Not sure what you need to be doing this spring and summer to get a beautiful green lawn?
Dan Sandor, assistant professor of turfgrass science at Virginia Tech, said not to stress.
“The grass knows what to do,” said Sandor, who holds a doctorate in horticulture and turfgrass.
He said you just need to know a few simple things, like the one-third rule when it comes to mowing.
“Do not remove more than one-third of the leaf blade in any single mowing event,” Sandor said. “We want to make sure we’re not scalping our turf or scalping the line, because that really stresses out the turf.”
But when it gets closer to summer in May or June?
“That’s this time to start bumping up your mowing height to, you know, maybe 3, 3.5 inches, or as high as you can tolerate it,” he said.
And to kickoff your spring lawn care, don’t forget the soil test.
“Those experts at the soil testing lab will provide those recommendations to you, as well as give you an analysis of your soil pH, which can also affect the availability of the nutrients,” Sandor said.
There’s one thing that won’t be on that soil test: nitrogen.
But he said there’s a simple rule to follow when using fertilizer — the amount of nitrogen is listed on the bag. As far as what amount to add?
“A pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet,” he said.
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