Your Spring Cleaning To-Do List
Want your lawn and yard looking their best for these warm, balmy spring days? Smash through this list in the glorious sunshine and reward yourself with a barbecue afterwards.
Aerate. Don your aerating sandals and loosen up your compacted soil to allow water, nutrients, and air to get to your lawn’s roots.
Barbecue. Dust off the cover. Check you’ve got gas so you can fire the barbie up when you’re done cleaning. Clean the grill and plates, and don’t forget the fat catcher.
Decks. Clear them, scrub them, and check that your sealant is intact. If there are cracks or bubbles, it’s time to reseal.
Dethatch. What’s thatch, you ask? It’s a layer of organic debris between the soil and the lawn surface. If your lawn is really spongy, you’ve got a build-up of thatch. If you can wait (or want to skip a job so you can get onto preparing your beef for a barbecue!), hold off until the end of spring, as this is the best time to dethatch. For warm-season grasses, you can remove thatch by mowing low a few times in a row.
Fertilise. If your soil is consistently above about 14 degrees, it’s time to give your lawn a feed. We recommend a slow-release granular fertiliser such as Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser.
Furniture. Knock off the cobwebs, dampen a rag, and wipe off the dust and debris. Your wood furniture may also need resealing.
Leaves. Rake up your leaves and place them in the compost.
Mower. Now’s the time to get it serviced. If you’re doing it yourself, sharpen the blades and discard your old fuel.
Pre-emergent herbicide. If your lawn is free of weeds, good job! To keep it that way, apply a pre-emergent herbicide such as OxaFert to combat potential infestations of, for example, oxalis or summer weed.
Soil If you’ve aerated and taken care of compaction, you’re almost done. Consider also using wetting agents or water storage crystals to maximise water efficiency.
Top-dress. If your lawn’s a little uneven, throw a bit of soil on top but make sure the leaf blades are still poking through. Top dressing helps to reduce thatch and improve drainage. This task can be delayed, as the best time to top dress is in late spring/early summer.
Umbrella. Hopefully you have no more than a little dusting to do here.
Weeds. If you’ve got any, pull them out by hand. If you don’t, apply a pre-emergent herbicide to make sure you don’t get any!
Water. You don’t need to water your lawn often, but when you do, water deep. Long, infrequent soaks are better than light, frequent applications.