Why Spread Lime in the Spring?
Spring Lawn Care Three Tips to do now & later this Spring. Spring Lawn Care Tip #1 Control Thatching. Raking will be your first task of sprin lawn care. A thatch build-up of more than 1/2 inch is considered excessive.Thatch is the reason why it is recommended that you rake leaves in the fall. A deep raking will not only remove leaves but, thatch, too. Even if you followed this advice in fall, it is still recommended to do a spring raking.
Raking will remove grass blades that died over the winter, which will eventually become thatch. Take a good look at the lawn in spring and see if there are any matted patches where the grass blades are all stuck together. This can be caused by a disease known as "snow mold." New grass may have difficulty growing through these matted patches. A light raking should solve this problem. When you're confident that the snow season, most of us never had one, is over…….. raking. Next applying preemergent herbicides, such as Dimension or Barricade should be done sometime between the time when the forsythia bushes stop blooming and when the lilac bushes start blooming.
Spring Lawn Care Tip #2:Lawn Aeration Check for Compaction
If your lawn is subjected to high levels of traffic year after year, it may eventually start to show signs of decline. In such cases, your lawn is probably suffering from compaction. For instance, the presence of moss plants signals compaction.
Lawn Aeration is the remedy for compaction. The experts recommend postponing lawn aeration until fall. Plan on setting aside some time in the fall to aerate and take care of this problem.
Spring Lawn Care Tip #3: Liming
The presence of moss plants also signals acidity. Grass likes a neutral soil pH. You can solve this problem by liming your soil. But don't expect a quick fix the effects of liming take time. First send a soil sample to your local county extension to determine the extent of your soil's acidity. The county extension at Rutgers will be able to advise you on how much lime per square foot you'll need. Apply the lime using a lawn spreader. www.njaes.rutgers.edu/soiltestinglab/
But if your lawn has been doing fine and shows no signs of suffering from acidity, don't apply lime. Liming is only a corrective measure, not a preventive measure. A soil that is too alkaline will also cause your lawn problems, so too much lime is as bad as not enough.
.Pelletized lime is finely ground agricultural lime to which a cementing agent has been added to form "pellets." It has been in use for several years, and while it is more expensive, this material is easier to spread than regular liming materials and eliminates the dust problem commonly associated with them. The lime pellets dissolve with a soaking rain or irrigation.
If pelletized lime is used for establishing new lawns, apply to the soil surface and water thoroughly before tilling. If intact pellets are incorporated, neutralization will be confined to pockets within the tilled soil since lime moves very slowly in soil.
Dolomitic lime is mined in a manner similar to calcitic lime. It has a neutralizing value between 85-109 percent and supplies both calcium and magnesium for plant growth.
SPECIAL NOTE: Lime should not be applied unless a soil test indicates that it's needed. Too much lime can be as harmful as too little, causing potential trace element deficiencies.