What are the First Things I Should Do to My Albuquerque Lawn in the Spring?

If you’re like most Albuquerque homeowners, you’re eager to spend more time outside now that spring has arrived. However, you shouldn’t let your grass down just because the weather is warmer.

Early spring lawn care is essential to making sure your yard looks lush and green throughout the season. After all, putting in some extra time now means you can spend less time maintaining your grass later. To help, here at R & S Landscaping, an Albuquerque lawn care company, we put together a few of our favorite tips to keep your lawn healthy this spring. Please keep reading and feel free to call us at 505-271-8419 if you have any questions.

Benefits of Spring Lawn Care

So why spend any time on your lawn in early spring? Don’t allow your grass just “wake up” on its own? It might seem that way, but there’s actually a reason for spring lawn maintenance.

In addition to making your lawn look its best throughout the season, early preparation ensures your grass will stay thick and healthy well into summer. But you can’t kick back and relax just yet!

Take Advantage of These Spring Lawn Tips

Now that you know it’s worth caring for your lawn during the early spring, let’s go over a few simple steps you can take to keep your grass looking great.

Clean Up Your Lawn

Part of early spring lawn maintenance is removing leaves, sticks, and other debris that accumulated over the winter. Doing so ensures air and nutrients can reach your grass and prevent mold or disease from spreading.

Complete the following steps:

Rake your yard so leaves, twigs, and other debris are gone. You want to pick up anything that landed on your lawn during fall and winter storms. Tip: Use a spring brush rake instead of a leaf rake to avoid damaging your grass. Clean up garden beds and the perimeter of your lawn. Once you’ve removed debris, you’ll find it’s easier to prep the rest of your lawn.

Aerate Your Lawn Soil if Necessary

Aerating your Albuquerque lawn allows air, water, and nutrients to penetrate deep into your grass’s roots. You may need to do this if you have heavy foot traffic or use lots of landscaping equipment.

You can aerate your lawn by using a specialized aerator to poke small holes into the soil. Doing this helps improve water drainage and gives roots room to grow.

To know if your lawn needs aeration, take a screwdriver and push it into your grass. If it doesn’t easily go into the soil, it’s time to aerate. Plan to do this early in the spring before your grass starts to grow.

Reseed Your Lawn

Winter isn’t very forgiving to grass, and you may notice thin or bare spots around your lawn. But you can easily fix this issue by seeding your lawn early in the spring.

Follow these steps:

• Choose a grass seed that matches your lawn and can thrive in Utah’s climate.
• Loosen up the top layer of soil in thin spots and apply your chosen seed.
• Water the newly reseeded areas frequently to ensure the soil stays moist until your grass takes root.

Test Your Lawn’s Soil

Once you’ve aerated your lawn, you may want to conduct a soil test to check your grass’s PH levels. The ideal PH level for your lawn is between 6.0 and 7.0.

If your soil’s PH isn’t where it should be, you can easily raise or lower it using products from your local nursery. Checking your lawn’s PH levels can help you identify issues before they become too large.

Feed Your Grass

Just like us, your grass is hungry. Feed your lawn by applying fertilizer, which will help it grow thick and strong.

Here’s what you should know:

• Use a starter fertilizer as soon as the weather warms up in early spring. Ideally, you’ll add fertilizer to your lawn after the last frost of the year.
• Choose a fertilizer that’s intended for spring lawn maintenance. These granules typically include all of the nutrients your grass needs to grow.
• Only use as much fertilizer as your lawn requires. Too much fertilizer can damage your grass and cause runoff that harms the environment.

Water Early and Often

Spring weather is cool and sometimes provides lots of rainfall. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t water your lawn, though. During the first few weeks of spring, you should monitor how much rain your grass receives.

Lawns need about 1-1.5 inches of water per week to maintain healthy growth. Start watering your lawn if the rainfall is less than this.

It’s also vital that you water your lawn in the early morning. Watering at night can promote fungus, and watering during the day will allow the water to evaporate.

Mow Your Lawn

Yes, you have to mow your lawn, even in the spring. But you shouldn’t mow your grass until it’s grown enough to justify cutting it.

Follow these guidelines:

• Wait to mow until your grass is about 3–4 inches tall. From there, you can cut your grass down to about 2.5–3 inches.
• Make sure your mower’s blades are sharpened. Dull blades rip your grass instead of giving it a clean cut, making it easier for diseases to spread.
• Don’t remove more than one-third of your grass’ height when you cut it. Cutting your lawn too short can damage its roots.

Give Your Albuquerque Lawn Some TLC This Spring

If you live in Albuquerque and are looking for ways to keep your lawn happy this spring, these tips will help. From clearing debris to watering and feeding your grass, a little extra effort goes a long way.

Still have questions or need help? Call R & S Landscaping at 505-271-8419. We have been in business in Albuquerque for over 30 years and we know what we are doing when it comes to lawn care.  Our lawn care experts are available to answer any questions you have about how to take care of your Albuquerque lawn. While you’re at it, talk to us about our Albuquerque landscaping maintenance service package, which includes lawn care. We’re here to help you make your Albuquerque lawn look amazing.

Spring has sprung – now go take care of your lawn! Contact us today if you have questions or would like help maintaining your grass.