In the middle of winter, it can be hard to imagine a lush, green lawn underneath all the snow, but spring comes round quicker than any Calgary homeowner can imagine. It will soon be time to start tending to your grass to get the best summer possible for you and your family. Having a lush lawn is important for any homeowner. If you have young children, you want somewhere soft underfoot for them to play on, with plenty of cushioning for the inevitable falls and dives that come with summer sports. If your kids are older, or you only have adults visiting your garden, then you’ll want a bright green lawn to impress your guests and give the perfect backdrop to your summer entertainment. Keeping your lawn lush and green is as simple as following a few “secret” summer lawn care tips.
Secret #1 – Weed and Feed
As the snow pack starts to melt, you need to get started on your lawn care early with some basic grass clean up. The first step is to take care of any leftover snow removal, and to get your kids to do the pet waste removal from the winter months so you’re protecting your soil against toxins. You then need to go carefully over the entire lawn, picking out weeds (aka any plants or growth that you don’t want spoiling the overall look of your lawn) and filling the patches left behind with quick growing grass seeds.
You then want to hit your lawn with some early spring fertiliser. This will need to have a high combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, all key ingredients in promoting healthy, strong, green grass. Given that your lawn is likely to be made up of cool season grass types, you’ll only need to fertilise at the start and the end of your summer, but have a backup in case your lawn starts to look unhealthy.
Secret #2 – Aeration is Key
Once you’re sure your fertiliser has had time to soak into the soil, it’s time to aerate your lawn. As you walk and play on your lawn, you compact the soil which can block essential nutrients and water from getting into your soil. A good sign that you need to aerate is if you see puddles developing quickly as the snow melts and the spring rains arrive. Aerating your soil also helps to invigorate your grass roots to grow more and grow stronger.
At a very basic level, aerating your lawn means dragging a hard rake over the soil to break it up to allow seeds, more fertiliser and water access to the deeper roots. However, if you can get access to a mechanical rototiller, you’ll save yourself time and effort, as well as getting a little deeper into your soil. These are typically hand push devices on wheels so you can make sure you’ve hit all areas of your lawn. This should be done as soon as the snow melts and your grass turns fully green.
Secret #3 – Water, Water, Everywhere
Perhaps the biggest secret to lush green lawns in Calgary is the amount of water that you need to put into the soil to make sure all of your grass plants get enough to thrive. As a rule, you should be making sure that your grass is getting at least 3 cm a week, and you should set up a rainwater measurer to help you keep track during rainy weather. Ideally, you should water in the evening to allow it all to soak into the ground, or at the very least first thing in the morning before the sun gets hot so the water doesn’t just evaporate off the grass. If you’re a busy worker, then you should plan on a sprinkler system to make sure you don’t run out of time, and to ensure full coverage for your whole garden.
Secret #4 – Regular Mowing
While it can seem counterintuitive to cut short the very grass that you’re trying to grow to be thick and luscious, your grass needs regular mowing to keep it healthy. Mowing your lawn brings the following benefits:
- Open access – long grass blocks out the sun and can block water from getting down to the soil effectively. Regular mowing of your lawn helps to keep everything open, and allows you to spot unwanted weeds growing up as well.
- Clear the bugs – you want your soil to be alive with microbes as they help to create nutrients for your grass roots, but there are some larger bugs that you definitely don’t want taking up residence in your garden.
- Promote new growth – keeping your grass short doesn’t just make your lawn look good, but it will also keep it looking good. Just like pruning trees and bushes, trimming your grass plants promotes new growth as all the nutrients and energy is concentrated in a small plant. You also create more space for sunlight to reach each blade which in turn helps them grow more.
Secret #5 – Get Professional Help
All of these secret lawncare tips will take time and effort, from the moment that the last of the snow disappears from your lawn all the way through to the first frost in fall. For many Calgary residents, this work takes away from actually being able to enjoy their lawn, so this is when you need to contact Scoop Cut N Shovel. Our team of lawncare experts know all the secrets to a lush green lawn in Calgary, and for a consistent monthly price, we will come to your house throughout the summer months to weed, mow and feed your lawn to keep it looking it’s very best all season long.
You can also save even more money by bundling other property maintenance services with Scoop Cut N Shovel. We offer everything from pet waste removal, one off spring and fall garden clean ups to snow and ice removal throughout the winter, so contact our property maintenance experts today to access Calgary’s best kept secret for lawn care and beyond.