It’s really never too early to start preparing your yard for Spring. Even right now as this blog goes to press in early February, home owners and growers alike are busily laying the foundation, so to speak, for another showcase year for your lawn and landscaping.
So pick the right time, the right day, and follow these simple steps for giving you a major head start before spring finally arrives.
Assess the situation. Head outside and take a good look around. Take note of dead tree limbs, broken branches, overgrown shrubs, and poor soil quality. Clear away as much debris as you can so you can more thoroughly inspect what’s left. Then, make a plan. Will you need an arborist to take a look at that large tree in your front yard? A landscaper to help make your lawn the oasis you wish it could be? Start gathering names of pros to call before the busy season.- Give your grass a wake-up call. Grass goes into hibernation mode during the winter months. Wake it up by giving it a vigorous raking and, while you’re at it, check for fungus and mold growth and rake out areas of dried, dead grass.
- Banish the weeds. If you had a lot of crabgrass on your lawn last year, now’s the time to take control of the situation. You want to squash it before it starts germinating and beforethe soil temperature hits 55 degrees F. And since we’re willing to bet you don’t spend your day sticking a thermometer in the ground, the best way to tell it’s time is to watch for blooming forsythia. That’s when you apply a crabgrass preventer. There are toxic chemical preventers on the market, or you can go the organic route. Just remember that i can take up to 3 years before organic treatments become fully effective. But a little patience never hurt anyone, right?
- Trim the trees and shrubs. Trim away the dead and overgrown, but be careful not to trim off growth as you need that for a tree or shrub to sustain itself in case of another cold snap. If you have flowering shrubs, wait until the flowers bloom before trimming so that you avoid cutting limbs that would otherwise produce fruit or flowers.
- Check off the extras. Make sure that your irrigation system is in good working order and ready to tackle another season. Inspect garden or lawn lighting for damage, repair or replace broken patio furniture, and clean off and inspect your deck or patio for damage. And it might not be a bad idea to take inventory of your lawn and garden tools and equipment.
Speaking of having your backyard ready for “come what may”, do you have sufficient access to outdoor faucets or are you doubling and tripling up on garden hoses so you can reach even the more remote areas of your property? If so, contact Norhio Plumbing so we can come out and recommend the best places to install one or more new outdoor hoses for your greater convenience. Just like you, we can plan now and schedule installation for when we know the weather is at least reasonably certain to cooperate.
