Taking proper care of your lawn in the spring can set it off on the right foot for a great-looking summer and fall. Here are five important tips to follow regarding spring lawn care:

#5: Lawn Mower Tune-Up

Chances are your mower has been sitting dormant in a garage for three, four, maybe even five months. It's time to get that thing out and show it some love. There are a few things you'll need to do. First, change the oil, air filter and spark plug. This is basic yearly maintainence that will keep your machine running smoothly for years longer than it would if you neglected it. If you don't care to attempt these upgrades yourself, a mower repair shop or sales facility will take care of it for you in exchange for a bit of money.

Another important piece of mower maintainence is to sharpen your blades. This will save a lot of time as mowing with dull blades can be a pretty time consuming process that also leaves your lawn as an eyesore. A mower maintainence shop should also be able to assist with sharpening your blades.

#4: Pull Weeds

You can either spray weeds with an herbicide or pull them if you are into organic lawn and garden practices. By pulling weeds before they can produce seeds, their presence will be minimized over the course of the season.

#3: Aerate

One of the healthiest things you can do for a spring lawn is to aerate. The process of aeration involves either removing small cores of soil from the ground (called core aeration) or by puncturing the soil with small spikes (spike aeration). This process is helpful in reducing thatch buildup which can harm your lawn. Another good way to remove thatch is to rake in the spring. Despite there being very few leaves, raking will pull away excessive harmful thatch. Aeration also makes it easier for crucial nutrients and water reach your soil.

#2: Light Layer of Fertilizer

"Light" is the imperative word here. A lawn can be fertilized organically or chemically. Regardless of your choice, use a light dusting to help lawn growth. Too much can promote disease and weed buildup.

#1: Seed

Spring is the perfect time to assess your lawn's health and take steps to improve weak areas. If you have patches of lawn that have been damaged by human feet, dog waste, snow, etc, reseeding the lawn can help fill in these trouble spots. Ideally, you should try to seed problem patches in the fall, but in a bad situation, seeding in the spring can be fine. After all, you don't want to go all summer with unsightly dead patches, so remedy the situation now.