Here’s what you need to consider when maintaining a lawn:
1. Fertilizer and Limestone. Add a complete turf fertilizer in the fall and again in the early spring. Since grass needs more nitrogen than the rest of the garden, an 8-6-4 or 8-6-2 formula is the most economical.
Lime, seldom needed, can be added at the same time. Spread by hand or use a small carts spreader.
2. Reseeding and Renovation should be done this month. Scratch thin areas with an iron-toothed rake, work in fertilizer, and spread the seed after leveling depressions and bumps.
If dead grass is long and matted, it may be burned off in winter and seed sowed for germination in the warm days of spring.
3. Roll in Spring. The frost will have heaved the sod, making the surface porous and uneven and exposing some grassroots. A good spring rolling smooths any lawn and makes grass grow better.
Early spring is also the time for any last-minute reseeding of bare patches, so grass can get ahead of any weeds.
4. Mowing regularly is an important part of lawn maintenance. The accepted height is 1 1/2 to 2 ½” inches, but long-term observations at Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station show that short ¾” to 1-inch lawns fare better. Clippings help, except with new grass, or if so long, they would choke grass.
5. Weed Control. Broad-leaved weeds (plantain, dandelions) can be killed with 2,4-D, and crabgrass with one of the phenyl mercury acetate compounds or potassium cyanate.
Some are spread dry, and some are sprinkled or sprayed. Be sure to read the exact instructions. Strong grass growth is the best way to defeat weeds.
6. Leaves in Fall should be raked up or removed with a lawn sweeper. They smother grass, but they are valuable if used in a compost pile or as mulch around shrubbery. Oak leaves are good for rhododendrons. Burning leaves wastes good natural fertilizer. Note: now is the time to even small bumps.
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