Lawn Care 101: Year-Round Lawn Care Tips

If you’re a new property owner, you’re probably wondering where to start with lawn care, including how long to cut grass, how often to water the lawn and what your schedule for lawn care should look like. 

Lawn maintenance schedules and essential lawn care services change as the seasons change. We’ll help you figure out your seasonal lawn care schedule, including basic lawn care needs and additional lawn management requirements throughout the year to keep your grass green and healthy year-round.

Here’s your lawn care guide for essential lawn care and lawn care by season: Lawn Care 101.Spring Lawn Care Tips

Spring Lawn Care Tips

Your Spring schedule for lawn care sets the tone for the rest of the growing year. Spring is when you’ll kick off your lawn management schedule, and start nurturing new growth from your Fall seeding. 

Here are some basic lawn care tips for Spring:

- As new growth sprouts, reseed any areas that you notice are not showing new growth when the rest of the lawn is. You can apply an organic fertilizer or compost to help nourish that growth if you choose to.

- Allow new growth to get at least 3 inches long before cutting. Don’t mow delicate areas until growth is strong and the ground is mostly dry.

- When grass is consistently growing, you can begin cutting your healthy lawn about once per week.

- Make sure you are using sharpened lawn mower blades so you don’t damage new growth and mature grass with dull blades.

- Set your mower height to about 3 inches or longer. This is the preferred mow height for the majority of the growing seasons.

- You may not need to water as frequently in the Spring if it’s frequently rainy. When precipitation slows, you can begin your lawn’s watering schedule. Generally, you can water deeply once or twice per week.

If you’re wondering, “How often should I water my lawn?” and when the best time of day to water grass is, check out our article, “How and when should I water my lawn?” 

Lawn care Spring clean up might also be a Spring necessity, especially if you have a lot of debris in your yard from throughout the winter and late fall. Lawns covered in debris won’t grow as well because they’ll have a harder time getting air, sunlight, and water. 

Lawn Care Tips for Summer

Summer lawns are typically well established and need less mowing than Spring lawns. Typically, New Jersey lawns are seeded with cool-season grass types, so in the height of the Summer, they’ll grow a little more slowly than usual. Your green lawn in Summer months (late June through August) may only need to be mowed every other week. Over-mowing or cutting grass blades too short risks damaging the lawn. 

Here are some other summer lawn care tips:

- Expect slowed growth and dryness in the Summer. Review our lawn watering article and make changes to your watering schedule as needed. Summer months may require increased watering to 2 to 3 times per week. 

- Rotate lawn furniture and the areas of the lawn you use the most. Heavily trafficked areas will sustain more damage. 

- If you walk across your lawn to get to your garden, compost area, or trash bins, consider changing your walk route through Summer. Repeated compaction could cause damage to the paths you repeatedly take. 

- Remove pet waste as soon as you notice it. Pet waste can damage grass blades and cause nutrient imbalances in the soil, leading to dry, brown, or patchy spots in the lawn. 

Lawn Care in Fall

Your Fall lawn will look and act a lot like your Spring lawn because it will readjust to the cooler weather. Your September lawn care program and lawn care into the Fall will be a lot like your Spring long care. Your Fall lawn mowing schedule will likely go back to once-per-week cutting, and your lawn may need less frequent watering due to cooler temperatures and more frequent rain.  

In addition to your regular mowing and watering, you may also need a Fall lawn cleanup, in order to clear leaves and debris from the lawn. Continue cutting the grass blades at a length of about three inches or higher. 

In addition to these guidelines, Fall is the best time to prepare your lawn for Winter, and for new growth in the Spring.

Here’s your lawn care guide for annual Fall services:

1. Fall is a great time for aeration. Even if you’re not reseeding this year, your lawn’s soil is likely compacted from a Spring and Summer of foot traffic and regular use. Aeration helps give grass roots exposure to important nutrients from air and water, and to establish deeper roots.

2. After aeration, Fall is the best time to apply grass seed to your lawn. Reseeding in Fall helps ensure an abundance of Spring growth. 

3. Apply a granular fertilizer to your lawn or a layer of compost to help the soil and new seeds absorb nutrients throughout the harsh Winter months.

4. Apply any weed treatments that your lawn may need to prevent Spring weeds.

Year-round help with your lawn care and maintenance 

If you need help with your lawn care maintenance throughout the year, you can trust Green Roots Organic for the best lawn care services in the community. We offer semi-organic and fully organic services all year, including pest control, weed control, and seasonal services. 

If you’ve acquired a property that’s in need of some serious help, check out our lawn revival package for a full overhaul and to get you growing again. Good luck with your new lawn, we hope this lawn care guide was helpful!