9 Tips To Give Your Lawn A Head Start This Spring

Yes! Winter is done! Spring is finally here! We are eager to see our lawns green up and our gardens thriving, and we know our inground irrigation systems will help us do that as well as save time and water. When we're looking to revive our lawns after a long winter, what steps do we use with our own gardens? Lean in. We'll share all our best tips.

Spring Maintenance

Winter in Burlington is long and cold. Before you think about turning on your inground irrigation system, do a walk-about across your lawn and check to make sure the sprinkler heads haven't been damaged by snow, fallen limbs, ice, kids, pets, or snow shovels (and especially that "wasn't me" guy who shows up unexpectedly). You'll want to check for leaks. Nutri Lawn Burlington can do a spring maintenance check for you to make sure everything is working as it should.

Things should work when you turn them on, in a perfect world, but an ounce of prevention and all that.

Overseeding

Have bare patches in your lawn? This could be due to snow or weight, poor roots. hard to say. You could bring in sod, but we prefer overseeding and here's why:

• Grass seed is relatively easy to grown and nicely fills in bare spots and patches within a couple of weeks with the proper conditions
• Adding younger plants amongst the older grass plants means your lawn doesn't grow old and tired but will continue to be vibrant and lush.
• Overseeding helps lawns create these vast root networks and shelter all the bare spots of dirt choking out weeds.
• Adding different varieties of grass seed to an existing lawn can help lawns stay green longer at different times of the summer

Nearly everyone can grow grass, especially in the spring because the growing conditions are almost perfect naturally. Easy Peasy. Growing grass during the warmer months means your inground irrigation system will be a lifesaver because the seeds and seedlings need to stay continually moist for about two weeks without being drowned.

And the best part is watching the seeds sprout and thicken up so the patch disappears in such a short time.

Core Aeration

Core aeration is our way of helping Mother Nature make sure the soil in our lawns doesn't get packed so tight that the grass can't grow well. What causes the ground to get packed down? Foot traffic, time with the elements, snowbanks, erosion. Earth worms help, but if your lawn is packed down water will sit on top of the soil and never read the roots of your grass and other plants. *sad face*

Even Mother Nature needs a little help sometimes. *grin*

Fertilize

Your lawn in the spring will likely be a soggy, flattened, brown mess that looks like it's on life support. Fertilizer in the spring can give your lawn back its zip and have it green up in no time. Ask our experts about the perfect time to apply fertilizer in the spring. You have to let your lawn lift its head and stretch a bit "wake up sleepy head" before applying fertilizer otherwise it's a bit of a waste.

If you have an existing inground irrigation system, consider fertigation-applying water-based fertilizer through your sprinkler system. How easy is that! No worry about burning your lawn or waiting for it to rain.Talk to a Nutri-Lawn Burlington specialist to find out which fertilizer works best for your lawn.

Remember, the wrong fertilizer is worse than no fertilizer at all, it's often a case of too much of a good thing causes havoc.

Rain Gauges And Moisture Sensors

The early bird only gets the worm when in the right place at the right time. Spring is typically a wet season so often you won't need your inground irrigation system until a little later in the year. However, an important tool to help you keep your lawn properly hydrated are rain gauges and moisture sensors.

Rain sensors determine how much water your lawn has received and how short your lawn is in terms of desired rainfall.Moisture sensors are a bit more sophisto and measure how much moisture remains in the soil and some will even connect to local weather forecasts to avoid watering your lawn in the morning and have it rain that same afternoon.

If you're serious about water conservation and developing a healthy lawn, these small upgrades will definitely pay off and deliver some peace of mind at the same time!

Drainage

After a rain or in the spring, is there a portion or area of your yard that seems to be the last place to drain? It's hard to grow grass underwater, right. That's not setting yourself up for lawncare success.Maybe there's a slope to your lawn so the rainwater pools in one place. Maybe you have drainage issues. There's lots of reasons why water might pool in your yard, so why not call our experts to help re-level your yard?

Ideally, we want water to run towards the street so the city's storm sewers can drain it away instead of sitting on your lawn or worse-pouring into your basement!

Dangers Of Over-Watering

Yeah - grass likes water and sure - you never over-water to the point where you're left with a sodden muddy mess. But would you know if your lawn was slightly over-watered? Grass that gets too much water has a poor root system so it's vulnerable to drought or extreme weather, and is prone to disease and mold. Womp Womp.

In combination with rain gauges and/or moistures sensors, timers, and sophisto programming, you can literally set it and forget it for the whole summer.

Spend your summer enjoying your lawn, walking barefoot even, instead of moving hoses and sprinklers, and feeling guilty for wasting water.

Measuring Water Delivered Without Rain Gauge Or Moisture Sensor

So, you want to keep your lawn watered efficiently but you're not ready to upgrade to a rain gauge or moisture sensor. Here's an old-school tip. Place some flat bottom tin cans around your lawn (emptied tuna cans for instance) and run your inground irrigation system for 15 minutes. How much water has collected in the can? Or, check the cans after a rain. Now you'll have a more informed idea of how much moisture your lawn has actually received. Cool beans!

In a perfect world, your lawn needs about 1" to 1 1/2" of rain/moisture per week, so how much you need to supplement with your inground irrigation will vary.

Inground Sprinkler Systems

Do you have lawn envy? Are you tired of moving sprinklers and hoses around the yard and frustrated at the limited ability to direct the water? Does your lawn turn brown each summer because you forget to water the lawn consistently?

An inground irrigation system is a great solution for those who are looking for an easier and consistent approach to lawn watering. You don't have to worry if your lawn is parched or drowning or if that shady part of your yard needs as much water as the sunny spots. Don't worry about getting up with the sun to take advantage of optimal watering conditions to conserve water. Our systems take the guesswork and the hassle out of watering your yard and lawns.

Now is the perfect time to chat with our friendly and knowledgeable team at Nutri-Lawn Burlington Irrigation about the best options for your budget and yard. Each design can be customized to help create the yard you've been dreaming of or felt was out of reach. Contact our team for a free consultation. Get started on your dream yard today!