you can also buy a mix of rapid-release and slow-release fertilizer.

There are two primary ways to apply fertilizer, regardless of whether you use rapid-release or slow-release fertilizer. Let’s take a look at them.

• Using granular fertilizer (solid pellets)

It’s preferable to use granular and scatter it evenly throughout the grass using a broadcast spreader for bigger yards bigger than ½ acres. 

• Liquid fertilizer

Using a liquid kind diluted in water can be more practical if your lawn is smaller. This can be administered using a handheld compression sprayer with a pump or a backpack-style sprayer for bigger yards. You can connect to the end of a garden hose to fertilise as you water.

Granular generally makes it simpler to apply the proper quantity. You can scatter the pellets quickly and easily using a broadcast spreader (push or handed).

Using a mulching mower, which reduces grass to tiny particles and feeds your lawn with nitrogen seasonally, is another approach to feed your lawn. Clippings shouldn’t be packed since when they decompose, they restore nutrients to the soil.

Proceed with using crabgrass

The second lawn maintenance step is a pre-emergent crabgrass management in the early spring. Whether you want a DIY treatment (like vinegar), an organic solution, or a chemical option to reduce crabgrass, there is a limited window. The pre-emergent is ineffective if applied too soon. If you submit your application too late, the seeds are already rooted.

The key is to maintain soil temperatures at 55°F for a period of three days. Crabgrass will spread quickly if the temperature reaches 65 to 70°F. Depending on the size of your property, you can use a compression sprayer that is either handheld or backpack type for simpler application. Label the weed killer sprayer suitably and avoid combining it with any other sprayer bottles.

Some formulations are “weed and feed,” combining a pesticide for pre-emergent crabgrass with a springtime fertilizer. In this combo product, the pre-emergent inhibits crabgrass seedling growth while a little quantity of fertilizer promotes grass growth.

Consider your grass before you start dousing everything with spray. There is no need to apply an all-purpose weed killer or a “weed and feed” if there aren’t many weeds. Instead, fertilise the whole grass before treating individual weeds.

Get Your Lawn Mower Ready

We advise giving your lawn mower its regular tune-up in the early spring. If you have a gas-powered machine, you can do this task yourself in 10 to 15 minutes for a reasonable price. You should spend around $20 on an oil change, spark plug, and air filter. Consult your user manual. Of course, there is no need to replace the oil, gas, filters, or spark plugs with a cordless electric mower, making it very handy and minimal maintenance.

Cleaned under the deck

You must wipe up the space under the mower deck whether you use a gas or electric mower. Old grass and leaves often accumulate in this region since you can’t see it. The motion of the mower blade is made to match the contours of the mower deck. The lawn grass is pulled upright by the mower deck’s suction, which enables the blade to produce precise, even cuts. The hoover won’t work if you don’t clean below the deck. When people complain that their lawn mower doesn’t cut as well, it’s often because the below-deck region has been neglected. With a putty knife, open the unit up and enter.

Sharpening or changing the blade

There is no need to purchase a new blade if the existing one is not chipped. The blade can sustain damage more often if there are many pinecones or sandy soil conditions; this is particularly true in the sandier soils of the southern and western United States. Naturally, you should always take the time to remove any twigs and other debris before you mow to avoid damaging your blade.

To cut through the grass instead of ripping it, which attracts sickness and difficulties, you do need to maintain that blade sharp. Throughout the season, sharpen your blade two or three times. For some people, going to the store to have the blade sharpened is a hassle. Fortunately, replacing the blade with a new one and forgoing honing entirely just costs a few dollars. Having two blades is an additional choice so you can have a backup while one blade is being sharpened in the shop.

Store your electric mowers properly

The battery life of an electric lawn mower ought to be hundreds of hours. However, this is supposing that you maintain it tidy and correctly store the batteries and mower. The battery cells’ lifespan will be shortened if you store the mower in a hot shed in the summer or a cold spot during the winter. If at all feasible, move the mower into the cellar or a heated garage. You should be able to go through hundreds of recharge cycles if your mower is not neglected.