Photo: WBZ NewsRadio/Shari Small
SALEM, New Hampshire. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Does the grass look a little greener on the other side of the fence?
One New Hampshire gardener has some tips.
"The simple answer is fertilizer," said Tim Wolf with Lake Street Garden Center in Salem, New Hampshire.
He told WBZ NewsRadio's Shari Small that using fertilizer with crabgrass control can help your grass stay greener without the brown patches.
"If you are repairing the lawn in that area just make sure you use one that says crabgrass control and fertilizer for new lawns," Wolf said.
If you don't need the crabgrass control, regular fertilizer works just as well.
Snow plow nicks and ice melt can cause grass to grow back patchy in the spring.
Wolf said April is a good time to put down grass seed and recommends putting some straw on top.
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"A light straw provides a little bit of shade for the new grass coming up so it doesn't dry out so quickly," he said. "If you have heavy rain [the straw] can help control erosion."
Wolf also said if you're trying to spruce up your garden be careful buying plants from a greenhouse.
"You want to give it about five nights or so where it's cool but not freezing or frost after that it can take a freeze or frost," he said. "If they're already planted in place and you see it's 28 degrees you can just throw a sheet or something like that over them."
As for your vegetable garden, it's a good idea to let your veggies harden off as well.
"A lot of the cold crops like broccoli, cauliflower, a lot of the leafy greens, onions, things like that will take the cold fine once they've been hardened off," Wolf said.
Hardening is the process of exposing transplants to outdoor conditions gradually so your plants can withstand environmental changes. It allows the seedlings to transition from a softer succulent growth to a harder growth.
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