What are the most important lawn treatments?

Of course, grass needs sun and water to thrive. That's why it's important to aerate your lawn if you notice that the soil has become compacted. Aerating the grass, either with a push aerator or a gas aerator (you can rent one in a large store), will allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the roots of the grass, helping it to flourish. Straw is dead plant material that accumulates between grass leaves and roots.

A little bit is good, it's even healthy. But too much straw is a bad thing. If your grass has a layer of straw that is more than three-quarters of an inch thick, it's time to remove it. This can be done with a straw rake (for smaller lawns) or an electric rake (for larger areas).

Removing that layer of straw will allow water and air to penetrate the soil, improving the health of the grass. Soil generally cannot provide all the nutrients that grass needs throughout the growing season. That's why it's important to fertilize when needed. The time you should fertilize and the type of fertilizer you should use are determined by the type of grass you are growing.

Warm-season grasses should be fertilized when they come out of dormancy in spring. Cool-season grasses should be fertilized abundantly in fall and lightly in early spring. Everyone thinks that you have to rake the leaves, but that's not necessarily true. While a thick layer of leaves will smother the grass, a moderate amount can be used as mulch.

Instead of raking, run the pruner over the leaves until they're cut into small pieces. The bits will provide beneficial nutrients to the grass. One more word about lawn care, and that word is “sow”. Grass seeds should be planted in October, but THIS month is when you prepare your grass for seed with Fertilome Classic Lawn Food.

Make sure to choose a lawn food like this that doesn't contain weed killers, as it will kill not only weed seeds, but also grass seeds. Spring lawn care is particularly busy, as the grass goes from winter dormancy to a greener one. Fertilome Step 3 Lawn Food Plus weed killer contains not only lawn fertilizer, but also weed killer. Year-round lawn care means maintaining a strict lawn care program, fertilizing, aerating, and more at the right times.

The industry leader is available in every state except Alaska and offers five different annual lawn care programs to manage your gardening schedule year-round.