2/27/2021


Lawn
Use a PH tester to check the PH of your lawn, Do this before the season starts. The Ph should be between 6.2-6.7.

If salt was used near your lawn, you should apply granular gypsum in the area, that the salt may have reached the lawn to neutralize the damaging effect of the salt.  Make the gypsum application after the snow has melted.
Apply Kick Start after the snow has melted and repeat this application two weeks after the first application.  This will help the root system regrow new root hairs.  When grass plants have no root hairs, the lawn will have difficulty absorbing the nutrients it needs to properly “green up.”
Do not make the mistake and hurt the grass root hairs more by applying, a short chained, urea based lawn fertilizer this spring.
Applications of short chained urea fertilizers, will give your lawn a surge of pale green top growth and a reduction of root development. Use the Turf Trust fertilizer, ( slow released controlled fertilizer ) early spring to help the roots grow strong and to promote denser crowns, stolons , and rhizomes. This strong root system, that the turf trust and Kick Start can help promote, will make your lawn more drought resistant  this summer.
Also do not use any combination fertilizers on the lawn. They do not work as they are supposed to! The best time to feed the lawn ( cool weather grasses) is early spring. All of the energy will go to the roots, crown, stolons , and rhizomes. But remember it may be to early to kill any of the lawn weeds until the temps are above 60 degrees for three or more days. The weed killers  work best in temp ranges of 60-85 degrees. Remember now it is also to early to apply the crabgrass preventer .
Conclusion: Only fertilizer will work in early spring, so there is no use in applying a lawn weed killer combination fertilizer ( weed and feed ) in early spring. And if you use a combination weed and feed or combination fertilizer & preventer later to kill weeds or prevent and kill insects. You will be applying  an excess of fertilizer. Which creates an excess of upright surge growth and makes the grass susceptible to diseases and drought stress.
Also for the early spring, choose to not use organic fertilizers. The temperatures are to cold for them to properly work. They do best in the summer when temps are warmer.

You can spot seed as soon as the snow has melted. Cover the seeds with leafgro or peatmoss then drench them with kick start. Early spring seeding will not require extra watering. In early spring grass seed can be easily overwatered during cool spring weather.
Don’t walk on frozen lawns.

If you have a lawn service you can also purchase Turf Trust or other products that you want used on your lawn and have them apply it. Do not let them apply anything they want. ( they will use a short chained urea) This can cause root damage and surge growth with chance of leaf spot disease.