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In the cold, wet days of winter, you may have been dreaming about spring flowers and the warm summer sun. But summer brings its own challenges when it comes to your yard. If you want your well-tended lawn to thrive all summer long, being prepared for the summer heat is key.

Grass, like other plants, needs some basic elements to thrive. A fresh, green lawn needs sunlight, food, and water. When getting your yard ready for the dog days of summer, you want to start the season off with the healthiest lawn you can achieve so it can have some stores to pull from to get through the dry, blasting heat.

• Sunlight may seem like a no brainer but you can definitely aid your lawn in receiving all the rays it can soak up by:
  • Raking up sticks, leaves, and any other organic debris so that it isn’t blocking the sunlight from reaching the grass.
  • Trim back any trees and shrubs that may completely impede sun rays from getting to the lawn.
• Food for plants involves fertilizer. You can add fertilizer straight on top of the grass by hand or by using a spreader for more even distribution. Fertilizer has the ability to burn the grass so be sure to:
  • Wait until the afternoon when the grass is not wet.
  • Water it thoroughly to soak the fertilizer down to the roots and also clean off the grass.
• Water, of course, is the source of all life and a lawn needs regular watering to be healthy. If you give your yard a good soaking before you fertilize your yard, you can avoid issues of your lawn being over-stressed from lack of water before jump-starting the growing process.

Aeration is an excellent way to ensure that your lawn is able to receive the fertilizer and water well and can be done so after you remove any organic debris on your lawn and before you fertilize. When you aerate your lawn, you are not only letting crucial nutrients get to the roots faster, but you are also helping oxygen get into the soil. The lawn compacts down from water, people walking on it, and anything heavy like snow or blown-down limbs. Using an aerating tool will give the grassroots room to grow and thrive.  Aeration by hand can be quite time-consuming if you have a bigger space. Hiring a professional lawn care service to aerate your lawn can be well worth it in the long run.

After aeration and fertilization, you will want to re-seed sections that are not doing so well to make sure the grass is nice and thick before the summer sun heats things up. When the grass is thick, the blades are able to protect other blades of grass from the sun and the roots are able to hold more water to keep the lawn alive. Watering throughout the summer is crucial as well. But getting your lawn off to a good start during mid to late spring will guarantee a lovely, green lawn all summer long. For aeration, seeding, fertilizing, and general lawn care in Fresno, CA, give The Experienced Gardener a call for the helping hand you need to prepare your yard for the summer heat.