During the winter, frost heaving in the soil may create a less than ideal mowing surface. A lightweight roller is recommended to eliminate bumps which could lead to scalping your lawn. Additionally, raising your mowing height at this time will encourage roots to grow deeper and aid your turf before it enters the summer stress period.
Would you like free lawn fertilizer this year? Consider leaving your grass clippings on the lawn to recycle nutrients. University studies have shown that mulching your grass clippings will return an average of one pound of Nitrogen per year to the lawn. That’s equivalent to one extra lawn fertilization treatment and less work for you! Three things to keep in mind if you are going to mulch your grass clippings:
- Keep your mower blades sharp
- Avoid mowing when the lawn is wet
- Don’t remove more than a third of the grass blades at any one mowing
If you are thinking about seeding your lawn you’ll want to get started soon. It’s a good idea to get the seed down before the weed competition increases. If you have a lawn service you should inform them that you planted new grass seed so they won’t apply a crabgrass pre-emergent. You might want to have them do a starter fertilizer application instead to help the new grass seedlings get off to a good start.
