If you love getting outside with a rake in the fall and vigorously going to town on all those leaves, we’ve got some great news for you. You should also rake in the spring! Raking in the spring will get your lawn in good shape for the warmer months ahead so your landscape will stay lush and healthy.
Why Rake in Spring?
Raking in spring will remove any leaves that are left over from fall and winter. Here in Western North Carolina, our cool season grasses are most active during the cooler times of the year, like fall and spring. Leaves left lying on cool season grasses will inhibit sunlight, water, and nutrients from reaching them, and they won’t grow as well.
Spring raking will also rid your lawn of any grass that died during the winter. Dead grass blades can contribute to thatch, which is a mix of living and dead plant material. Thatch on your lawn is an excellent way to increase its risk of disease and inhibit the flow of air, fertilizer, water and nutrients within the soil. In other words, just what you don’t want to be happening to your lawn!
What Kind of Rake?
When you rake in spring, you should use a — surprise! — spring tine rake. These rakes have longer, flexible tines that are slightly bent. Spring tine rakes are excellent for removing moss, thatch, and grass, and soil clumps.
As you rake, you should be able to feel and see all the leaves and thatch separating from the soil.
When To Rake
Raking right after a rain when the ground is soft and muddy is probably a nice, easy way to pull out all of that dead material, right? Sadly, no. (We wish it were that easy, too.) If you rake when the ground is soft, you’re more likely to pull up healthy grass crowns along with all the bad stuff. Instead, rake when the ground is drier, so you can be sure you’re ridding your lawn of what you don’t want, while leaving healthy grass behind.
Not into raking? Let us do the work! Our Landscape Maintenance Programs will keep your lawn looking its best in spring and throughout the year. Call us today for a FREE quote!