Spring is now here! Temperatures are now rising, and our lawns are set to start actively growing again! We recommend doing a few simple spring lawn care activities to ensure your grass will grow at its healthiest throughout the warmer months.
When is the best time to fertilise my lawn?
We know it might be tempting to throw grass fertiliser down as soon as spring starts, but it is best to wait until the temperatures rise and ensure the lawn is actively growing first. If you time your fertiliser application before this, the lawn won’t be growing fast enough to absorb all nutrients provided and won’t allow the fertiliser to work to its full potential.
So, when should you apply fertiliser? Best to wait until you notice your lawn is actively growing. You should be able to detect this when the lawn needs more frequent mows. This can be at different times for different regions of Australia.
For fertilising in spring, we recommend using a granular lawn fertiliser, like our Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser. This has a combination of fast and slow-release granules that contain a balanced ratio of nutrients your lawn needs to thrive. This fertiliser is suitable for all lawn types.
Checking your mower blades
Another spring lawn care activity you can do is ensuring your mower blades are nice and sharp. This will help your grass look better after mowing and will help keep your lawn healthier.
We recommend checking your mower blades at the start of every growing season to ensure they are in good shape or need sharpening. To check your mower, tilt your lawn mower up with the front wheels pointing upwards and the handle flat to the ground or bench. This will ensure no oil flows where it shouldn’t.
If the blades have any cracks, bends, extremely thin blades, or even holes in the blades fin – then your blades need to be replaced.
If there is still plenty of meat left on your blades and they are in their correct shape, they may simply need to be sharpened.
For most people, the easiest fix is to have your mower blades looked at by a professional. However, if you are not confident or short on time, your best option is to drop your lawn mower off at your local mower shop and have the experts give the whole unit a once over. It can be a good idea to undertake a mower service every 12 months or so, leaving your mower ready to go when you need it during the warmer months.
Mowing regularly – the 1/3 rule
The one rule relates to the leaf length that you should limit yourself to taking off at each mow. The reasoning behind it is to lessen the grass’ stress during the destructive mowing process. Removing only one-third of the leaf during a mowing event will limit the amount of photosynthesizing material removed and allow the plant to maintain reasonable growth by minimising this stress among others.
Do I need to aerate my lawn?
Aerating your soil is another great spring lawn care activity to do! Aerating your soil will increase the amount of air, water, and nutrients it receives. This strengthens grass roots and helps create a healthier lawn. Aeration decreases thatch and compaction and should be carried out annually in high traffic areas and on hard lawns. Lawns with poorer soil can benefit from aeration too.
To aerate your lawn, drive a garden fork into the soil and give it a wiggle to help decompact the soil base. You can also do this with a core aerator which will remove plugs of soil at the same time. Continue this across the lawn around 8-10 cm apart for best results.
It may be worth hiring a motorised aerator if you have a larger area or your soil is highly compacted.
Check out our other lawn care blogs here for more spring lawn care tips and advice.
