It’s about that season again.  The snow melts off, the grass is looking kind of rough, and you’re already thinking about the projects you want to tackle this year.  Well, to get you started, here’s some spring lawn care tips that are sure to help you grow some of the greenest grass in your neighborhood.

• Aeration: A core aerator will pull 2-3″ plugs of soil from your turf.  Most all of the aerators that GRS Rents carries will space the holes about 3-4″ apart and deposit the plugs on top of the surface.  It is recommended by Horticulturists that “[t]urf soil should be aerated at least once a year on heavy compacted or clay soils.”¹ Early spring, when the soil is moist, is a great time to aerate.  Using a rental aerator on your lawn allows air, moisture, and nutrients to penetrate deep into the root zone of the lawn.

• De Thatching (Lawn Combing): Plan to dethach your lawn in the spring as well.  Excessive thatch in a lawn can cause stress on your lawns root system, leading to more problems in the summer time.  Lawn dethatchers come in one basic size, ~20″ deck, that pull the thatch to the surface.  Some models that GRS Rents carry have bagging units attached to them, other models allow you to simply rake up the thatch when you’re done.

• Mowing: It may seem obvious, but you should cut your grass once it exceeds 2.5″ in height.  This practice will keep the lawn from stressing and will help avoid disease. If the grass does get too tall, consider using a bag-style mower to avoid excessive thatch buildup in the lawn.  Experts reccomend mower blades be sharpened a couple times a year to ensure a clean cut.  Conveniently, GRS Rents offers mower blade sharpening at all of our locations.

• Edging & Trimming: Take the time in the Spring, before growth takes off, to trim out of control bushes or trees.  It is also an easy time to edge sidewalks, flower beds, and driveways.  We carry an assortment of tools like sidewalk edgers, bed edgers, hedge trimmers, chainsaws, chippers, and more to help you make these jobs a piece of cake.

While these are just a few tips to Spring Lawn care, they should give you a great start to enjoying a beautiful lawn all summer long!  If you have questions about your upcoming projects, give GRS Rents a call at 888-477-7687.  Our helpful staff would love to help you get the most out of your spring projects!

¹ Robson, David. “Spring LawnCare Guide.” <http://web.extension.illinois.edu/regions/lawnandgarden/SpringLawnCareGuide05.pdf>.