Preparing Your Lawn for Next Spring? Simply Follow These Steps

Many homeowners spend the warm months of the year caring for their yard with diligence, and their hope may have been to create a gorgeous yard with lush, thick grass. Unfortunately, factors like drought, disease and heat can take a considerable toll on a yard. Your own yard may be riddled with dry or brown patches, or it may be suffering from other signs of yard distress. If the end of the warm season is approaching, now is not the time to patch up your yard. After all, newly planted grass may not survive the brutally cold winter weather, but seeds can be sown so that they can sprout up quickly when weather conditions are right. The best option is to consider preparing the yard for the spring months by following a few key tips.

Why Now is the Time to Plant

The last thing you may be thinking about when the weather turns cooler and the end fall is quickly approaching is your yard. However, by spending time planting your seedlings now, you will benefit from getting this task out of the way now. When you do this work now, you will enjoy the look of a lush, healthy yard next spring without having to do the work at that time. After all, on a beautiful spring day, the last thing you may want is to spend our time doing yard work. Instead, you can sit back and relax while you wait for your new grass seed to sprout up.

Preparing the Yard

If you want your yard to look beautiful and fresh in the spring, now is the time to begin preparing the yard for your landscaping project. First, use a sod cutter to remove the areas of grass that are dead. If you don’t have a sod cutter, you can usually lease one from a local home improvement store. Then, use a rotary tiller to turn the soil. As you turn the soil, work in sand and compost to create healthy soil for your grass to thrive in. You should also test the pH balance of the soil using a basic testing kit. The goal is to have the pH balance fall close to 7.0, which is a neutral reading.

If the reading is too high or low, adding an alkaline or acidic material as needed may restore the natural balance. Neutral soil is ideal for most types of grass to thrive in, so this step should not be skipped. Fertilizer may also need to be added to ensure the seeds have the nutrients they need to thrive. Then, cover this area with sand and compost. At this point, the ground should be ready to receive the seeds.

Planting the Seeds

Then, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for dispersing the seed throughout the soil. Typically, a seed dispensing machine is used, but this is not always the case. A rake an be used over the soil after the seeds have been dispersed, and this will help to ensure that the grass seed is placed evenly throughout the area. As you attempt to disburse the seeds, avoid pushing them into the ground in a compact fashion.

Your goal should be to keep the grass seed and the soil look. New seeds should be watered on a regular basis, and if possible, you should plan to water your seeds every day for about one to two hours each. This should continue until the grass begins to emerge from the ground.

In reality, preparing your yard to accept new seeds and actually planting and watering them takes some time and energy, and the last thing you may want to do on a gorgeous spring day is to head outdoors to do yard work. If you are ready to prepare for spring in a few months, simply put these tips into action now. By doing so, you will be able to kick back and relax with the beautiful look of fresh grass popping up in your space.

Jim Taylor has been a writer and a blogger since 2008. He mostly writes about business, home and lifestyle. Jim is also a part of the web strategy team for www.beechwoodhomes.com business website