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Prep Now For A Great Summer Lawn

I have a front lawn that is bermuda with K31 thrown in each spring for looks. Right now, it looks green when you drive by. You're saying what? Green, in the winter? Right, it is a bright green with beautiful small purple flowers. Another great term for these flowers is WEEDS. But, in two to three months, I will have a wonderful, green yard again.

The trick, you may ask, is how? By getting a jump on spring, I can turn this half-brown, half-green yard into the envy of the neighborhood by May.

PREPARING THE LAWN
To start your yearly yard rejuvenation, wait until the ground is not soggy, and rake it very well. Aerate or thatch as needed. Thatch the areas that appear too thick, aerate the areas that are thin. Thatching and aerating tools are available at your local rental stores-cheap. It's a day's work, but your yard will be more healthy in the long run. Just be sure to follow the instructions for the power equipment that you rent.

WEEDING
It's time to put down pre-emergence herbicides, such as crabgrass killer- March to April on southern lawns, and April to May on northern lawns. Two bags should do the common city-sized yard. Put this down right before a rain, so that the pellets can be absorbed into the ground now and begin working when the weather gets warmer. For those of you against chemicals, pull the weeds. Young weeds are easier to pull, and grow at temperatures under 60 degrees. Right now you can pull up onions and dandelions, root and all.

DISEASE
Northern yards that have been poorly maintained may suffer from snowmold. This is a fungus that looks like slimy blotches where the grass has died. Clear out the dead grass and all debris. In southern yards another spring turf disease is called "dollar spots." These are silver dollar sized patches of dead grass. Remove the dead grass, and clear the area of all debris. One way to prevent both diseases, as well as many others, is to keep the lawn cut at the recommended height, fertilize, aerate, thatch in the early spring, and keep the leaves raked during the winter months. In the south, raking can go on all winter. If you let these fallen leaves lay on the ground, you are setting the foundation for all sorts of disease and mold.

FERTILIZE
So you forgot to fertilize this past fall? You can still apply fertilizer, but for your warm-season grasses, such as fescue and bluegrass, wait until the grass has an established growth of 2 inches or more. For your warm season grasses, wait until your climate has consistent temperatures of 70 degrees or more and use a rotary spreader, for a consistent spreading pattern. Drop spreaders can spill too much in one area and burn the yard.

More You Might Like:
Adding Memorials to Your Landscape
Twenty Tips for Producing Low-Allergy Gardens
Autumn Garden Chores

About the Author:
Juli is the Vice President, CEO of Alternative Services of NC, Inc. Juli throughly enjoys every aspect of gardening and takes great pride in her creations.

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