by Kelly A. Mello

Created on: April 07, 2007   Last Updated: January 31, 2012

For many people a green and healthy looking lawn means everything. In fact you could say that you can learn a lot about a person by what their lawn looks like. While springtime is the most convenient time to shed off the winter coat and get down and dirty in the yard, you should consider prepping your yard in September. But if you live in an area that snows and whatnot, this might prove to be difficult. Luckily there are plenty of ways to care for your lawn in the spring.

Dethatching

To prepare yourself for spring lawn care you must start early. Around the 1st of September, and again around the 1st of April you should dethatch your lawn. Thatch is the layer of living and dead stems, roots, stolons, and rhizomes between the grass and the soil surface that can either be beneficial to your lawn or destroy it. A healthy later is about an inch thick and helps to limit weed germination, reduce water evaporation, and protect from frost damage. A little more than that, however, can prevent water, air, and nutrients from penetrating the soil, thus reducing root growth and causing drought stress. To get rid of the unhealthy portions of thatch, use a dethatcher, power rake or vertical mower.

Aeration

Ideally, aeration (the process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or dissolved in a liquid or substance), should occur some time around September 1st. April 1st is a good time to do so again. A core aerator will pull one to two inch plugs of soil from the ground. This will occur every three to four inches. The plugs are deposited in the surface of the soil where they will break down and allow air into it. If done correctly, your soil will have about 50% of space, half of that containing air. It would be a good idea to mow the lawn the next day to shatter the plugs and allow the soil to cave in, filling itself. If you want to both dethatch and aerate, be sure to dethatch first.

Mowing

The most obvious step to lawn care is cutting the grass when it needs to be. If the grass starts to exceed 4 inches, it is time. If the grass is left growing much taller than that, it may sustain diseases and stress out the nearby plant life. For best results, wait until the grass has been dried out from dew or rain so that the grass is cut evenly and isn't susceptible to diseases. It is also a good idea to sharpen your mower's blades at least twice a year so that it leaves behind a clean cut.

Seeding

One of the first things to do in the spring to get a healthy lawn is to seed it

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