Yard calendar
What to do in your yard each season. Timing shifts with your climate: in the Deep South spring starts weeks earlier than in Minnesota, so watch the weather and your grass, not just the date.
Cool-season lawns: bluegrass, fescue, ryegrass
Spring
- Rake out matted grass once the lawn dries
- Service the mower and sharpen the blade
- Crabgrass pre-emergent before soil reaches about 55°F (optional)
- Start mowing at 3 to 4 inches
- Light feeding only if your soil test calls for it
Summer
- Raise the mowing height
- Water about 1 inch a week, or let it go dormant
- Skip fertilizer and weed killers in heat waves
- Check for grubs in late summer
- Plan fall seeding
Fall
- Aerate compacted areas
- Overseed thin and bare spots
- Feed in early fall (and late fall if local guidance suggests)
- Spot-treat perennial broadleaf weeds
- Mulch or rake leaves
- Keep mowing until growth stops
Winter
- Winterize irrigation and drain hoses
- Stabilize fuel and clean the mower
- Sharpen the blade for spring
- Stay off frozen grass
- Send a soil test when the ground thaws
Track the Yard Year checklistPrint the Seasonal Yard Checklist