Article for spring care of northern lawns

[s1mpl3k1d]

Hi all,

I'm currently in this page - https://aroundtheyard.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=117

I'm looking for the article that guides us what to do in spring, when to put fertilizer, etc.
Can someone please help me?

Thank you!

[MorpheusPA]

https://aroundtheyard.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=117

This one is a bit of a help for later in spring.

But really, there's no good guide out there as of yet. I should write that, or somebody should--but there would still be specific questions because every lawn differs, and the levels of knowledge differ (and we should never have issues with a little hand-holding when necessary). I actually wrote this for a level lower than yours, but trim out the stuff you already know; it's more for general reference as people pass by and see it.

In your case, you know what you're doing. You can spray weeds at any time you want, with the appropriate herbicide. See the Triangle approach for more on that, of course. Pre-emergents go down when the forsythia blossoms in your area, which it probably already did. You can still do it if you missed it, but some weeds are already sprouting, like dandelion, chickweed, and so on. Crabgrass is yet to come, it's still far too cold for that.

Really, it's never too late for a pre-emergent, unless you're planning on overseeding or renovating...in which case it's always too late for a pre-emergent. Skip it. Just control weeds by spot spraying.

Feeding can be argumentative. For organics, through most of the northern tier, May 1-30th is just fine. For synthetics, May 15th-May 30th is best. If you manage to miss the boat, anything up to June 15th is fine for either, but realize it's really late for organics. For you, this is the timing.

Further south, it can shift a little earlier, although the organic date probably doesn't move back much from May first.

If you use a grub killer always check the bag for proper application time.

And really, other than proper mowing (mow high and don't let it grow more than half again mowing height before mowing it) and watering if absolutely required (it usually isn't in spring, but there are certainly exceptions), that's really it for grass care in spring. It's not a heavy feeder in spring.

So pre-emergent when the forsythia blooms (April, sometime, in most of the nation where forsythia is planted, or as soil temperatures rise over fifty where forsythia doesn't exist). Mow as needed. Water as necessary. Feed around Memorial Day (or in May if you use organics). Check the bag on your grub killer for proper application time if you use one. That's all for spring.

[s1mpl3k1d]

https://aroundtheyard.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=117

This one is a bit of a help for later in spring.

Awesome! That will work.

But really, there's no good guide out there as of yet. I should write that, or somebody should--but there would still be specific questions because every lawn differs, and the levels of knowledge differ (and we should never have issues with a little hand-holding when necessary). I actually wrote this for a level lower than yours, but trim out the stuff you already know; it's more for general reference as people pass by and see it.

In your case, you know what you're doing. You can spray weeds at any time you want, with the appropriate herbicide. See the Triangle approach for more on that, of course. Pre-emergents go down when the forsythia blossoms in your area, which it probably already did. You can still do it if you missed it, but some weeds are already sprouting, like dandelion, chickweed, and so on. Crabgrass is yet to come, it's still far too cold for that.

Really, it's never too late for a pre-emergent, unless you're planning on overseeding or renovating...in which case it's always too late for a pre-emergent. Skip it. Just control weeds by spot spraying.

Yep, already did apply Sonicwall few weeks ago when ground temp was between 50-55F. I already have GuardRail from many years ago but I got so lazy preparing the sprayer and measuring Prodiamine 65 WDG Guardrail

Feeding can be argumentative. For organics, through most of the northern tier, May 1-30th is just fine. For synthetics, May 15th-May 30th is best. If you manage to miss the boat, anything up to June 15th is fine for either, but realize it's really late for organics. For you, this is the timing.

Further south, it can shift a little earlier, although the organic date probably doesn't move back much from May first.

Awesome! I will put this in my notes!

If you use a grub killer always check the bag for proper application time.

Will do. I will read this article I found last year again. The content is amazing! https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/how_to_ch ... _your_lawn

And really, other than proper mowing (mow high and don't let it grow more than half again mowing height before mowing it) and watering if absolutely required (it usually isn't in spring, but there are certainly exceptions), that's really it for grass care in spring. It's not a heavy feeder in spring.

So pre-emergent when the forsythia blooms (April, sometime, in most of the nation where forsythia is planted, or as soil temperatures rise over fifty where forsythia doesn't exist). Mow as needed. Water as necessary. Feed around Memorial Day (or in May if you use organics). Check the bag on your grub killer for proper application time if you use one. That's all for spring.

What you wrote here must be moved to an article and name the article like "Caring for lawns in early and late spring". What I saw today was for late summer maintenance.

Thanks a lot!

[MorpheusPA]

De nada. It does vary a bit. That's for a healthy, normal lawn. Mine this year was not Healthy and Normal, it was recovering from a massive invasion of snow mold. I still haven't done the first full mow and it's mid-April. I've sprayed a few weeds. Other than that, it's been watch it green up and otherwise do my thing in other areas.

I won't vary feeding time much (May 15 or so) as I won't need to.

And thanks for the grub article. It brings back awful memories of thousands of square feet of turf floating from grubs. While I may not need it, I always use GrubEx. I had uncountable numbers in September one year. No more. Between that and the traps, the numbers have fallen to very few Japanese beetles left in the area.

[s1mpl3k1d]

Gotcha. I'll make sure to apply preventative grub product this year. I think GrubEx was listed from the article. I'm not sure if you recall my lawn last year being killed by grubs but September I decided to renovate the front yard. TTTF came out really well and my lawn was the first one to green up too! I've confirmed the KBG wasn't dormant. It really got killed by grubs. My neighbor's lawn is still dead.

I hope your lawn will recover soon.