Homeowners tend to view lawns as potted plant, something that’s always just kind of there, and if it seems unhappy, they throw some fertilizer around. Problem: Grass is dynamic, and doesn’t respond well to being treated like a potted plant. Every season shift the nutritional demands of our lawn, from quick spring growth to storing roots for winter in fall. The visual calendar (above) plots the biology, and divides year into four very different periods. You won’t have to wonder when to act. Each phase anticipates issues and fixes them before they becomes obvious problems. The system explains what your lawn is up to at any given time, and helps you help it get along.
It begins extra-early in the spring, usually before the last snow melts. Apply a mixture of pre-emergent herbicide (to prevent crabgrass seed from sprouting) and lawn fertilizer (to nourish the waking cool-season turf). Again: Timing is key; once you notice appearance of crabgrass shoots, it’s too late. The infographic points out that soil temperature count, not air temperature. Aim to apply once the soil reaches fifty-five degrees so the barrier is in place before any weed break through.
How to Take Care of Your Lawn in Every Season
But in late spring as broadleaf weeds (such as clover and dandelion) begin to emerge, it’s time for a change: to a weed and feed product, which serves two purposes, to destroy the intruders, but also encourage a lot of lush green growth that eventually chokes them out. This gets skipped by many folks who worry about harming their lawns with herbicide; but unless misapplied, most don’t harm turf at all. Apply only when lawn is wet because dry grass won’t hold granules well, which makes the application ineffective; make sure grass and weeds is actively growing.
In summer, there are also pests, hungry insects (and the ants who forage in their root systems and tear them up). Grubs also prefer a warm soil, which means summer is prime grub time, too. They don’t want to shock grass with a blast of too-much-nitrogen fertilizer when it’s hottest out, so a typical “summer” fertilizer may contain some insecticide to help guard against such dangers. This also keeps the lawn steady, not forcing it to grow fast and vertically, or else it will use more moisture reserves, which is no good at all in summertime.
Most amateurs blow it big time in fall…and then throw their hands up when leaves fall off. The truth is, fall fertilizing is single most critical part of the whole year. Rather than feeding the leaves, you are storing potassium and carbohydrates in roots to help your grass get through winter dormancy. The faster and better those roots builds now, the quicker your lawn will green up come spring. It is like trying to prepare for a marathon while skipping breakfast.
Why the region matters: Living up North? Cool-season grass prefers mild temperatures. So you narrow down its active time, which shortens your active time too. Compress the four steps into smaller windows. Down South, it’s all about the warm-season grasses, which love summer heat but go dormant during winter months. Shift your entire schedule forward to match their growth pattern. The chart above explains these regional changes so you can avoid fertilizing a lawn that is asleep or missing when things should of growing.
Don’t forget: Timing’s important, but technique is just as critical; be sure to adjust your spreader each time out. Otherwise, you’ll have uneven stripes more like haphazard neglect than thoughtful concern. Moistening the granules within 24 hours not only helps them work their way into ground. But also spares you from burned leaves.
Sounds boring, but let grass dry first, then go ahead and let the fur kids roam. Consistency is key here, not intensity. The simpler, more frequently repeated, the better. Begin with an early spring head start, ramp up during high summer, then finish with a fall of extra-strong rooting. Every time you step outside, your lawn will say thanks.