Lawn Care Tips for New Homeowners in New England

Whether you’re a first-time homeowner or it’s your first time having a lawn, you might be equally excited and overwhelmed about what lies ahead. New homeowner lawn care can feel intimidating and you might have no clue what to expect.

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our beginner-friendly guide. We’ll cover all of the important aspects of lawn care for new homeowners.

This includes:

How to care for a lawn in New England: Lawn care essentials
Seasonal lawn care for new homeowners
Identifying lawn problems and how to deal with them
Investing in professional lawn care in New England

We hope that after reading our guide you will have a much better understanding of what to anticipate with your new lawn.

How to care for a lawn in New England: Lawn care essentials

Let’s start with some of the lawn care basics and what you ought to know about them.

Mowing

If you’ve never mowed a lawn before, you might be intimidated. The key is simply to make sure that you follow some best practices. You definitely want to avoid cutting your lawn too short as this puts a lot of stress on it. When a lawn is mowed too short or is scalped, it can turn yellow or see increased weed pressure.

Also make sure to mow with a sharp blade and a level mowing deck. And make sure that your tires are properly inflated ahead of using the mower. If you follow these tips, you’ll be in good shape to get started.

Watering

New home lawn care also needs to include watering. People are often surprised to learn they need to supplement watering at times when their lawn is not getting enough (usually, in the summer).

Established lawns typically require around one to two inches of water per week. In the springtime when it is rainy, Mother Nature might be supplying that. But during periods of drought, such as in the summer, you may need to step up your watering efforts.

Fertilizing

Lawn fertilization is another important part of routine lawn care.

Fertilizer will help feed your grass plants giving them the necessary nutrients to grow and thrive. Your lawn can benefit from fertilization throughout the spring, summer, and fall. But it’s important to know how much fertilizer your lawn needs and when to apply it. Because it can get complicated, this is a service we feel is best left to a pro.

Weed control

Finally, new home lawn care should include weed control efforts. There are different types of weeds that require different controls (and at different times of the year. Here in New England, we have many different types of weeds that thrive. When you work with a professional lawn care provider, you can make sure that they are using a multi-faceted approach to weed control that will cover them all.

Seasonal lawn care for new homeowners

Did you know that different seasons mean different lawn care tasks? 

People are sometimes unsure as to what tasks need to be done at what time of the year. Let’s look at some basics.

Spring lawn care

We have a spring lawn care checklist for you to follow for your spring lawn needs. These include tasks like:

• Addressing weed control
• Watering
• Proper mowing
• Fertilization
• Dethatching 
• Addressing problems

Summer lawn care

Summer lawn care includes the same tasks mentioned above but you also need to be on the special look-out for pest and disease problems. These issues tend to arise when a lawn is already struggling from the hot summer stress. Drought can take a serious toll on your lawn in the summer.

Fall lawn care

Fall also includes the same lawn care tasks mentioned above. The fall is also an important time for aeration and overseeding and raking leaves.

In this article, we talk about preparing your lawn for winter if you want to learn more about these late-season tasks.

Winter lawn care

In the winter, lawns in New England go into dormancy so there is not much to do. It’s how you prepare your lawn for winter that can really pay off. 

You might also want to use this downtime in the winter to plan ahead for the spring. Make sure that you are on the schedule of a provider of lawn care in New England as early spring treatments sneak up on a lot of people.

Identifying lawn problems and how to deal with them

One of the most stressful aspects of new lawn ownership is uncovering a lawn problem. Unfortunately, part of New England lawn care is simply just troubleshooting problems and implementing the proper solutions. 

While there are many different lawn problems that can manifest in various ways, some problems that you might notice include:

• Bare spots
• Weeds
• Signs of disease 
• Discoloration
• Signs of a pest problem

You may not feel as though you’re thoroughly enjoying your lawn if you’re dealing with one or more of these problems. It can also be difficult to diagnose what’s going on with your lawn as many symptoms overlap. 

For instance, an issue of discoloration could be due to a pest problem, a disease, or a watering issue. In fact, believe it or not, both overwatering and under-watering can cause discoloration.

When in doubt, these issues are always left in the hands of a pro! When you take matters into your own hands, you risk making the problem worse. Implementing the wrong solution can do more harm than good.

Investing in professional lawn care in New England

At the end of the day, the best lawns are the result of a partnership between the homeowner and the lawn care professional. A lawn care pro will handle services like fertilization, weed control, and troubleshooting problems while you handle things like mowing and watering.

If you’ve never hired a lawn care professional before, you might be wondering where to start.

In many ways, the internet has made our lives easier when searching for providers, such as professional lawn care. But we also know that the choices can be overwhelming. How do you know what to look for in a lawn care provider?

Here are some considerations.

• Look for a science-based program: Finding a lawn care program that is rooted in science will be a key to success. For instance, at Seacoast Turf, we use soil testing to make analytical decisions that are based on data. We’re not just guessing. You want to make sure that you’re working with a company that doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to lawn care.
  
  
• Seek eco-friendly solutions: As we mentioned in the previous section, we’re a company that believes in sustainable lawn care. But not all companies value this. Make sure to ask your lawn care provider if they’re using pollinator-safe products and best practices. 
  
  
• Find a company committed to training: As you think about how to choose a lawn care company, another major differentiator is training and education. Ultimately, it’s the people that make up a great company so you want to make sure that any lawn care service you’re choosing has well-trained technicians. 
  
  
• Choose a company with the best customer service: At the heart of any good program is great customer service. It can be frustrating if your lawn care company never answers your calls or shows up when they say they will. This is why it’s also important to find a lawn care service that really cares about the customer.

We would love for you to consider Seacoast Turf Care in your search. We love working with new homeowners and helping to set them up for long-term success.

At Seacoast Turf, we’re not only looking to deliver the lawn care results you’re after, but we’re also looking to help make life less stressful for you. We provide lawn services in the seacoast region of New Hampshire, Maine, and Northeastern Massachusetts.

Want to learn more about what makes us a great choice for your lawn care needs? At Seacoast Turf Care, we service NH towns near Stratham, North Hampton, Exeter and many more. Get lawn care pricing for your Southern NH, Southern Maine, or Northeastern Massachusetts property. 

Image Source: lawn mower