Spring start up (lawn, landscape, growing, fertilizer)

[peabodyn]

I am not much of a landscaper and would like to know what I need to do to my yard for the new season.

We are on Long Island NY, have a small front yard that was planted with sod a few years ago, is watered every other day via a sprinkler system and actually looks very good. I manually remove the few weeds each year and use a crabgrass killer. Other than that, nothing is done besides weekly cutting.

Is there anything else I should be doing?

The back yard was planted with seed also a few years ago and does not look as good as the front. The same watering regimen is used, but there are areas that do not look as healthy as the rest, there is a good deal of clover as well. I also use the granular crabgrass killer, but nothing else. The grass is cut weekly as well.

What can I do to improve the look of the grass and get rid of the clover?

There is an ample amount of sun for both yards as there are few trees.

Also - is it too early in the season to start mowing, the back yard - in spots - looks like it could use a trim.

Any constructive help would be appreciated.

[Fedupwiththis]

Is the crabgrass killer a weed and feed type fertilizer or a crabgrass pre-emergent? If its a pre-emergent/preventer it needs to be put down early in the season as it stops the seeds from germinating, if you do it too late it'll literally do nothing as the seeds will already be growing.

For the clover you can purchase sprays that should kill off the clover. I would just live with the clover through the spring and summer, green clover looks better than brown dead lawn. End of summer spray the clover patch killing it off, dethatch or powerrake the area and throw down new seed in the early fall. Then put down a good starter fertilizer.

I'm in jersey and just cut my lawn for the first time yesterday but I have rye grass which grows fast and early, depends on what type of grass you have in your lawn I suppose.

[nuts2uiam]

Having lived on LI for my entire life tis retirement, I will offer a bit of advice to keep you sane. IF you yard is green be happy, unless you want to be a slave to the grass. You are putting weed killer down, if you edge the front and keep it mowed you will be happy. You can thatch and aerate if you choose. Birds drop seeds, wind drops seed and you will drive yourself to drink over this. Be happy it is green, grab a drink and hit the hammock.

[TWG1572]

Every other day watering is too much, IMHO. A single good watering once a week would encourage your grass to put roots deeper into the soil profile and become stronger. Light, frequent watering just encourages the sod to become dependent on it.