TruGreen, the nation's largest professional lawn care services provider, said lawns should always be mowed at between 2 and 2.5 inches in the spring. To get the best cut, homeowners should inspect lawn mower blades and sharpen or replace dull blades that could damage grass.
If grass is thin and the soil compacted, a mechanical aerator should be used to remove small soil plugs or cores out of the lawn.
To treat thin spots, TruGreen advises loosening the soil surface to a one-inch depth, spreading grass seed over the soil surface and lightly covering seeds with straw or seeding mulch to encourage rapid seed germination.
Of course, water is essential to keeping grass green, so lawns should be watered heavily and infrequently. Turf grass should be watered so that the soil is wet to a four inch depth.
