A good monthly lawn care schedule in Tennessee starts with checking off your lawn mower maintenance jobs and applying pre-emergent herbicide early in the season. Clean up your lawn and rake as soon as the snow melts. Apply pre-emergent herbicide again and overseed if desired. Lay sod if you need to. Start mowing and irrigating.
Fertilize multiple times throughout the season; when you do it depends on your grass type. Use post-emergent herbicide as needed. Dethatch, aerate, and overseed again in mid-fall. Finally, irrigate and mow for the last time and prepare your lawn for the winter.
Those are quite a few jobs on your schedule. Here’s when to do them, month-to-month.
February
Do your lawn mower maintenance
Before you get started with anything else, it’s time to pull out your lawn mower and give it the maintenance it needs. That can involve a number of tasks, like cleaning and sharpening your blades. We’ll tell you more about your lawn mower maintenance jobs in our guide.
Apply pre-emergent herbicide the first time
Apply pre-emergent herbicide before weeds get a chance to germinate. It’s best to do it in two doses; once in January to March and once in March to mid-April. Don’t leave out this early application, or you’ll likely come across some weeds. Treat your later application as a “booster.”
To apply pre-emergent herbicide, you want your soil temperature to be at least 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit for five or more days in a row. But if it happens to snow, it won’t ruin your application.
The best time to use pre-emergent herbicides varies slightly across the state. Jackson’s soil typically reaches 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit in early March, while in Nashville, which is more central, this happens in mid-March. However, in Madisonville to the east, the right temperature is already in January.
Read more about pre-emergent herbicide application here: When to Apply Pre-Emergent in Tennessee
March
Clean up your lawn
The snowy, windy east Tennessee winters leave behind plenty of debris. Use this time to get rid of sticks, twigs, and other debris, but wait until after the last snowfall.
When the last snowfall occurs depends on your region.Nashville doesn’t usually get snow after February, but in the higher elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains, snow falls until April. Check your local weather report.
Here are some tips on how to clean your lawn and yard.
Apply pre-emergent herbicide the second time
Apply pre-emergent herbicide before weeds get a chance to germinate. As mentioned above, it’s best to do it in two applications; once in January to March and once in March to mid-April. You’ll need to apply herbicide earlier if you live in the east.
Overseed your lawn (if needed)
If you want to overseed your lawn twice, do so once in the spring and once in the fall. If just once, it’s better to do it in the fall. Fall conditions are the best for ensuring your grass gets enough warmth in the soil, as well as enough sunlight and rain.
In the spring, you can overseed from March to around mid-May, when soil temperatures are between 50 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit (plus you want to allow a few weeks to let the grass germinate). It’s usually fine if the temperature goes over 70 degrees, but that also depends on your grass type.
Check the specific soil temperature of your city. For instance, in the warmer Madison or Memphis, you should overseed around a month earlier than in the cooler Jackson.
Related resources:
- When to plant grass in Tennessee
- When to Plant Clover in Tennessee
- How to Overseed a Lawn
Install sod
You can install sod throughout the growing season, but the best time to do it is in the early spring and late fall. Here’s how to install sod.
Do a soil test
Before you fertilize, test your soil to find out what nutrients are lacking. Below are fertilizing recommendations for Tennessee grasses, but you may need to adjust them to whatever your specific needs are.
Apply your first round of fertilizer to cool-season grass
If you have cool-season grass, it needs a feeding. Apply 0.5 pounds of nitrogen-only fertilizer per 1000 square feet.
Read more about fertilizing here: When to Fertilize Your Lawn in Tennessee
Start irrigating
Instead of observing a calendar, observe your grass. Is it showing signs of dryness? If so, start watering. You’ll most likely need to start in late March to early April and not stop until the fall. The mountainous eastern border of Tennessee gets the most rain, so you’ll most likely need to water less often here.
Start mowing
You can usually start mowing by the end of March to the beginning of April. But don’t just take our word for it; instead, watch your grass grow. Mow when your grass needs no more than a ¼ of an inch of a trim to get to your desired height. Here’s more about the right grass heights.
April
Apply your second round of fertilizer
Apply a half pound of nitrogen-only fertilizer per 1000 square feet of cool-season grass. Apply a pound of complete 2-1-1 fertilizer to warm-season grass.
May
Apply post-emergent herbicide now and throughout the season
Tennessee weeds grow from spring to fall. Apply post-emergent herbicide as needed. Check out Common Weeds in Tennessee to help you identify weeds.
June
Apply your second round of fertilizer to warm-season grass
Apply a pound of nitrogen-only fertilizer.
July
Apply your third round of fertilizer to warm-season grass
Apply a pound of nitrogen-only fertilizer in mid-July.
September
Apply your third round of fertilizer to cool-season grass
Apply 1 pound per 1,000 square feet of a complete 2-1-1 fertilizer.
Apply your fourth round of fertilizer to warm-season grass
Apply a pound of complete 2-1-1 fertilizer.
Dethatch and aerate
Dethatch and aerate just before you overseed to allow new seeds to settle in the new holes in your soil.
Even if you don’t overseed, you should dethatch and aerate at least once a year (or just aerate if you don’t have a thick thatch; here’s when to dethatch your lawn). The rocky soil in some areas of Middle Tennessee make it especially important that you don’t forget to aerate. Fall is a good time to do it.
Related resources:
- When to Aerate Your Lawn in Tennessee
- How to Aerate Your Lawn
- How to Dethatch Your Lawn.
Overseed your lawn
If you want to overseed your lawn twice, do so once in the spring and once in the fall. If just once, it’s better to do it in the fall. As mentioned above, fall conditions are the best for ensuring your grass gets enough warmth in the soil, as well as enough sunlight and rain.
In the spring, you can overseed from mid-September to mid-October, when soil temperatures are between 50 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit (plus you want to allow a few weeks to let the grass germinate). It’s usually fine if the temperature goes over 70 degrees, but that also depends on your grass type.
Check the specific soil temperature of your city. For instance, in the warmer Madison or Memphis, you should overseed around a month earlier than in the cooler Jackson.
Install sod if you haven’t yet
You can install sod throughout the growing season, but the best time to do it is in the early spring and late fall (ideally before October 8, when your risk of frost starts). Here’s how to install sod.
October
Apply your fourth round of fertilizer to cool-season grass
Apply 1 pound per 1,000 square feet of a complete 2-1-1 fertilizer.
November
Apply your fifth round of fertilizer to cool-season grass
Apply a half pound of a nitrogen-only fertilizer. Don’t apply fertilizer to frozen grass; this may cause runoff.
Read more about responsible fertilizing in our article Why Do We Have to Be Responsible in Our Use of Fertilizer?
Stop watering with the first frost
Your risk of first frost begins on October 8. By the beginning of November, you’ll almost certainly get some frost. Stop watering when this happens.
Here’s more about the topic: When to Stop Watering.
Winterize your lawn
Winterizing your lawn involves steps like raking and your last mow. Do this at the end of the season. Your grass will probably stop growing by the beginning of November at the latest.
Here’s how to winterize your lawn, and here’s when you can expect your grass to stop growing.
Call a pro any time of the year
We know you have more on your schedule than just lawn care. But don’t worry; there are plenty of pros in your area who can help. Find a pro in Tennessee.
Main Image Credit: GPA Photo Archive | Flickr | CC BY 2.0
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