Here’s what’s going on in your early April lawn this year:
- Mowers should be set to a height of 3.5 to 4 inches for the rest of the year and mowed every 4 to 7 days. High, frequent mowing promotes healthier roots, thicker and greener leaves, and chokes out weeds before they can get started.
- Established lawns need only an inch or so of water every other week with our typical 60?70o F April temperatures. However, almost twice that will be needed as/if the thermometer climbs into the 80s, especially with the high winds weve been having.
- There is an easy (and 100% accurate) way to tell if your lawn needs more water. While a great lawn needs a regular supply of water, more is not better. Use a thin, ten-inch long screwdriver to probe the soil. If the screwdriver cannot be pushed all the way into the soil, the lawn needs a heavy soaking. A good watering should penetrate to a depth of 6-9 inches. Once well-watered, the lawn should be allowed to dry out until it again fails the screwdriver test.
- Lawns that were seeded last fall should grow thicker each week now that the soil has warmed enough for rhizome and tiller development. Weed control should begin on these lawns now if it hasnt already been done.
- If your pre-emergent is not already on your lawn, get it is applied soon. This late in the season, a product with “Dimension” will work best as a crabgrass pre and post emergent. Other products will not react quickly enough to catch the earliest crabgrass germination and no other product will kill what has already germinated without also harming your lawn.
- Dormant seeded lawns began to sprout in mid-March. The young grass plants are still too young to be treated for broadleaf weeds but, again, if it hasnt been done already, a preemergent and fertilizer blend should be applied soon.
Contact Martz Bros. Lawn & Tree Care anytime with questions or concerns at (913)789-9333 or Online.
