Spring lawn care questions

[FABMAN]

Now that the snow is going away I wanted to start a lawn care thread.

I noticed that mice made surface pathways through parts of my front lawn and wondered how and when do I go about fixing this.

I already raked the grass, cleaned the areas and loosened some of the winter compaction. I am now left with some bare spots where they made their paths.

Is it too early to seed? Do I need to lay top soil first? When should I fertilize for the first time this year?

Lawn was redone in August when I had landscaping done so it was near perfect in the fall. Looking to get it back to that state as soon as possible.

[Scrape]

I am subscribing to learn more. I believe that Ghost Rider is our lawn expert. His grass is so green that I can see it for miles.

[ZR]

You can see Daves grass from space.............it's killer

[redo75]

My wife has raked our lawn several times to remove pine needles that flow endlessly from our pine trees. Just before our endless rain, I dropped a Costco bag of fertilizer to green the grass up with extra on the yellow spots, now waiting for a few days of sun.
Your little trails in the grass are from moles travelling through.
I would wait until the grass greens up to apply grass seed and top soil, so you don't feed the birds a buffet.

[mavrrrick]

I rake and put a bag of lawn response 9-1-1 (Scotts) down. Thickens up grass. Then month later fertilize - turf builder green max...i apply once a month. Hot weather - water 3 times a week (sprinkler system)

[WidowrRacing]

I’m going to rake mine in areas shortly and have noticed a couple mole tunnels also.

Every couple years I rent a aerator from Home Depot and this is the year I will again.
After I do that I’ll fertilize with some added grass seed.

Going to look into underground sprinklers also this year.

[mavrrrick]

Sprinkler system well worth the $$$ IMO. Money well spent.

[WidowrRacing]

Sprinkler system well worth the $$$ IMO. Money well spent.

For sure. My front lawn I’ve managed to keep decent moving the sprinkler around each summer but my backyard is far to big for that. I didn’t really care before but now that we’ve got a pool and spend more time in the back I feel it’s necessary now to get them.

My lot is 100x250 to give you an idea.

[IanGTCS]

Sprinkler system well worth the $$$ IMO. Money well spent.

My house came with one and I like it but honestly wouldn't spend the money myself. If my grass goes brown in the heat of summer I'm ok with it. Watering the gardens isn't so much of a hassle that I'd pay for irrigation. I've also been taking out the previous owners stuff and planting native plants that handle our summers pretty well.

[mavrrrick]

I go nuts when grass goes brown. That's why I have system. LOL

[5.4MarkVIII]

Weeds tend to stay greener longer than grass does.

This sums up my lawn care outlook.

[mavrrrick]

No weeds at my place though.

[5.4MarkVIII]

I have lots if you want some. Lol 😂

[mavrrrick]

^^^hahahaha… no thanks^^^
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[5.4MarkVIII]

But if I do that then I’ll have to water my lawn. Lol

Just jokes. But our lawn is a hill with a Flat at the bottom. Top dries out and the bottom is always muddy. We have our local conversation authority coming out for an assessment. There are grants for wetlands stuff. If all pans out. I will have much less muddy grass to cut.

[Ghost Rider]

Now that the snow is going away I wanted to start a lawn care thread.

I noticed that mice made surface pathways through parts of my front lawn and wondered how and when do I go about fixing this.

I already raked the grass, cleaned the areas and loosened some of the winter compaction. I am now left with some bare spots where they made their paths.

Is it too early to seed? Do I need to lay top soil first? When should I fertilize for the first time this year?

Lawn was redone in August when I had landscaping done so it was near perfect in the fall. Looking to get it back to that state as soon as possible.


Without seeing the lot/lawn, it's hard to give an answer, different situations require different care in alot of cases... for instance, I don't rake, there is no need unless you mean like sticks and shit like that but anything organic will break down and use itself as fertilizer... however that brings me to my second point... I use mulch blades and cut high and slow with a blocker on the exit of the deck so the clippings don't get blown out. Cutting high also means less watering, however it means more cutting, I keep around 3" or so...

With mulching, I've stopped using fertilizer... the grass comes back insanely green and healthy so I don't bother because there is such a thing is a too much fertilizer and can have a negative effect. Also weeds love fertilizer so the less you need to use the better.

Speaking of weeds... another reason I keep the grass a little longer and fuller, to help choke them out, then I hand pick any that pop up... which sounds like a raw deal but if you stay on top of it early on when they pop up, just pull 'em... might have a few a day at the start but then there will be alot fewer as summer goes on, maybe a few per week then eventually none, plus they are easier to pull early on when the ground still has some moisture in it from Spring vs. after it starts to dry out later Summer

Generally the best time to seed is in the Fall but if you need to seed in the Spring, I would suggest waiting till the good parts of the lawn start to come in and get healthy then the seed can help feed off that plus you know the nutrients in the ground are working. Try to spread it out evenly and if you can you want to get the seed packed down into the soil just a little, you can leave some on top too but like mentioned here already, critters and birds will try to steal it. And if you going to leave it on top (and I know it's hard to do) but if possible wait for a stretch of weather with little rain in it because the rain can easily wash it out. Then you want to keep it hydrated yourself as much as possible but don't drown it, think of misting as you want to just keep it damp all the time until the seed has taken... then you can water regularly as needed... if you top soil, be prepared to weed those areas, most top soil and triple mix are bad for causing weed infestations, depends where it comes from...

I also roll a few times throughout the season which will help keep the lawn full, as it will fold the grass different ways so it's not always growing the same way all the time... cutting in reverse once in a while will help do this too ( I mean cutting in the opposite direction not actually driving or walking backwards)

Also if you are an early riser and you have frost early or late in the season, wait till it's gone before cutting, rolling over the grass or even walking on it, will crack the veins inside the blades of grass ultimately killing it in some cases

I don't pretend to know what I'm talking about... just some things that have learned to work for me over the years

If all else fails... say "eff it" and grab the Stang and go for a rip! LOL


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Just before a cut... easy to know where the property line on that side is LOL

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And of course don't forget the trim!! (yes this pic was taken before sweeping up any clippings, believe me it got done!! lol)

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[mavrrrick]

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[bluetoy]

I can't imagine any circumstance that would have me do anything to encourage my grass to grow. There is no pleasure in cutting grass. The riding mower shakes my beer too much.

[mavrrrick]

I’m kinda obsessed with my lawn. Why? [emoji2371]


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