Spring outdoor chores aren’t hard, but they do set the stage for getting your grass ready for the growing season. Plus after a cold winter getting outside provides a healthy dose of fresh air, sunshine, and exercise
- Tune up your lawn mower and weed wacker.
- Change the oil, air filter and spark plugs.
- Hopefully you cleaned them in the fall but if not try to remove any dirt and grass clippings-just be sure to detach the spark plug wire before working around the cutting blade.
- Sharpen the mower blade, or replace it if it has large nicks or gouges. Think about keeping an extra blade on hand this year. Check the string on your weed wacker and add more if gone.
- Fill the gas tank on the mower and if your weed wacker uses mixed gas and oil put together a fresh batch.
- Clean up the yard.
- Walk around paying extra attention to fence or tree lines and gather any tree limbs or other debris that show up.
- Go the extra mile and give the yard a quick rake. Getting some of the dead grass, thatch, and blown leaves out of there.
- Feed the lawn and tackle the weeds
- Take the time to hand pull up weeds now, so the surrounding grass can get its best shot at growing tall and strong
- Apply pre-emergent weed control. This stops weed seeds from germinating (like crabgrass) and will save your lawn down the road. Best to get this down before the soil temperatures reach 55 degrees well after the air temps do. Follow that up a month later with post-emergent weed control which knocks down weeds that might have made it through and sprouted up.
- Apply a fertilizer. You should test your soil to know exactly how much but typically a spring fertilizer will be high in Nitrogen and Potassium. The bag or bottle might be something like 10-0-4 as an example.
- If you have any bare spots that need seed be sure to not apply weed control to that area or think about applying seed later in the season if it can wait.
- Edge the beds and apply fresh mulch.
- The spring soft soil makes edging the grass by sidewalks and driveways much easier. Try to keep those looking fresh with a quick trimmer pass of the weed wacker each week.
- The winter can dull a mulch bed. Everything looks better with a quick topping off of new mulch. Think about applying a pre-emergent weed control to flower bed or shrub areas to help knock down the weeding later in the season.
Extras:
- Check the irrigation systems for any problems and prep for the season.
- Clean, sharpen, and oil your pruning shears so they are ready when the time comes
- Trim the trees and shrubs. Be careful of limbs that will produce flowers though.
- Power washing the deck sure would look nice!
- Check the lawn for fungus and mold growth. Some details HERE
