With nursery catalogs filling our inboxes, along with a few unseasonably warm days, gardeners start thinking spring is just around the corner.

But if you’ve lived in Colorado for any time, you know better! Still, it’s a great time to plan for the coming season, which includes lawn care. Schedule any services needed as landscape contractors and lawn care services get booked up quickly. March is a good time to prepare your lawn, raking up winter’s debris using a flexible rake to fluff the lawn, increasing air circulation and light to the soil. Don’t rake too aggressively, to prevent damage to tender shoots. Power raking, if thatch is a problem, shouldn’t be done until late April or May when the lawn is firmer.

Reseeding

Assess the general condition of the lawn, such as bare patches, winter die-back and pet damage; consider reseeding those areas.

Begin by firmly raking out dead plant material to expose the soil. Grass seed can be mixed with compost to more easily spread seed on cleared areas. Lightly drag the back of your hand or the back of a rake to ensure good contact of seed to soil. Avoid covering the seed with soil. Water lightly. Less watering is needed in the early season, but because the soil is cool, it will take longer for seed to germinate.

Sown a bit later in the spring, seed will need to be kept moist, requiring spot watering of reseeded areas a few times each day until seed germinates. However, don’t water your entire lawn daily as this encourages shallow root development. Don’t apply pre-emergent herbicide if reseeding, as it will prevent seed germination.

Aeration

Spring and fall aeration is encouraged to increase air to grass roots and reduce compaction, especially in high traffic areas. Water the lawn thoroughly the day before so that deeper plugs can be pulled, at 2- to 4-inch intervals.

Mark sprinkler heads and irrigation lines to prevent damage. Leave plugs on the lawn to break down and be returned to the soil. Water again soon after aerating.

Mowing

Make sure your lawn mower has been maintained since last season, including sharpening the blade. The first mowing should take place when grass blades are 3 ½ inches long. Mowing height is recommended to be no shorter than 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches to conserve soil moisture and increase heat and drought tolerance. In spring, when grass growth is vigorous, mowing should be done frequently enough to avoid removing more than a third of the blade. Allow clippings to drop back onto the lawn, retaining soil nutrients and reducing the amount of fertilizer required during the growing season.

Fertilizing

Spring application should be light, just enough to give the lawn a boost. Later applications may need to be a bit heavier. Generally, nitrogen applications of a half to 1 pound per 1,000 square feet of lawn are recommended.

CSU Fact Sheet 7.202 Lawn Care

CSU Fact Sheet Late Winter Garden and Lawn Care

Email gardening questions to the remote help desk at csumg2@elpasoco.com. The in-person help desk will reopen this spring. Find us on Facebook at Colorado Master Gardeners — El Paso County.