Lawn Maintenance
Learn a few tips and tricks to keep your lawn looking great all year round.

Lawn Maintenance Calendar
Spring
- March and April: Rake up leaves and debris in yard.
- Sharpen mower blade.
- May: Apply broadleaf herbicide.
Summer
- Water correctly: Soak lawn 6 to 8 inches deep. Sandy soils take 30 minutes. For clay soils, it could take a couple of hours.
- If you plan to kill off your lawn, August is a good time to do it.
Fall
- Mulch leafs on lawn with mower.
- Aerate soil – getting air down to the roots.
- Apply pre-emergent herbicide to prevent growth of annual bluegrass and chickweed.
Winter
- Maintain your mower – drain the oil and gasoline and change the filter.
Fixing Brown or Bald Spots
Small Patch
- Clean up dead grass with a rake, trowel or shovel.
- Scrape the grown grass or poke holes in it.
- Lightly scatter seed.
- Water.
Large Patch
- Loosen edges of the brown patch using a shovel.
- Dig up the dead grass. You could use a device called a sod cutter to help.
- Till the soil.
- Rake remaining debris, grass and soil to even out the surface.
- Lay sod by first starting along an edge.
- Butt the ends together.
- Cut off any excess using a knife.
- Roll out any bumps.
- Water sod to help it establish a good root system.
Next Up
Thatch and Aerating
Learn how to properly thatch and aerate a lawn for healthy grass.
The Right Way to Water and Feed a Lawn
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Lawn and Order: Correcting a Delinquent Lawn
Learn ways to revitalize your lawn and restore your grass to its former glory.
Making Good: Raising Men Lawn Care Service
Learn how young men and boys are giving back by providing free lawn care to the elderly, disabled and single moms.
To Mow Or Not To Mow?
A master gardener examines the pros and cons of having a lawn to maintain.
Mowing Tips for Keeping a Healthy Lawn
Mower height and other recommendations for a healthy lawn.
Bugs, Grubs and Gophers
Follow this advice on the identification, treatment and prevention of the top three lawn pests.
Quiz: Is Your Yard Ready for Winter?
Tips to remember for chilly winters to come.
What Is the Ideal Height to Cut the Grass?
Learn all the factors that determine the ideal height for mowing grass and at what height you should be cutting your lawn.
Lawn Watering Basics
Follow these tips for a crash course in watering a lawn.