3 Tips For Keeping Your Lawn In Shape This Spring

Spring in South Florida is a beautiful time. Well, any time in South Florida is typically beautiful, but spring is especially wonderful. With the weather heating up, outdoor festivals and events coming together, and the world getting a little bit busier, a nice day out in your lawn or garden is a great and relaxing family activity.

We’ve talked this year about ways to prepare your lawn and garden for spring, but now that we’re here, how do we continue to keep our lawns in shape during the perfect Florida spring conditions? Here’s three great ways you can get started:

Fertilizing

Fertilization is a way of feeding your lawn the nutrients it needs to be green and awesome. You should do it, at the very least, once or twice per year (spring and fall being crucial).

So to start, test your soil’s PH level, and pick out a fertilizer with a proper blend that balances out the acidity/alkalinity of your yard. You can use a granular fertilizer, because you don’t have to apply it as often. Also, try using a slow-release product for the same reason.

We have a great selection of fertilizers that are virtually customized for your specific needs. Not only do they take care of your lawn and plants they consider the environment as well.

Mowing

“Should I catch my clippings when I mow?” is a question we’re often asked. The answer is “Nope!” It’s almost never a good idea to collect clippings from your lawn for several good reasons.

Clippings return a lot of nutrients to the lawn and help with fertilizing. They do not add to thatch, and there’s no more room for them in landfills anyway.

Clippings “recycle” as much as 15% of all the food value of the lawn fertilizer applied. This means a lawn that “grasscycles” can be greener and better fed than one where clippings are removed.

And because clippings have such high water content, they break down quickly and return both moisture and lawn fertilizing nutrients to the soil fast. Letting your clippings lie will tap into the natural cycle of nature, and save you time and effort during routine lawn fertilization.

Weeding & Pest Control

People like to think of Florida as a tropical paradise, but it’s more like the Amazon–a jungle with alligators, bees, snakes, and fire ants. EVERYONE wants to live here, even the pests, because the climate invites all sorts of characters.

Florida has weeds that no other area can claim to have due to the high humidity, rainfall, and sandy soils. And since crabgrass is more closely related to warm season turf than up north, it’s a problematic weed with no selective control.

Weeds are not a welcome guest in my yard. Keep them out of yours too with weed control products from Big Earth Landscape Supply. From Ranger Pro to RoundUp Quik Pro and weed mat fabric to ground cover, Big Earth has all the materials you need to make sure weeds feel uninvited.

Warmer spring temperatures also cause an influx of insects to emerge. Some insects such as ladybugs and mosquitos, have been in hibernation while others, such as bees and ants have dug themselves deeper into soil and tiny niches to keep themselves warm during the winter season. Spring is the time when homeowners will start to see increasing insect activity outdoors and in.

Additionally, turf has chinch bugs, sod web worms, grubs and mole crickets that are just waiting to use our lawns as a buffet. Chinch bugs also thrive in drought, so a well-watered lawn is a great defense to keep them at bay.

Blanket pesticide application has become the quick-fix norm for lawn maintenance and is most commonly done by homeowners who look for the “DIY option” at their local landscape supply store.

You can also find these insecticides and herbicides online by shopping at the Big Earth Supply online store, here.