When lawn grass emerges after winter. Seasonal lawn care

To get a perfect flat lawn and arouse the envy of the neighbors in the area, you need to try. Lawn care requires quite a lot of effort and is necessary throughout the summer season. It includes many different procedures that not only contribute to the good growth and development of grass cover, but also are a preventive measure against diseases.

For information on how to properly care for the lawn, what fertilizers should be used, and what equipment will help to process a large area, read our article.

Lawn care after winter

If you want a beautiful lawn, maintenance should begin as soon as the snow melts. Mandatory work includes:

• soil drainage;
• alignment, trimming edges;
• verticulation (aeration and scarification);
• restoration of bald spots;
• top dressing;
• cutting and watering.

How to deal with melt water in spring

One of the biggest problems after winter is melt water. A large amount of liquid collects on the lawn, which further negatively affects the quality of the grass cover and causes fungal diseases in grasses. To eliminate this drawback, when laying the canvas, it is necessary to provide drainage to remove excess moisture. Such a system will be very useful in rainy summers.

Another ideal solution for dealing with stagnant water on the site is the adoption of a landscape slope. This option can be used during the formation of a site or part of it, when zoning is carried out or the soil is leveled for sowing a lawn.

The idea is to make a general slope of the ground surface by 3-5 degrees towards the final boundary of the site. It turns out a kind of slope, which will not be visually noticeable. At its lower border, a drainage ditch is dug to drain water from the site.

Leveling the lawn after winter, trimming the edges

After the water leaves the site, and the grass cover dries out a little, you can continue lawn care in the spring. It should be rolled with a special garden roller Sadko HLR-57 or Elephant.

You can also tamp with a board. Pressing the soil with its weight, it is necessary to gradually move the plate evenly over the entire plane of the lawn. This is necessary in order to level the surface of the lawn as much as possible, and to press the roots of the grass to the ground after thawing.

The edges of the canvas tend to lose their shape due to the growth of grass. To give the lawn an aesthetic appearance, it is necessary to level the contour once a year. It doesn't have to be a straight line - it can be an arc, a wave, or any other shape you like.

How to care for lawn grass

Verticulation is a complex lawn grass care, which includes aeration and scarification of the turf. It is carried out twice in the spring (after winter and in mid-May), and then repeated, if necessary, to remove the accumulated layer of debris and felt from the grass, and open air to the roots.

The aeration procedure is best carried out with a special aerator, such as Husqvarna AR19 1100 or Gardena ES 500. Ordinary garden forks can also be used: it is necessary to evenly pierce the turf layer at a distance of 10-15 cm, and up to 10 cm deep.

When scarifying, moss, weeds are removed from the surface of the canvas and the felt is combed out. As a result, the soil becomes loose, the access of air, water and minerals to the roots is facilitated, and the grass quickly grows. The procedure can be carried out with a conventional rake, but for convenience it is better to use the Gardena EVC1000 or Husqvarna S500 PRO scarifier. Prevention should be carried out in late spring.

How to care for a lawn with bald spots

Lawn fertilizing in spring

After winter, the grass needs a lot of nutrients. To maintain the balance of the nutrient medium, top dressings with a high content of nitrogen, and less potassium and phosphorus (ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate) are suitable.

Fertilizing the lawn should be carried out after the second mowing and verticulation. Fertilizer granules are applied to the surface of the grass, and then well watered. In rainy weather, additional moisture is not necessary. It is not recommended to carry out the feeding procedure in hot, dry weather.

Lawn grass care: cutting and watering in spring

The basis of regular lawn care is mowing. Lawn mowers (Gardena Power Max 42E or Husqvarna LC 356V) and trimmers (Gardena PowerCut 500 or AL-KO BC 1200 E) are used for this purpose. The height of the grass should not exceed 4.5-5 cm.

If the haircut could not be done on time, and the grass has grown strongly, then at first it is cut by half with a trimmer, and the second mowing is carried out with a lawn mower, leaving the grass cover of the desired height.

Haircut should be regularly every 7-10 days, and in the rainy period, the interval is reduced to 5-6 days. It is quite convenient to use the Grunhelm EM-618B lawn mower with a container for cut grass, which immediately after mowing can be sent to compost or beds as mulch. With frequent mowing, the grass begins to bush and becomes denser, which gives the site a neater look.

In hot weather, the grass dries quickly, the cover becomes red and completely loses its aesthetic appearance. Watering can be carried out from a hose or using an automatic irrigation system, which is installed simultaneously with the drainage system at the time of laying the canvas.

Modern systems with electronic air and soil moisture sensors can turn the water supply on and off without human assistance. Timely and regular watering will allow you to grow thick, bright and juicy grass, keeping your lawn emerald throughout the summer.

Lawn care in spring video

Lawn care in summer

Summer turf care includes watering, fertilizing, and weeding the turf. If these activities are not carried out regularly, the lawn can very quickly lose its appearance.

At the beginning of summer, aeration of the turf should be carried out again. This should be done on a cool and humid, but not rainy day. During aeration, the appearance of the coating is slightly disturbed, so at the end of work, you need to carefully level the surface with a rake.

At the end of summer, it is desirable to once again carry out verticulation, and, if necessary, overseeding grass. In August, the lawn should be fed with phosphate and potash fertilizers, or ready-made complex lawn care products (Fertika, Bona Forte, Pokon).

In addition to regular watering and mowing, do not forget to remove weeds as they grow. Weeding can be carried out manually, or selective herbicides (Agrokiller, Lontrel-zood) can be used. These preparations destroy monocotyledonous weeds without touching dicotyledonous cereals.

How to take care of your lawn in autumn

With the advent of autumn, when the heat begins to subside, the watering of the site is gradually reduced, and if there is enough precipitation, then it is completely stopped. In September, it is necessary to carry out aeration and scarification again.

With the beginning of leaf fall, you should regularly remove fallen leaves, constantly keep the lawn field clean. This will protect the grass cover from decay and disease. As needed, you need to carry out winter sowing of grasses.

Disease control and prevention

Few experts know the answer to the question of how to care for lawn grass so that it does not get sick. Most fungal diseases occur due to the high acidity of the soil. Throughout the year, various mineral fertilizers are regularly applied to the ground, which in turn significantly increase the pH level.

Lawn grass prefers slightly acidic soils, therefore, with an increase in acidity, green growth stops, moss, rot and other fungal diseases may appear.

After analyzing the soil for acidity and confirming the problem, it is necessary to carry out the liming procedure. It is better to do this in the fall every 3-4 years. For liming the soil, ground limestone, wood ash or dolomite flour are used. Consumption should not exceed 500 gr. per square meter of canvas.

How to choose lawn care equipment

Depending on the size of the lawn, different techniques can be used. If the lawn is small, it is quite possible to get by with a simple set of garden tools: rakes, pitchforks, hoes. In medium areas, to facilitate manual labor, it is better to use electric and motorcycle units.

These include: seeders, aerators, verticutters, lawn mowers, trimmers, rollers, garden vacuum cleaners. They can be multi-purpose with various removable devices. On large areas, it is rational to use a mini-tractor or walk-behind tractor with a set of attachments.

When buying a particular unit, carefully read the technical data. This will help you make the right choice and purchase exactly the equipment that is most suitable for your site.

Outcome

A beautiful emerald lawn in the yard is the result of hard work and regular maintenance. Use garden and lawn equipment to create a unique landscape without effort, and you will be able to enjoy a beautiful view from early spring to late autumn.

1 Lawn care after winter

How to take care of the lawn after the winter so that it takes on a well-groomed and beautiful appearance as soon as possible? What unpleasant surprises can threaten your lawn in early spring and how to deal with them?

2 First step in lawn care

By the beginning of spring work in the garden should be approached responsibly. On the one hand, it is possible to start work on the site from the moment when the snow melts and the turf thaws. On the other hand, you need to let the ground dry, because immediately after the snow melts, it is still very soft and even just walking on it can lead to ugly depressions on the lawn.

ROLLER

The first action to be taken is rolling. In winter, water accumulated under the surface of the earth often damages the turf. The process of freezing and thawing of the top layer of the soil leads to the uplift of grass tussocks, as a result of which its roots are torn off the soil. Due to rolling, the bumps are pressed to the ground. For this, it is best to use a special ice rink.

	COMBING The second step is lawn combing. With the help of special lawn or fan rakes, we carefully rake up the remnants of dry grass and last year's leaves.
	At this stage, you can also use aerator. This tool serves to saturate the soil layer with air by piercing the soil with teeth. In addition, this treatment destroys germinating weeds and removes the remnants of dead grass. Aeration of the lawn can be carried out several times during the entire growing season.
	VERTICUTATION The next very important step that should not be forgotten is verticulation. Verticulation is the vertical loosening of the upper part of the turf. Its purpose is to saturate the lawn with air and remove felt, that is, the remnants of the old dead layer of soil. For this, special devices are used - verticutters, which, with the help of sharp bladed knives, pierce the turf to an adjustable depth and destroy the old root system of the lawn (felt). As a result, conditions for the growth of young shoots are improved.

The above steps must be taken before the start of the growing season which falls at the end of April - beginning of May.

FEEDING

After combing the lawn, it is necessary to carry out top dressing with fertilizers. In early spring, first of all, it is necessary to give the lawn a certain portion of nitrogen fertilizers (from 1.2 to 1.8 kg per 100 m2). This contributes to faster regeneration and the grass will soon acquire a rich green color. You can use fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate, urea or specially designed complex fertilizers for the spring lawn. Fertilizers should be evenly distributed throughout the area. Top dressing can be done both manually and with a special seeder.

WATERING

Start off watering follows depending on weather conditions and related humidity. It is best to do this in the early morning, because. daytime watering causes poor water absorption by the soil due to rapid evaporation and causes burns of green mass, and evening watering, especially on cool, foggy evenings due to excess moisture, contributes to lawn diseases. After applying any fertilizer, it is necessary to carry out abundant watering. The lawn should not be watered after the lawn has been treated with herbicides.

3 Ways to solve spring problems

Sometimes it happens that places with thinned grass appear on the surface of the lawn - “ bald spots". If they are small, then the best solution would be replace damaged areas with new sod fragments, which can be taken from other places, such as from the edge of the lawn or from under the bushes. If the “bald spots” are large enough in size, then grass will have to be sown in these places. To do this, loosen the ground with a pitchfork, level the surface (if necessary, add sand to the ground), and then sow the grass.

When it is humid outside, you can see a white substance sticking together the grass stalks. This is snow mold- a formidable and, unfortunately, a common disease. It can be quite difficult to fight her. As soon as the first signs of this disease appear, it is necessary to immediately take action to eliminate it. Sometimes it's enough cut the grass very short in the place where the first traces of mold are located. You can also spray the grass with an antifungal drug. However, if the problem occurs in large areas of the lawn and the mold has spread heavily, it may be necessary to lay down or re-sow it.

Often after winter on the lawn there are grooves in which water accumulates. This means that the earth in these places is highly compacted. This problem can be solved by loosening the earth and filling these areas with sand or peat. To do this, cut the sod in the shape of a triangle and remove the resulting layer. Then loosen the earth and mix it with sand (or peat) in a ratio of 1:1. Remove excess soil and finally return the turf layer to its place, firmly pressing it to the ground. If the recess is too large, then the operation described above may not be sufficient. In this case, you will have to sow the grass again, having previously prepared the ground accordingly.

The lawn on the site gives an unprecedented pleasure from the contemplation of a flawless, well-groomed and dense green carpet. But the impression of decorating the site and one of the most attractive objects in landscape design is produced only by well-groomed lawns. And it is the constant and tireless care of your favorite emerald sites that is the most difficult moment in their cultivation. The lawn requires not only regular, but also careful maintenance, which does not stop during the entire active season. And if a haircut is a separate component of care that requires an individual approach, then watering, fertilizing, and airing are needed for all lawns, without exception.

6 components of lawn care

You can't get a perfect lawn without perfect care. This truth is obvious to anyone who has encountered problems in the development of the lawn. The only way to keep the green carpet in perfect condition and avoid difficulties is to strictly adhere to the rules for creating a lawn and ensure tireless care from the very first procedures. Neither the elite type of grass mixture, nor even the services of professionals in creating a lawn will give results if at least one slip in care is made.

So, lawn care should be regular, systematic and complete. But the main difficulty is not even that all procedures must be carried out in a timely manner, but that lawn care is not limited to basic components. In addition to obvious and very important procedures, such as mowing and watering, lawn care also includes a whole range of important measures, some of which are purely preventive. Basic lawn care is much the same as caring for any garden plant. It includes six components:

1. Shearing and maintaining edges.
2. Watering.
3. Top dressing.
4. ventilation or aeration.
5. Cleaning.

Additional troubleshooting steps:

• restoration of bald spots;
• moss control;
• weed control.

Mowing and caring for the edges of lawns can be safely equated with art and singled out as a separate "point" of care. It is the most important thing in lawn care. This very important procedure is crucial not only for the formation of a beautiful, but also a healthy lawn. Moreover, lawn mowing has many nuances, and here it is very important to choose an individual approach to the selection of the height and frequency of procedures.

Both lawn cleaning and lawn repair claim status as a special component of care. These are measures to combat pollution, mosses, weeds and problems in the development of turf, which also require a special approach to themselves. But the three "P" - watering, weeding and airing - are the basic and simple components of caring for a green carpet, in which, if the process is properly organized, it is difficult to make a mistake.

Difficulties in lawn care do not need to be afraid. He needs care, like any really important object for you on the site. Modern technology and automatic irrigation systems solve most of the problems associated with taking care of green areas. If you love lawns, then any "little thing", even the most laborious procedures will bring pleasure. The living emerald carpet itself signals problems and gives considerable pleasure in the details of care. Moreover, each operation literally transforms the lawns and gives the feeling of watching the quick fruits of their efforts.

Active lawn care continues only during the active gardening season - from spring to autumn, and the entire two transitional seasons are not included in the period of lawn work. Winter is a time of good rest, when the main task is not to harm the emerald carpet. Consider the features of caring for green areas by season.

Lawn care in spring

The start of the season for caring for emerald carpets does not coincide with the start of the main gardening season. The first procedures for the lawn are carried out only in April, in the middle lane - traditionally not earlier than the third decade of the month. And even then, in the first works, care must be taken not to harm the turf with an excessive load.

In early spring it is better to avoid:

• walking on the lawn, especially on wet or frozen grass at night;
• irrigation and any prikatok.

Procedures in April come down to just removing dry grass and debris from the surface of the lawn with a light rake or by hand. Cleaning is carried out only when moisture leaves the soil and the turf is not in a waterlogged state.

Full lawn care actually begins only in May. After thawing and drying of the upper soil layer, the first serious procedures are started:

1. When a stable positive temperature is established, first of all, it is often recommended to apply nitrogen fertilizer for rapid growth and restoration of the turf. But for top dressing, a haircut is needed, and top dressing should be postponed until the first mowing procedures.
2. Mandatory scarification is carried out, removing debris, moss, dry grass.
3. If necessary, sanding, treatment of bald spots and overseeding of grass are carried out on the lawn. When laying a rolled lawn, damaged areas of turf are cut out and replaced.
4. With obvious signs of fungal infection, fungicide treatments are taken to prevent the problem from spreading to a large area. But since all spring procedures contribute to the improvement of the turf, they usually wait until the summer with serious measures and apply fungicides already in the case when the main measures did not help.
5. After the grass rises to a height of 8 cm, the first mowing is carried out to a height of at least 5-6 cm. It is undesirable to leave the mowed grass on the lawn in the spring.
6. After the first or second haircut, the first dressing is carried out. For spring, you need to use nitrogen mixtures, starter or complex fertilizers for lawns. Mixture is applied along with abundant watering and on cool days, avoiding any procedures in dry and hot weather.
7. After the second or third mowing, aeration is carried out by piercing the sod to a depth of about 5 cm over the entire surface of the lawn.
8. On the damaged areas continue overseeding and laying new turf.
9. They begin to fight weeds mechanically - by manual removal.

Lawn care in summer

The most traumatic season for lawns is associated not only with the need to ensure regular watering and top dressing, but also with a high risk of weeds and loss of decorative turf. At the beginning and end of summer, active robots are carried out with the lawn, but during the July heat, procedures are limited only to vital ones.

At the beginning of summer, the lawn will need the following measures:

1. Weed control, which is best done in the first half of June.
2. The first top dressing in the summer season, which is carried out using complex fertilizers. The optimal time is the second or third decade of June.
3. Regular watering, which is carried out by controlling the degree of drying of the soil and focusing on the abundance of precipitation.
4. Regular haircut with a frequency of 4-7 days (at the beginning of June it is still not advisable to allow haircuts below 5 cm).
5. Mulching during prolonged droughts (cut grass is left on the lawn for several days).

In the middle of summer, lawn care comes down to the following procedures:

1. Regular abundant watering.
2. Haircuts with a classic frequency.
3. Top dressing with complex fertilizer for lawns in the second decade of July.
4. Additional overseeding of grass on bald spots at the end of July.
5. Treatment with fungicides for signs of the spread of fungal infections.

Of all the summer months, the most active lawn care is needed in August. In anticipation of autumn, you need to make sure that the lawn receives all the necessary care and is fully prepared for the cold. Mandatory procedures include:

1. Watering in dry weather with a gradual decrease in soil moisture and an increase in the interval between procedures.
2. Haircuts with a frequency of about 1 time per week.
3. In August, the first top dressing is carried out with autumn fertilizers (if the lawn is in a weakened state or there are signs of a lack of nutrients, top dressing can also be done with universal fertilizers, but only in the first half of the month).
4. Re-treatment for weeds.
5. Overseeding grass or replacing damaged sod.
6. Mandatory combing and scarification.
7. Re-treatment with fungicides for fungal infections.

Lawn care in autumn

The main task in the fall is to remove debris from the lawn. Raking up dead leaves is just the first step in winterizing and tidying up your lawn, but it's a very important one. Accumulating debris should be removed as quickly as possible: under the leaves of the turf it gets warm and there is a high risk of the spread of fungi.

Preparing a lawn for winter includes several important procedures:

1. Mowing is carried out less and less, only in September with a frequency of 1 time in 14-15 days, in October they are guided by the weather and the rate of grass growth. The last haircut is carried out at the end of October, with a warm autumn - at the beginning of November, leaving a herbage at least 5 cm high.
2. Aeration is carried out in the fall only if it is really necessary, there are signs of excessive compaction of the sod or its waterlogging due to heavy rainfall. But it must be done in early autumn, combined, if necessary, with sanding and liming.
3. Carry out a thorough scarification.
4. At the beginning of autumn, a special autumn fertilizer for lawns is applied, which will allow green carpets to prepare for winter.
5. Podzimnie crops are carried out at the end of October on bare areas and bald patches.
6. From mid-October, you should try not to walk on wet grass.

Lawn care in winter

In the cold season, the lawn must be protected from any outside interference and from any load. It is better not to walk on the lawn from the moment the grass stops growing - when the temperature drops below +5 degrees. Careful walks or careful steps can be afforded only when the lawn is covered with a thick layer of snow. And even then, in the absence of extreme necessity, it is better not to step on the surface of the lawn: it is at this time that the risk of inevitable damage to the turf is high.

It is usually recommended not to take any action with the cleaning or distribution of snow, pouring it onto the lawn. But one procedure in winter may still be needed: if, as a result of a strong thaw or a sharp temperature drop, weather anomalies, instead of snow, the lawn is covered with an ice crust, then it is advisable to destroy it - with a rake, pitchfork or any other tool.

How should you care for your lawn in the spring so that it takes on the most well-groomed and beautiful appearance in the shortest possible time? And what unpleasant surprises can potentially harm your lawn and how should you deal with them? Let's find out what should be the care of the lawn after the winter.

Lawn care in spring

Lawn care in spring

The beginning of spring work in your garden is a responsible matter. It would seem that starting lawn care in the spring, in principle, is possible immediately after the snow has melted and the turf has thawed. But not everything is so simple - you still need to give the earth time to dry out. The fact is that immediately after the snow thaws, it still remains soft, and even ordinary walking on it can lead to the appearance of ugly depressions.

We note right away that spring is not the best time to lay a rolled lawn. This is best done in the fall so that the grass has the opportunity to strengthen and overwinter. Therefore, we will not touch on this topic in this article.

Rolling

The first thing to do in the spring is to roll the lawn. In winter, moisture accumulated under the surface of the top layer of the earth often damages the turf. The process of freezing and gradual thawing of the upper layers of the soil leads to the formation of grass tussocks. As a result, its roots break away from the nutrient soil. Lawn rolling will help solve this problem. Thanks to this procedure, the formed bumps are reliably pressed to the ground. To roll the lawn - it is best to use a special roller.

combing out

The second stage of care is combing the lawn. With the help of special lawn or fan rakes, it is necessary to carefully rake up the remnants of dry grass, as well as leaves left over from last fall.

Aerator - a device for saturating the soil with air

An aerator will help at this stage. This tool is designed to saturate the soil layer with air by piercing the soil with thin teeth. In addition, such treatment destroys all germinating weeds and rids the soil of the remnants of dead grass. Lawn aeration can be carried out several times throughout the growing season.

Verticulation

The next very important action, which in no case should be forgotten, is verticulation. Verticulation means the vertical loosening of the upper part of the turf layer. The purpose of this procedure is to saturate the soil with air, as well as remove felt - the remains of its old layer. When verticuting, specialists use special devices called verticutters. With the help of sharp bladed knives, they pierce the turf to the desired depth, while simultaneously destroying the outdated root system of the lawn (that is, the felt). As a result, the conditions for the rise of new young shoots are improved.

Important information: Rolling, combing and verticulation must be done before the start of the growing season, which falls around the beginning of May.

top dressing

After the combing of the lawn is completed, it should be fertilized with useful fertilizers. In early spring, besides other maintenance activities, give the lawn a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer (at the rate of 1.2 to 1.7 kg of fertilizer per 100 m2). Such actions will help speed up the regeneration process. That is, the grass will acquire a bright green color much faster.

Fertilizing the lawn with a seeder

Important information: For top dressing, you can use ammonium nitrate, urea, or specially created complex fertilizers for lawns in the spring. They should be distributed evenly across the site.

Top dressing can be done manually or with a planter designed specifically for this purpose.

Watering

Starting to water the lawn in your backyard is necessary, taking into account the current weather conditions and the associated humidity indicators. Experts recommend doing this in the early morning, because daytime watering, as a rule, leads to poor absorption of liquid by the soil due to its accelerated evaporation and causes small burns of the green mass (water droplets on the grass act as a lens concentrating the sun's rays at one point). Evening watering, especially on a cool and foggy evening due to excessive moisture, can contribute to the occurrence of diseases in your lawn.

Important information: After applying useful fertilizers to the soil, it is necessary to make it plentiful watering. After the treatment of grass with herbicides, on the contrary, it is contraindicated to water it.

It is best to water your lawn early in the morning.

Schedule for each month

We got acquainted with a detailed description of the basic procedures for lawn care. It's time to write them down for each month. Immediately, we note that the indicated time is not a dogma. You need to build on the current weather conditions. For example, if March turned out to be cold and the lawn is still covered with a layer of snow, there can be no talk of any work.

March

In March, lawn care usually just begins. During the period of active melting of the snow mass, try to prevent prolonged waterlogging of the lawn and in every possible way avoid the formation of puddles on it. Be sure to prick all wet areas with a pitchfork with standard or hollow teeth (ideally, pre-drain). Try to minimize movement on the wet lawn surface. This will help to avoid the formation of ruts, bumps, marks and potholes, which are especially noticeable on young lawns.

A few days after the soil has dried out, roll and mow your lawn. If, in the course of work, you noticed the initial signs of the appearance of lawn diseases, it will require urgent treatment with fungicides. These substances will help prevent further spread.

April

After the top layer has dried thoroughly, it's time to remove dry and rotten leaves and shoots from it, as well as the remnants of felt from the last autumn-winter period. That is, to carry out the above-described verticulation procedure. If you do not have a special machine, pick up an ordinary fan rake and move along and across your lawn. Timely verticulation is an excellent prevention of the appearance of fungal diseases of the lawn.

Special shoes for verticulating the lawn

April is the month when a stable positive temperature background is usually set on the street. It's time to fertilize your lawn in the spring with complex fertilizers, which are dominated by nitrogen. This beneficial nutrient, combined with phosphorus, potassium and other trace elements, will help the lawn recover quickly. Fertilizer is usually applied by hand. In no case do not exceed the dosage indicated on the package - otherwise you will only harm the young grass.

Helpful information. If your lawn is very sparse, experts advise to carry out overseeding designed for May in April. Reduce the rate of full sowing of seeds by 2 times and evenly scatter the required number of seeds throughout the lawn.

Be sure to water your lawn regularly. By the way, if you did not have time to apply fertilizers in a timely manner, it is permissible to do this even after overseeding.

May

In May, it may already be necessary to mow the lawn for the first time in the new season. After the grass has grown about 7-9 centimeters, cut it evenly, leaving only 5, maximum - 6. You do not need to mow lower - the lawn should have time to recover. Use a special lawn mower with a grass catcher that does not leave plant residues directly on the lawn. Otherwise, rotting may begin on its surface with frequent rains.

May - time to mow the lawn

1. Mow all affected areas low, then free them from the remnants of the cut grass.
2. Loosen the top ball of soil with a rake or cultivator.
3. Level the surface.
4. Perform seed scarification. This is the name of the surface damage to their hard shell to accelerate growth. To do this, you can wrap them with a layer of gauze and alternately lower them into hot and ice water for 2-3 minutes. Or mix and grind with sand.
5. Sow fresh lawn grass seeds and carry out mulching - covering the seeds with a centimeter layer of a mixture of sand and peat. So they can settle down.
6. Roll the lawn in the overseeding areas.
7. Water the grass - everywhere, not just where overseeding was done.

To get a higher percentage of germination - feed the overseeding places with "starter" lawn fertilizer.

If you find foci of grass damage by diseases, take urgent measures to improve it and stop the spread of infection. Choose specific activities based on the type of disease.

From time to time it happens that places with noticeably thinned grass appear on top of the surface of a fresh lawn, called bald spots by gardeners. If they are small, the best solution would be to replace the damaged areas with new sod fragments. They can be taken from any other places, for example, from the edge of your lawn or from the area under the bushes. If these bald spots are too large, add grass in these places. To do this, first loosen the ground with a pitchfork, then level the surface (adding sand if necessary), and finally sow the seeds.

Bald spots on the lawn must be dealt with

When the weather is wet outside, sometimes you can see a white substance that sticks together grass stalks. It's called "snow mold". This is a formidable, but, unfortunately, a very common disease. It's not easy to fight her. Therefore, as soon as you notice the first signs of this disease, immediately begin to take action to eliminate it. Sometimes at the initial stage it may be enough to cut the grass very shortly in the place where the first traces of mold are concentrated. You can also spray the entire herb with a protective antifungal. But if the problem manifests itself in large areas of the lawn, and the mold has spread beyond measure, be prepared for a new laying or sowing of the lawn.

It happens that after winter, small depressions appear on the surface of the lawn, inside which liquid accumulates. This indicates that the land in these zones is not dense enough. This problem can be solved by resorting to loosening the earth and filling the discovered areas with sand or peat. First you need to cut a layer of turf in the shape of a triangle, after which - remove the resulting layer. Then loosen the earth and mix it with the added sand or peat. Keep the ratio 1:1. Remove the rest of the excess earth, return the cut layer of turf to its place, pressing it firmly to the ground. If the recess is large in size, the operation described above may not be enough. Then you have to re-sow the grass again, after preparing the land for this.

Video. Spring lawn care

Lawn care in spring: what to do if the lawn has deteriorated after winter? After the winter, the lawn fell into a deplorable state, which seems to have completely disappeared. Where did the lawn go? What to do to avoid problems with the lawn?

Lawn care in spring: what to do if the lawn has deteriorated after winter?

A lawn or lawn on a garden plot always pleases the eyes of the owner and his guests. Even if it's just a narrow strip of grass along the driveway, ennobled by frequent mowing.

And if the grass cover is entirely man-made and it took a lot of work to create it, then this is already a matter of special pride.

Fluffy and juicy-green grass usually remains until the very frost, the same goes under the snow. But then spring comes, and the lawn appears before the eyes of the owner sometimes in the most miserable form: here it is drawn with black dead stripes, here there is a wide bald spot ...

Where did the lawn go?

Very often, it is not the weather conditions that are to blame for the disappearance or damage to the lawn, but the gardener himself.

Usually, after the last mowing in late August - early September, after the last feeding with phosphorus-potassium or complete fertilizers, the lawn simply falls out of the circle of gardening worries. It is somehow forgotten that the grass that makes up the lawn, like other living plants, continues to grow and prepare for winter.

In autumn, the lawn is most defenseless. It happens that the dirt road along the edge of the lawn becomes dirty and damp, then people begin to bypass the puddles on the lawn - because its surface is more elastic and dry.

In autumn, bypass paths can be completely invisible, but in spring they appear in all details. The soil saturated with autumn moisture instantly compacts, the grass suffocates and falls out. Moreover, the relief of the lawn is disturbed. The soil freezes unevenly, and this leads to the fact that in the spring the paths “fail” and the compacted “patch” bulges out.

In winter, the grass lives under the snow. Some gardeners are not averse to celebrating the New Year in their own country house. And where is the best place to put a New Year tree or light a festive fire or even fill a skating rink for children? Of course, on the lawn!

All this threatens the grass with death. In the spring, you are provided with "crop circles", but these will not be traces of aliens, but clear prints of winter round dances under the tree, a fire and melted snowmen. True, after the ice rink there will be no traces left, but this is only because the lawn will die completely.
Of course, if the lawn is used in the summer as a playground or sunbathing, then both in autumn and winter, the owners continue to use it without hesitation, and in spring the grass has to be sown or even completely restored grass cover.

After a few years of such ordeals, you may have to give up the lawn. And you don't want to!
In order for the lawn to serve as a garden decoration, you need to follow a few simple rules.

It should be remembered that after the last agrotechnical measures, the lawn area is, as it were, closed for walking until the spring drying of the soil, that is, until your footprints cease to be imprinted on the soil.

Do not forget that plants live both in summer and in winter, and at any time of the year they need our attention and protection. Then you won't have to ask yourself in the spring: where did the lawn disappear to?

What to do if the lawn has deteriorated after the winter?

First of all, it is necessary to provide the plants with access to air, and, on the contrary, return the exposed roots to the ground.

Effective measures are rolling and combing the lawn.

• For rolling, it is advisable to use a special roller that will press the grass bumps to the soil and return the roots to the ground.
• Then the area must be combed. Walk with an iron rake over the entire area, first in one direction, then perpendicular to the first. This will ventilate the lawn and remove the remnants of dry grass, leaves.

To save the lawn after the winter, an aerator is useful.

• It improves the filling of the soil with oxygen, and also destroys the germs of weeds.

Another device is a verticutter,

• necessary for vertical loosening of the turf and removal of the dead part of the lawn - felt.

Methods for eliminating "bald spots" depend on their size.

• Small ones can be “draped” with a piece of turf from a flower bed or from the end of a lawn.
• If a large patch of grass has died, a new one will need to be sown. This is done on prepared - loosened and leveled soil.
• Check the area for depressions where water can collect. The soil in such places must be loosened by mixing with sand or turf in a ratio of one to one.
• If symptoms of the fungus are found - a whitish or pink coating that sticks together the tips of the leaves, you need to cut the lawn short and treat it with an antifungal drug.

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