The first warm week of spring is when Tri-Cities homeowners start looking at their lawns again, and what you do in the first few weeks sets the tone for the whole season. Here’s where we start with our maintenance clients every spring.
Start your irrigation system up the right way
Before you just flip the system back on, it deserves a real look. We check every zone, every head, and every valve for winter damage before running a full cycle, since a cracked line or a stuck valve is a lot easier to catch and fix in March than to discover in July when your water bill doubles and a corner of the lawn is dying.
Get pre-emergent weed control down early
Pre-emergent products stop weed seeds from germinating, but only if they go down before those seeds sprout. In our climate, that window opens earlier than most homeowners expect. Wait until you see weeds and you’ve already missed the best chance to stop them without a fight.
Feed the lawn as it wakes up
A spring fertilization application, timed to when the grass is actively growing rather than the calendar, gives the lawn the nutrients it needs to fill in and green up evenly. Too early, while the ground is still cold, and a lot of it goes to waste.
Reset your mowing height
Grass that was cut short and scalped last fall needs a gentler start. Raise the mower deck for the first several cuts of the season, and let the lawn build up some height and root strength before you bring it back down to a normal summer height.
If you skipped fall aeration, spring is your backup
Fall is still our first choice for aeration and overseeding, but if the season got away from you, spring is a solid second window, before the heat of summer arrives and makes it much harder for new seed to establish.
Spring is also when outdoor living projects break ground
If you spent the winter planning a paver patio, outdoor kitchen, or backyard makeover, spring is when that design turns into a work crew on-site. It’s also our busiest season for new construction, so projects that got their design work done over the winter are the ones that break ground first.
A strong spring start pays off all summer
We’ve spent 40 years learning what a Tri-Cities lawn needs coming out of winter, and the short version is this: a little precision in March and April saves a lot of trouble in July.
If you want your irrigation system checked before the season gets going, or you’re ready to move forward on an outdoor living project, let’s talk.
Get Your Free Estimate and we’ll help you build a spring plan for your yard.