LANCASTER, Pa. — Recent April showers have caused grass to grow quickly across central Pennsylvania, leading many people to start tackling yard work a little earlier this season.
Kinsmen Lawn Services is already busy mowing yards in Lancaster County.
President of the company Joe Witmer says when it comes to lawn maintenance, there’s an important first step you should take.
“The first thing to get ahead of is the weeds in the grass," he said. "Weeds in the grass, weeds in the mulch beds."
Kinsmen Lawn Services has a treatment they use to combat weeds. Once weeds are taken care of, the next priority is fertilizer.
Brian Feldman, Director of Technical Operations at TruGreen, says that fertilizer steps in to provide a more realistic environment to residential areas.
“In a natural situation, leaves fall, trees would fall, they decompose and they release nutrients back into the soil," said Feldman. "In a lawn situation, we kind of make up for that by fertilization.”
Weed treatment and lawn fertilization can be done by yourself or by a professional. If you’re on a budget this year, Kinsmen Lawn Services' Vice President Jason Funk says to focus on the areas that need the most TLC first.
“If you have some areas of your lawn that are nice and thick already, you can kind of let that go and just sprinkle that fertilizer with crabgrass preventer along your edges and along any bare spots," explained Funk.
When it comes to physically mowing your lawn, try and follow the one-third rule.
“Don’t let your lawn get too high where you’re mowing off more than one third of the grass blade at any one mowing," said Feldman. "And so by mowing very frequently, you avoid doing that, you don’t stress out the grass, and it performs better throughout the entire year.”
A final tip when it comes to perfecting your lawn this year? Keep an eye on the forecast, and irrigate properly during dry periods.