Can I Fertilize My Lawn In The Summertime
If you can irrigate regularly, you can still add fertilizer. However, it is best to apply less nitrogen during the hot summer months particularly when drought stress occurs. Ideally, spoon-feeding with micronutrients such as humic acid and sea kelp or a combination with molasses powder . Molasses in the hotter months can provide energy in the form of sugars/carbohydrates which can help dethatch the lawn.
How Early Can I Fertilize My Lawn In Spring
In the Northeast and Massachusetts for example, you can begin to feed your lawn in April and May. Feeding your lawn too early can cause excessive top growth which isnt ideal particularly if theres still a risk of freezing overnight temperatures and morning frost. When the air and soil temperatures are consistently in the 40s and 50s respectively is a good time to begin your feeding.
Types Of Lawns And Turf
Before we get into the actual month by month guide, it is good to know what type of grass you have or the type of lawn you have. For example, I myself do not have a well-maintained, green lawn. Or at least, not what is expected of most homeowners. Because my gardening is 99% organic, I choose to have a lawn that is a mixture on grasses, sedges, and weeds, that benefits the insects of the garden.
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When Is The Best Time To Overseed My Lawn
For cool-season lawns, the best time to overseed is late summer and early fall. For example, in the Northeast and Zone 5-6, the last week of August or the beginning of September are the best conditions for new grass. The number of weeds to be invasive is much lower in September than spring seeding in the spring .
When To Schedule Lawn Maintenance

It is important to schedule your lawn care maintenance during times that match the life cycle of the turfgrass.
- Do not add fertilizer too early in the spring. This may encourage the grass to grow during a time when it should be slow or dormant.
- Do not spray to control weeds when temperatures are warm. This increases the likelihood of damaging the lawn.
- Do not fertilize in hot mid-summer months. This can cause irreversible damage to your lawn.
- Crabgrass doesn’t develop until late spring or early summer, so don’t apply herbicide used to prevent pre-emerging crabgrass in the fall.
See Water-saving strategies for home lawns for information on how and when to water.
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Lawn Care Calendar: A Month
In this article, Im going to outline the lawn care calendar that I work by every year.
To help you as best I can, Ive broken down this lawn treatment schedule month by month so you know exactly what to do and when.
However, like everything when it comes to lawn maintenance, theres a caveat to everything
And thats the weather.
This lawn calendar is meant to be a guide only.
Unfortunately, we cant control the weather so youll have to use your best judgement when it comes to the timing of individual tasks.
Some years, if the weather is on our side, we can start certain tasks a little earlier than normal. Sometimes though, you might have to wait a little longer.
So dont stick to this like glue just because its in black and white on a computer screen.
Take a look at what the weather is doing and plan your jobs around that.
How Frequently Should I Mow My Lawn
During peak growing season you could be mowing as frequently as 2-3 times per week. This, of course, also depends on your fertilization and watering schedule. Ideally, you follow the 1/3 rule where you are never cutting off more than 1/3 of the grass blade during each mowing. For example, if you want to maintain a 3 lawn, you never want the grass to exceed
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Take The Guesswork Out Of Yard Work This Lawn
Viveka Neveln is the Garden Editor at BHG and a degreed horticulturist with broad gardening expertise earned over 3+ decades of practice and study. She has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing for both print and digital media.
The dramatic seasonal swings in the Northeast can make lawn care tricky. As if merely keeping your grass alive and green with the right lawn fertilizer schedule isn’t hard enough, you also have to pick the right variety of grass to suit your climate and decide when to aerate, mow, and water it. As tempting as it is to just let the weeds take over, we have a better idea: Take the hassle out of lawn maintenance with this handy seasonal schedule, which walks you from spring through fall lawn care in the Northeast. Now sharpen your mower blades, and grab your smartphone to set those reminders to fertilize.
This Post Has 2 Comments
Can I use a lawn dressing Mixed with lawn sand 4to1 on the grass at the end of September To give growth for next year and over the winter .
Its not a problem to mix a lawn dressing with a lawn sand but dont overseed within 6 weeks of applying it. Doing so wont necessarily give great growth but will help with suppression of moss, improvement of drainage and suppression of weeds. Id still recomend applying an Autumnn Feed and a Winter Feed too. Cheers, Matt
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Seasonal Plant Growth Cycle
In early spring, roots are long and full of nutrients stored from the fall. Shoots, the part of grass visible above ground, use this stored energy for growth.
In warm summer temperatures, leaf and root growth slow down. Plants rest during times of heat and drought. Roots can be damaged when soil temperatures are above 85°F.
In the fall months shoots start to grow again and nutrients are stored in the long roots for the winter. Optimal shoot growth occurs with air temperatures of 55 to 75°F.
Cool-season root growth is stimulated by soil temperatures above 32°F, and is optimal with soil temperatures between 50 and 65°F.
General Lawn Care Tips
Before we get into a month-by-month lawn care calendar, its important to highlight a few tips and tricks that are not specific to a certain time of the year.
Rather, they can be done every few days or so, as necessary.
- Always keep an eye on your lawn. Look out for any bare spots, yellow or discolored grass, and any signs of disease or malnourishment. This article will teach you how to fix yellow grass if it occurs.
- Locate and identify weeds when they appear so you know how best to treat them when you find an opportunity to do so.
- Regularly check for insect or animal damage, so you know when and how to get rid of grubs, or stop skunks digging up your lawn, for example.
Note this article is a general month-by-month guide, and we wont be going into too much detail about the specific times of year you need to treat specific issues. There are far too many of them!
But by giving your lawn a look over at least once a week can help you identify problem areas, so you can nip them in the bud before they spiral out of control.
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A Simple Lawn Maintenance Schedule
We arent always looking for complicated encyclopedia-type guides, occasionally we just want simple lawn care tips and tricks to keep our yard looking as good as possible all year round.
We have taken advice from the experts and whittled it down to a simple lawn care plan that is easy to follow and doesnt cost the world.
It should be noted that this plan is written around a northern cool season lawn. Although it can be applied to any zone, you may have to adjust the timings a little.
In order to keep this guide as simple as possible, we have not gone into detail on what each step is and how to complete it. Where it will help, I will provide a link to a helpful resource in case you need to research each step further.
Apart from the mowing height, we do not mention mowing in this guide. You should mow your lawns as per best practices the main rule is dont mow too short!
Organic Lawn Care
4. Apply Fertilizer and Grub Control
If you used the soil test kit listed above then you will likely have an idea of the fertilizer you need. But I would highly recommend talking to your local garden center and ask them to help you choose a fertilizer that is right for your grass type and soil test results.
In early to mid-May, apply this fertilizer to your lawn.
If you have had grub problems in the past, then this is also the time to apply a grub preventer.
You will need
6. Mid Summer Fertilizer Application
You may need
7. Late Summer Aeration
Trust Your Lawn Care Calendar To Rainmaster

So, we have no idea what month it is as youre reading this, but its clear theres always something you can do for your lawns health.Does just reading this lawn care schedule make you tired?Were happy to take a lot of it off your hands. Call us any time and we can get you started with whatever action is appropriate for the month.Choose from three different levels of lawn care programs, based on the results youd like, how fast you want to see results, and your budget.
- Luscious Lawn is a high-end, proactive program that will promote amazing lawn care results. This is the program to choose for the quickest and best results, particularly if your lawn needs a lot of help.
- Terrific Turf, a mid-level option, is our most popular program to grow a thick, green lawn and deal with most challenges.
- Healthy Habitat is a basic plan that includes the elements you need for a better lawn.
When youre ready to put your trust in us, we cant wait to meet you and help you make the best choices for your lawn.Want to hand over those pesky lawn care tasks and be confident about your choice for lawn care services? Request a quote today! Well review your lawn care options together so you can make a great choice. Then, you can finally enjoy your lawn and stop worrying about it.
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Choosing The Best Lawn Maintenance
It Starts With This!
Perma-Green recommends beginning each season by assessing your lawn for damage. After accounting for the previous years foot traffic, pests, drought, and winter stress, numerous other factors are taken into consideration. Factors include issues caused by drainage, shade, soil Ph changes, soil compaction, high foot traffic damage, pests, and thatch.
Once the lawns issues and problems are assessed, a strategy with best-practice solutions and treatments is developed. This strategy is the foundation of a smart Month by Month Lawn Maintenance Calendar.
Perma-Green does distinguish itself from over-the-counter treatments like Scotts and Fertilome by using treatments that address the homeowners need, rather than using a one-size-fits-all mindset. For companies like Perma-Green, a full-season lawn care program is customized to meet the goals of the homeowner. These professional-grade solutions are sometimes unavailable to the public.
For instance, instead of using grub control, Perma-Green uses premium pest control that protects your lawn from other pests like the armywormthe culprit behind devastated lawns in 2021. When comparing the cost of buying GrubEx from a big box store to what Perma-Green charges for a full-season program, the financials come out to roughly the same cost. Yet the stuff Perma-Green uses is effective all season long and isnt harmful to earthworms, animals, family, or mother earth!
Lawn Care Calendar: Spring Lawn Care Begins In March
Mowing starts in earnest this month. Growth will begin to speed up so apply a spring/summer feed early in the month to make sure the plants have enough nutrients to support them. Follow the manufacturers instructions and make a note on the calendar of when the next feed is due.
This is a good time to treat moss in your lawn. Even the smallest amount of moss will spread if conditions are right so scarified to remove plants and then use a moss treatment to deal with spores. Your lawn might look a bit battered for a couple of weeks after scarification but come summer you will definitely reap the benefits.
There is still a chance of frost at this time of year, so keep those mower blades high and just tickle the top of the lawn every 7-10 days. Nipping off the tips of the grass blades will encourage thicker more luxuriant growth.
Treat weeds as soon as you see them. Hopefully, youll be able to spot-treat them, that way you can minimise chemical usage. If your lawn is very weedy, call in the experts. They have access to treatments that are more effective and less damaging to the environment than some of the things you find on the garden centre shelves.
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Your Garden And Lawn Care Calendar
Several of my YouTube channel subscribers have been in touch asking for a garden and lawn care calendar to help them organise their gardening year. So here, in blog format, is a month by month guide to keeping your garden in good order.
Use these links to skip straight to the current month for amore complete list of tasks.
- service your lawnmower
- early spring lawn feed, spruce up the patio
- spring aeration and scarify
- May keep on top of weeds. This is the busiest month for mowing
- -early summer feed
- gutter clearance
- winter lawn treatments
A beautifully manicured garden is all about keeping on top of the work. My garden and lawn care calendar will help you to plan your year.
Keep Your Lawn Green And Healthy With Just A Few Clicks
Enjoy a better-looking lawn without sacrificing any valuable summer hours. Yardly is here to help in Richmond Hill with full season lawn care services.
Yardly offers weekly and bi-weekly lawn mowing services from May to October, so you can get out and enjoy the summer as long as it lasts. Spend the day at the lake, sneak in an extra round on the golf course, or just relax in your yard and watch the kids play on a lush, green lawn.
Regular maintenance helps your lawn thrive and even reduces allergy-aggravating pollen. We offer a complete lawn care bundle to cover all your needs from spring through fall, including lawn mowing and fertilization all summer, plus a comprehensive spring and fall clean up.
Check out the FAQs for more details about Yardlys lawn care and grass cutting services in Richmond Hill.
Book today to make sure your yard looks great all summer long!
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Lawn Care Calendar: Jobs For April
You will most likely be needing to mow at least once a week. Keep those mower blades sharp and dont remove more than 1/3 of the growth at a time.
If youve not yet applied a spring/summer feed, do it now. Ditto for weed treatments if you need them.
Late spring temperatures are ideal for over-seeding any thin or bare patches.
The Best Lawn Maintenance Starts When Most Quit
So where do you begin? According to Perma-Greens Steve Daly, the best time to start a healthy, green lawn is when everyone typically quitsthe previous fall. He states, After a long winter and wet spring, yourfall fertilizer & winterizer have proven why they are considered the MVP of any full-season weed and feed program.
Daly goes on to explain, Besides helping your lawn by providing it with the essential nutrients needed to survive the winter, these significant fertilizers are providing your lawn with the right nutrients & amendments in early spring when its still too early to start a spring fertilizer treatment.
Daly blends his real-world experience with the refinement of formal education. His undergraduate studies were conducted at Purdue University. Furthermore, his practices are certified through Purdues Extension and OISC.
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Lawn Care Calendar For Northern Illinois
Lawn Care Practices to Consider* | |
---|---|
Clean up debris from winter Cultivation – lawn should be actively growing Vertical mowing or dethatching Overseeding, establishment Preemergence annual weed control |
|
Cultivation – lawn should be actively growing. Preemergence annual weed control if needed Fertilization Postemergence broadleaf weed control to actively growing weeds Overseeding, establishment |
|
Postemergence broadleaf weed control Late summer or early fall is better Light fertilization controlled-release nitrogen suggested |
|
Irrigation Monitoring for pests/problems |
|
Monitor for pests Irrigation Prepare for seeding, overseeding Seeding – latter half of month |
|
Overseeding & establishment – first week Fertilization – first 2 weeks Cultivation – lawn should be actively growing Postemergence broadleaf weed control to actively growing weeds |
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Postemergence broadleaf weed control if weeds actively growing Cultivation – lawn should be actively growing |
|
The Diverse Organic Lawn

This is what I have. To me, a lawn should be a bridge between garden beds, or used as a play surface for my kids. Therefore, I do not dump a bunch of chemicals onto the lawn, and I let the weeds grow too. But I do mow my lawn regularly. I love mowing.
A diverse organic lawn is a nice way of saying that your lawn is full of weeds. But weeds in moderation can be beneficial to the overall health of the landscape. By letting things like dandelions, speedwell, native sedges, field pussytoes, and prairie petunias grow in my landscape, I am providing a nectar and host plant source for many insects. Which in turn, feed the birds and other animals in the ecosystem.
This lawn is typical of many farmsteads and gardeners who want to put their money and time into other aspects of their land, not into lawn care.
Grass Species of the Diverse Organic Lawn
The species list of grasses and sedges in these lawns can be quite high. But here is a list of what might be found in these types of lawns.
- Kentucky Bluegrass
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