Preparing for Your First Lawn Care Visit in New England.

Spring lawn care is important as it’s the start of the growing season. This is a time when you’re suddenly spending a lot more of your day outdoors and trying to maximize the enjoyment of your yard.

That might be one of the reasons why you’re looking at how to prepare your lawn for the spring. What should you be doing to get ready?

This is also a time when many homeowners decide to hire a lawn care company to help with some of these tasks. Spring lawn services like fertilization and weed control are best performed by a professional who will be able to deliver higher level results.

If you’re getting your yard ready for your first spring lawn treatment, you might be wondering what you need to do.

We’ll cover everything you need to know and answer some of the most commonly asked questions. We want to set you up for success with these lawn care tips.

Jump to:

Why is the first visit so important for New England lawn care?
What will a pro evaluate on their first visit?
Preparing for your first spring lawn care visit
FAQs about spring lawn care
Choosing lawn care in Southern NH, Northeastern MA, and Southern ME

Why is the first visit so important for New England lawn care?

Spring lawn care in New England is crucial to help your turf recover from a harsh winter. New England weather can be really hard on lawns which is why they can benefit so much from spring lawn treatments.

Two of the most important spring lawn treatments include weed control and fertilization.

Spring lawn weeds can be a major source of frustration. One day your lawn is looking clean and clear and the next weeds seem to be popping up everywhere. That’s why getting ahead of weeds with weed prevention is so important. Those pesky invaders won’t have a chance to ruin your time outside.

Crabgrass is a major problem here in the Seacoast region. That is why we use pre-emergent products to help prevent these weeds from germinating in the first place. But the timing of these products is critical. They must be applied PRIOR to germination in order to be effective. This is why those early lawn care visits are so critical and cannot be overlooked.

Similarly, early spring lawn fertilization will also play a vital role in the health and appearance of your lawn in months to come.

Lawn fertilization will help feed your grass plants giving them the necessary nutrients to grow and thrive. This is especially important during the spring when nutrients are actively needed (and used) for growth.

What will a pro evaluate on their first visit?

Every lawn is different and a lawn care professional is going to evaluate exactly what you have going on with your specific lawn. This might include bare spots, compacted areas, or even specific weed pressure. Even in the same neighborhood, homeowners can be dealing with different weeds. The health of your soil might also be vastly different than that of your neighbors’.

Every lawn is at a different starting point. This will also impact how long it might take for you to start to see results. There’s a lot of work that’s going to be going on at the subsurface level and since you and your neighbor might have very different soil health, this could impact what you see.

You’ll have to trust the process, as a great lawn does not happen overnight. You will not see major results after the first lawn care treatment, as these treatments do build on one another and take time.

Preparing for your first spring lawn care visit

Preparing for your first spring lawn care visit does not mean fixing the lawn yourself. A big part of that first visit is going to involve diagnosing what’s wrong so your lawn care company does not want you performing your own spring lawn treatments.

In fact, that can mess with what they’re doing!

We have worked on lawns where the homeowners might have already dumped a bag of weed and feed or another product before we came. But you don’t want to end up having your lawn over-fertilized.

Instead, here’s a practical checklist of some things that you can do to prepare for your first lawn care visit.

• Pick up toys or other items in the yard: Removing toys, pet items, and furniture from treatment areas is useful so that the product doesn’t accidentally end up on these items and so that they are not in your lawn care technician’s way when they’re treating your yard. You don’t have to move anything off of patios. Just focus on anything that’s lying in the grass.

• Clear debris off the grass: It’s really helpful if you’re able to clear debris in the yard. It’s not uncommon for there to still be leaves lying in the yard at the first spring lawn treatment. We understand that you might not have had time to clear leaves before the snow came and now they’re still there. But leaves and other debris (like fallen branches or plants that might have detached and blown around) can block your lawn from receiving product applications. Similarly, if you used any sand for traction on hardscaping during the winter and that blew into the yard, rake up as much as possible. The idea is to avoid blocking products from reaching the soil.

• Make sure your yard is accessible: You’ll also want to make sure that any locked gates are opened so that your lawn care professional can get in. You do not need to be home for a lawn care treatment but your lawn care technician will obviously need to access your lawn.

• Make note of trouble spots or past lawn issues: Are there areas of your property that you have had trouble with before? Or areas that are currently problematic? Don’t hesitate to point these out to your lawn care technician. While they’re obviously going to be looking at everything, past history and current issues are always helpful!

• Secure pets: Keep your pets inside during a spring lawn treatment (or any subsequent treatments going forward). As far as letting pets (or kids) back into the yard, most of our treatments are granular, and there is no wait time for these. However, if we’re doing any sort of liquid application (like spot treating weeds), then we generally recommend waiting one to two hours. The product just needs to fully dry.

• Be prepared with any questions: When your lawn care technician is on your property, it’s a great time to ask questions. For instance, you might be wondering about mowing or watering after a treatment. Find out what your lawn care company recommends.

FAQs about spring lawn care

Hopefully this article has covered what you need to know about spring lawn care. Let’s wrap up by summing up a few key points and answer some FAQs that we get asked.

Do I need to mow my lawn before the first lawn care visit?

During the first treatment, your lawn is probably not actively growing yet. Lawn care starts in the very early spring but most New England homeowners do not need to mow until the weather starts to consistently stay warm.

As we do get into the warmer months, it will be important that you keep up with mowing. If the grass is ignored for weeks and is very long, we cannot come out and apply lawn care products. These treatments will be ineffective as they will get caught up in the grass instead of reaching the soil level, where they’re needed to work.

Should I water my lawn after a spring lawn treatment?

Whether or not you need to water your lawn after a lawn care treatment is highly specific to what was performed. Here is what we recommend.

Fertilizer Applications

• Recommendation: It is best to water the lawn after an application, although there is typically sufficient moisture at this time of year.

• Benefit: Watering helps the nutrients soak into the soil.

• Amount: Approximately ¼–½ inch of water is adequate.

Liquid Weed Control Applications

• Recommendation: Do not water immediately. Please wait at least 24–48 hours.

• Reason: The product requires time to be absorbed through the plant's leaves and you do not want to wash it off.

We explain the specifics of each application on our invoices and typically include watering directions there as well.

Do I need to be home during my first lawn care appointment?

No, you do not need to be home during any lawn care visits. However, your yard does need to be accessible. If you have any locked gates, please leave these open. Make sure that pets are already inside.

Is spring lawn treatment safe for children and pets?

At Seacoast Turf Care, we use safe products. We only use products continuously and thoroughly tested by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Of course, it’s important that these products are applied properly.

Even if it is a safe product, there are still protocols to follow. This is why it’s better for a professional to handle your applications. Safety should be at the forefront of every treatment.

What should I remove or clean up before my lawn care visit?

You should remove any items that are in the lawn. That might include children or pet toys, sports equipment, furniture, etc. You can leave items on your deck or patio alone.

You’ll also want to clean up any debris that is in the yard that might inhibit a lawn treatment from making it into the soil. This can include sticks, leaves, or even sand that blew into the yard over winter.

Choosing lawn care in Southern NH, Northeastern MA, and Southern ME

Lawns can be complex. But when you work with a lawn care professional, you don’t have to handle it all on your own. You’ll be able to hand over your lawn care woes and have them tackled by a professional who knows exactly what your lawn needs.

They’ll also be able to provide helpful guidance on services that you might be doing yourself (like watering and mowing) so that you’re setting your lawn up for success. At the end of the day, the best lawns are a partnership between a lawn care professional and the homeowner.

Of course, the key is to hire the right lawn care company.

At Seacoast Turf Care, serving Southern New Hampshire, Southern Maine, and Northeastern Massachusetts, we can handle all of your spring lawn care needs (as well as throughout the season). We perform soil testing for every new customer and then again every three years (because lawns change). This is because we know that science-based lawn care is the surest path to great results.

If your goal is to have a great-looking lawn, then it’s important that you invest in the best lawn care services. That means working with a company that will help set you up for success.

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.