Preparing Your Lawn For Summer

If you haven’t prepared your lawn for winter yet, it’s too late for that—even in sunny California. Now, it’s time to look ahead to the spring and summer, and take necessary steps to prepare your lawn for the relatively warm weather to come. Here are a few steps to take to make sure your lawn looks amazing for the summer.

Aerate It

Aeration is one of the most critical steps to preserve the health and lushness of your lawn. By definition, aeration is the process of poking holes throughout your lawn and removing cores of soil to allow oxygen and nutrients to reach the root systems below your lawn’s surface.This helps fertilizer enter the soil, which stimulates root growth and creates a fuller, healthier lawn. Without aeration, the soil supporting your lawn will become too compacted, forming an impermeable layer of soil that won’t receive oxygen or nutrients.

For cool season grass, aerate in the early spring or fall. For warm season grass, late spring will do.

Rake It

For a lawn to grow in a healthy manner, it needs access to direct sunlight, and a clear route for water to travel beneath the lawn surface. Thick layers of thatch, leaves, and other plant matter can prevent these things from happening, so it’s important to remove them before growing season. Running a rake across the entirety of your lawn is the best way to remove this debris from your lawn. Kill two birds with one stone, and rake your lawn while you rake leaves in the fall. That way, you’ll have a clean-looking lawn in the fall that’s also ready to grow back in the spring.

Fertilize It

Behind every great lawn is a great fertilizer. This is a cardinal truth of lawn care because fertilizer is the most effective way to supplement nutrients that your lawn desperately needs to survive. Buy a fertilizer that’s tailored to your type of grass, and be sure to fertilize twice per year during your lawn’s peak growing season; cool-season grasses should be fertilized during early spring and fall, and warm-season grasses should be fertilized at peak lushness in the spring and at the very beginning of fall.

Reseed It

It’s fairly normal for your lawn to develop some bald spots, especially in places with extreme summer heat. In order to fix this growing problem, till the bare soil and evenly seed the area, then fertilize the area as you normally would in the year. After a few trims, your lawn’s bald spots will be thick and lush once again.

Inspect It

Keeping a close eye on your lawn throughout the year is imperative, especially if your area has a problem with lawn-destroying insects and animals. Grubs, Japanese beetles, chinch bugs, and mole crickets will happily make a meal out of your lawn, and underground critters like moles will make a meal of those insects, and tear up your lawn in the process. For the most effective results, hire a professional to eliminate all types of vermin from your lawn, and do it as soon as you detect signs of trouble.

Call Kern Turf Supply

With these tips and some hard winter work, you’ll have a lawn to die for once summer comes around. But when you have a question or need some advice, where do you turn? You turn to the seasoned experts at Kern Turf Supply. We’re Bakersfield’s choice for all of your lawn care supplies, including fertilizer, seed, irrigation systems, and anything else you’ll need to make your lawn spectacular. Contact us to purchase your lawn supplies today, and don’t wait—summer is right around the corner.