The Iowa Spring Cleanup Checklist

The checklist

1. Wait for firm ground. Working a soggy March lawn compacts soil and tears turf. When footprints stop leaving mud, go.
2. Rake out matted leaves. Any leaf mat you cannot see grass through has been smothering turf all winter; those spots thin out and invite weeds if left.
3. Pick up branches, grit, and debris. Winter wind and street plowing leave a season of material along drives and fence lines.
4. Cut back dead perennial growth left standing over winter, and clear the beds.
5. Re-cut bed edges. A crisp first edge sets the property's lines for the whole season.
6. Assess, then treat. Note thin areas, snow mold patches, and vole trails. Most fill in with growth; some need seed later in the year.
7. First mow slightly lower than summer height (2.5 to 3 inches), then raise the deck as heat arrives.
8. Pre-emergent window follows: crabgrass preventer goes down late April to early May in northern Iowa (see the timing guide).

What NOT to do in early spring

• Do not heavily fertilize in March; the main feeding windows are fall, with a light spring round in April or May.
• Do not dethatch or aerate now if you can wait; the fall window is safer and more effective for both.
• Do not seed and apply standard pre-emergent at the same time; the preventer blocks grass seed too.

One call handles the whole list: our spring cleanup service covers the raking, cutbacks, bed clearing, hauling, and first edge in a single visit.

Done reading, want it done? See our Spring & Fall Property Clean Ups service.