Another year of winter in New England means snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. And while you’re staying snug in your house, your lawn isn’t so lucky. As the thaw starts, it’s important to be ready for lawn care in early spring to repair damage before your lawn starts growing again. Learn what to do, from inspection to seeding and fertilizing, so you can enjoy a great lawn later in spring and summer.

Inspect Your Lawn for Winter Damage

The first thing you’ll want to do once the snow and ice have melted is to inspect your lawn for damage. There are a few problems you’ll want to search for on your lawn:

• Damage from Traffic: Snow and ice can turn foot traffic (or tires from a missed driveway) into damage to your lawn. Inspect areas you remember see tracks. It might also be time to install stone pathways to avoid issues in the future.
• Debris and Pests: Lawn dead spots can also form around debris and lawn pests. Sometimes the two go together. Learn more about lawn-destroying insects and grubs and clear them as soon as possible.
• Dethatching the Lawn: During the winter, especially if you followed fall lawn tips, a layer of dead and dried grass called thatch has formed, insulating the living grass below. Inspect it, and if it’s too thick (more than ½ an inch), start clearing it.

Do You Need to Seed or Fertilize Your Lawn?

After inspection, it’s time to repair any lawn damage and get it ready for growth in spring. Assuming you’ve not done dormant overseeding or need to repair patches of dead lawn, you’ll want to both deploy grass seed and fertilizer as soon as possible. If you did both, you may not need to seed, but you may still need fertilizer. If you’re unsure, get a soil test kit to see what nutrients your soil might be missing.

Mowing and Lawn Maintenance

After you’ve performed lawn care, it’s time to start planning out regular maintenance of your lawn to ensure ideal growth. You should start mowing your lawn once your grass has grown to 2 to 3 inches (learn more in our blog, What Month Should You Begin Mowing Your Lawn?). If you’re seeing water pooling or other drainage issues, you may also need to aerate your lawn. Keep on top of lawn maintenance and mowing, and your lawn will be doing great!

Lawn care can feel like a full-time job and require specialized materials and equipment. If you want help, Dolan Landscaping is here with over 30 years of experience in landscaping maintenance. Seeding, aeration, even big projects like lawn irrigation systems and other landscape construction—we do it all. Contact us today to learn more and get started.