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Lawn Care

Spring Lawn Care

Spring is a great time to start caring for your lawn! A well-established healthy lawn requires less water, care, and maintenance during the summer. The following is a list of a few things that you can do in early spring to help ensure that your lawn is healthy and strong all year.

Starting a New Lawn

If you are starting a new lawn it is recommended that you wait until the risk of frost has passed. This is usually in Mid March. It is also important to ensure that there is at least six inches of soil for the lawn to grow its roots. So be sure to till the soil to an even depth to allow for the roots of the grass to develop. Next, ensure that the area is level to reduce the possibility of drainage issues in the future. Then you can apply the grass seed to the area and water thoroughly.

If you have an existing lawn you can top dress the lawn by spreading a thin layer (1/4 inch) of topsoil and then apply the grass seed on top. Water thoroughly to ensure that the seed germinates.

Watering your Lawn

Adequate watering ensures that your lawn has an established root system to cope with the dry summer months. Be sure to water thoroughly and deeply. New 2022 watering restrictions are in effect from May 1st to October 15th. They are as follows:

Residential Addresses:

Even-numbered addresses on Saturdays
Odd-numbered addresses on Sundays
Automatic watering: 5 am – 7 am
Manual watering: 6 am – 9 am
Watering trees, shrubs and flowers is permitted any day from 5 am to 9 am if using a sprinkler, or any time if hand watering or using drip irrigation. All hoses must have an automatic shut-off device.
Edible plants are exempt from regulations

Non-Residential Addresses:

Even-numbered addresses on Mondays
Odd-numbered addresses on Tuesdays
Automatic watering: 4 am – 6 am
Manual watering: 6 am – 9 am
Watering trees, shrubs and flowers is permitted any day from 4 am to 9 am if using a sprinkler, or any time if hand watering or using drip irrigation.
All hoses must have an automatic shut-off device.
Edible plants are exempt from regulations

Mowing your Lawn

Lawns should be mowed at regular intervals with a sharp mower at the correct height. Lawns should be cut every 7 to 10 days. A rotary mower should be set at 2 to 3 inches for the season. Your lawn mower should be kept sharp at all times. A dull mower tears the grass instead of cutting it, making it more susceptible to diseases. You should use a catcher, or rake the cut grass to remove the cuttings and prevent the build-up of dead grass. If you do not remove the dead grass you should power rake your lawn on a regular basis to remove the layer of dead grass (thatch) that builds up, this is called de-thatching.

Applying Moss Control

Before your moss goes dormant in the summer heat, take steps to kill and remove the moss in your lawn. To do this apply either a liquid or granular Moss Control to affected areas. Approximately two days later, use a mechanical power rake to remove the dead black moss. The area should then receive a thin layer of soil or sand followed by an application of grass seed to grow where the moss was.

Fertilizing your Lawn

The beauty of your lawn, its resistance to disease, insects, moss and weeds depends largely on how you feed it. With heavy rains in the coastal area, much of the mineral content (food or fertilizer) of the soil is washed away each year. Every fertilizer shows the percentage of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potash (N.P.K.) For example 28-3-8 is 28% Nitrogen, 3% Phosphorous and 8% Potash.

Nitrogen – gives the green to lawns and is the main food a lawn responds to
Phosphorous – encourages good root growth
Potash – promotes strong healthy stems

Lawns should be fed at regular intervals. We recommend an application of 28-3-8 in early spring. This will feed your lawn for 10 to 12 weeks. Fertilizing should be done when the grass is dry and should then be watered in thoroughly. To ensure an even application, it is best to use a fertilizer spreader.

When you apply fertilizer you should water your lawn to make sure that the fertilizer makes it to the soil and does not remain on the leaves where it could burn them.

Applying Lime to Your Lawn

Lime is an important soil conditioner that helps your lawn absorb fertilizer and deter moss from growing. Lime does not kill moss but does neutralize the pH of the soil making fertilizer applications more effective. To be effective Dolomite Lime should be applied in spring and again in fall.

Top Dressing Your Lawn

After power raking and/or aerating in the spring, your lawn may appear sparse. Top-dressing is a reliable way of rejuvenating it. You can top-dress your lawn with Peat Moss for sandy soils, peat and sand for clay soils, sand if you have wet soil or topsoil. Top-dressing is best done in March or April. After top-dressing, you can also apply a thin layer of lawn seed to help fill in the spaces left by the power rake.

Fall Lawn Care

As Fall brings cooler temperatures your lawn will emerge from its summer dormancy. You should start to notice some new growth and the dead brown grass start to be replaced. It is important to lime, fertilize, water, and mow your lawn properly in the fall.

Fertilizing your Lawn

As your lawn begins to recover from the summer drought be sure to help encourage new growth with a fall fertilizer. Fall is a time when the lawn needs to be given a feeding of fertilizer that has more potash in it. The Evergro Winter Ready (6-3-20) helps to develop a strong healthy lawn for next year. The best time to apply fertilizer to your lawn is when it is raining. If it is not raining when you apply the fertilizer you should set out the sprinkler and water your lawn for one to two hours to ensure that the fertilizer is washed into the soil.

Applying Lime to Your Lawn

In addition to fertilizing fall is also an ideal time to apply lime to your lawn. Lime is essential to balance the Ph in the soil. Lime helps the grass absorb important nutrients. If you have a significant amount of Moss in your lawn the Lime also helps to deter the moss from growing. However it is best to wait until March or April to apply a moss control to kill the moss.

Watering Your Lawn

During the fall the west coast generally receives enough rain to provide adequate water for your lawn. In the event of a warm dry fall it may be necessary to water your lawn through September and October.

When watering your lawn it is best to water early in the morning to minimize evaporation loss. This saturates the soil more thoroughly and provides better absorption of the water. Watering your lawn less frequently but more thoroughly encourages deeper roots that can withstand drought.

In Greater Vancouver, our watering restrictions come into effect on May 15th and are in effect until October 15th. Please note that they changed again this spring . They are now as follows:

Residential lawn sprinkling allowed:

- Even-numbered addresses Wednesday, Saturday mornings 4 am to 9 am

- Odd-numbered addresses Thursday, Sunday mornings 4 am to 9 am

- Watering trees, shrubs and flowers is permitted any day, from 4 am to 9 am if using a sprinkler, or any time if hand watering or using drip irrigation. All hoses must have an automatic shut-off device.

Non-residential lawn sprinkling allowed:

- Even-numbered addresses Monday mornings 1 am to 6 am and Friday mornings, 4 am to 9 am

- Odd-numbered addresses Tuesday mornings 1 am to 6 am and Friday mornings, 4 am to 9 am

- Watering trees, shrubs and flowers is permitted any day, from 1 am to 9 am if using a sprinkler, or any time if hand watering or using drip irrigation. All hoses must have an automatic shut-off device.

What if I don’t want to wake up at 4 am?

Here’s a better idea than getting up at 4am, purchase an electronic water timer for your sprinklers to make it easy for you to water your lawn and not violate the restrictions. Be sure to ask us when you come by to see us.

Newly planted lawns need special attention. It is best to keep the soil moist for at least 4 to 6 weeks after you apply grass seed to ensure that your lawn develops an adequate root system. If you are starting a new lawn in the summer be sure to apply for a permit to water outside of the watering restrictions.

If you have applied fertilizer or lime to your lawn it is best if you water the lawn to ensure that the fertilizer is washed off the blades of the grass to prevent burning. Watering also helps the fertilizer reach the roots faster.

Mowing your Lawn

Lawns should be mowed at regular intervals. However, lawns grow more slowly during the fall months. This reduces the frequency with which you have to cut it. For best results, your lawn should be cut every 10 to 14 days. A rotary mower should to be set at a height of 2 to 3 inches for the season. Your lawn mower should be kept sharp at all times. A dull mower tears the grass instead of cutting it, making it more susceptible to diseases.

You should use a grass catcher, or rake the cut grass to remove the cuttings and prevent the build-up of dead grass. If you do not remove the dead grass you should power rake your lawn on a regular basis to remove the layer of dead grass (thatch) that builds up, this is called power raking or de-thatching.

Applying Moss Control

Spring is the best time to apply Moss Control. However if moss has taken hold of your lawn you might want to consider a fall application of the Moss Control to reduce the problem for the winter. Moss usually goes dormant over the summer but as we start to receive cooler weather and rain in the fall the moss in your lawn may rejuvenate and need to be controlled. It is more important to add lime to your lawn to balance the pH to deter the moss from growing over the winter.

Tips for Starting a New Lawn

Fall is an excellent time to start a new lawn from seed or to over-seed your existing lawn to fill in the spaces. You need to apply the grass seed at least six weeks prior to the first frosts, which normally arrive in mid-November. So it is best to start your new lawn before the first week of October.

To over-seed your existing lawn first spread some fresh topsoil. You should mix a Turf Starter fertilizer (15-30-10) with the soil while you spread it. The fertilizer helps to promote the development of strong healthy roots.

Make sure that you spread the soil evenly and level it to ensure even growth. Then apply lawn seed and lightly rake the seed into the soil. To ensure that the lawn seed germinates best keep the new lawn moist for at least four to six weeks. You should not fertilize the new lawn until after it has been mowed at least twice.

Winter Lawn Care

Winter is a quiet time for your lawn. There is very little you need to do to a lawn in winter.

Starting a New Lawn

Once we start to receive frost at night it is too late to start a new lawn or over-seed your existing lawn. It is best to wait until warmer weather in the spring to apply lawn seed. Night time temperatures should be above freezing for 4 to 6 weeks continuously for the seed to successfully germinate.

Watering your Lawn

The cool wet weather means that you do not have to water your lawn again until the spring. However, it is important to watch the lawn in the winter to determine if there are any low spots where water is collecting. Make note of these areas as you will need to aerate and add sand in the spring to improve drainage.

If you apply lime and/or fertilizer to your lawn it is best to water them thoroughly. Usually an hour is enough to work the lime or fertilizer into the soil. Leaving the lime or fertilizer on the surface of the grass burns the tops of the blades. Lime and fertilizer should only be applied if temperatures are above freezing.

Mowing your Lawn

Cold winter temperatures slow the growth of your lawn. This reduces the need to cut it at regular intervals. You likely do not need to cut your lawn at all during the winter. So one final cut in October or November should be all you need to do.

Applying Moss Control

Winter is not the best time to apply Moss Control to your lawn. The Moss has gone dormant and has probably already spread the spores that will grow next year. You can rake out the moss by hand or use/rent a power rake to do it more effectively. The best time to apply Moss Control is in the spring between March and April.

Fertilizing your Lawn

Winter is a time when the lawn does not need to be given any fertilizer. You will not need to fertilize your lawn again until the spring when it starts to grow again.

Lime should not be applied during winter either. An excess of lime too late in the season can cause diseases on your lawn.

SEED, SOD & SPRIGS

How to Start a Lawn From Seed, Sod or Sprigs

Starting A Lawn From Seed

Seeding applies primarily to cool-season grasses; most warm-season kinds are started from sprigs or plugs.

Lawns started from seed are best planted in fall, early enough in the season to give the grass time to establish before cold weather comes. The next best time is spring, after all danger of frost is past and before weather turns hot.

When you prepare the soil, don’t cultivate it too finely—it may crust, forming a hard surface which emerging seedlings cannot penetrate. Ideally, aim for pea-size to marble-size soil particles. Do final leveling with a garden rake.

Pick a windless day and sow seed evenly, using a drop or rotary spreader.

Apply a complete dry granular fertilizer, also using a spreader. Several manufacturers offer fertilizers formulated especially for starting new lawns.

Cover seeds by dragging the back of a lightweight leaf rake over the area or applying a thin (1-inch) mulch. Mulching is the better option if you expect hot, dry weather or drying winds. Use an organic mulch, but not peat moss or sawdust–both tend to crust over, making it hard for seedlings to penetrate them. Note that it’s not necessary to roll the new lawn’s surface with a water-filled roller. Doing so can actually inhibit germination, since the roller packs down the soil surface and causes it to crust over.

Water thoroughly, taking care not to wash away the seed. Then keep the seeded area moist for about 3 weeks or until all grass is sprouted, watering briefly (in 5- to 10-minute spells) and frequently. You may need to water 3, 4, or more times a day during warm periods.

Mow for the first time when the grass is one-third taller than its optimum height. Mow slowly to keep from disturbing the barely set roots. After the initial mowing, continue to water frequently; the top inch of soil should not be allowed to dry out until the lawn is well established (this usually takes about 6 weeks and 4 mowings).

If weeds emerge, don’t attempt to control them until the young lawn has been mowed 4 times. By this stage, many weeds will have been killed by mowing or crowded out by the growing lawn. If weeds are still a problem after 4 mowings, many gardeners prefer to treat the lawn with an herbicide; unlike hand pulling, it kills weeds without the risk of disturbing the root systems of the grass.

Try to avoid walking on the lawn too much during the initial 4 to 6 weeks.

Starting From Sod

Sod lawns can be started almost any time of year, except when weather is very cold. It’s also best to avoid installation during a summer heat wave.

Water the planting area thoroughly the day before the sod is delivered.

Time the delivery of sod so you can sod the area in a single day, beginning early in the morning.

When you lay out strips, stagger them so ends aren’t adjacent; butt sides tightly together. Use a sharp knife to cut sod to fit it into odd-shaped areas.

Roll the entire lawn with a roller half-filled with water to smooth out rough spots and press the roots of the sod firmly against the soil. (Rollers can be rented at garden and tool supply centres).

Water once a day (more often if the weather is hot), keeping the area thoroughly moist for at least 6 weeks.

Mow for the first time when the grass is one-third taller than its optimum height. When mowing during the initial 6 weeks, be very careful not to disturb the seams. Also try to avoid walking on the lawn too much during the initial 4 to 6 weeks.

Starting From Sprigs or Plugs

Many warm-season grasses are sold as sprigs or plugs. A sprig is a piece of grass stem with roots and blades. A plug is a small square or circle cut from sod. Early spring is the best time to plant sprigs and plugs.

Sprigs are usually sold by the bushel; the supplier can tell you how much area a bushel will cover. The fastest way to plant them is to scatter them evenly by hand over the prepared area, then roll them with a cleated roller (this tool is usually available for rent from nurseries that sell sprigs).

Plugs are usually 2 to 3 inches across and are often sold 18 to a tray—enough to plant 50 square feet. Plant the plugs in the prepared area, spacing them 8 to 12 inches apart.

DOWNLOAD STARTING A LAWN GUIDE

SEED, SOD & SPRIGS

How to Start a Lawn From Seed, Sod or Sprigs

Starting A Lawn From Seed

Seeding applies primarily to cool-season grasses; most warm-season kinds are started from sprigs or plugs.

Lawns started from seed are best planted in fall, early enough in the season to give the grass time to establish before cold weather comes. The next best time is spring, after all danger of frost is past and before weather turns hot.