Spring lawn cleanup: do these 5 things

Spring lawn cleanup advice tends to expand to fill whatever time and money a homeowner is willing to spend. The realistic list -- the tasks that have documented benefit for cool-season lawns in the northeast and mid-Atlantic, based on extension research rather than retail fertilizer company.

Spring lawn cleanup advice tends to expand to fill whatever time and money a homeowner is willing to spend. The realistic list — the tasks that have documented benefit for cool-season lawns in the northeast and mid-Atlantic, based on extension research rather than retail fertilizer company calendars — is shorter than the industry usually suggests.

This article contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases - at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we have personally tested or that are the universal first recommendation from university Extension publications. See our full disclosure.

Task 1: Clear debris and matted areas

Per Penn State Extension, the first spring task is removing anything that has accumulated over winter: dead leaves, winter mulch that drifted onto the lawn, fallen branches, and any debris that has been matting the grass.

Matted, wet grass under debris is vulnerable to snow mold and other early spring diseases. Light raking removes dead material and allows air circulation. This is not dethatching — a spring rake-through to remove loose debris is appropriate; aggressive power raking in spring is not.

Use a flexible leaf rake, not a stiff-tined thatching rake. The goal is debris removal, not disruption.