Originally,
the intention of this post was to be solely about lawn and yard tips for
spring. But it dawned on me that there are a few other Spring exterior projects
that we could toss into this category. Spring will come eventually (right?), so
we need to put our best yard’s face forward!
Spring
is a great time for minor repairs and touch ups to your home’s exterior. Some
of these things can include painting touch ups. Most paint jobs last around ten
years and you can escape with minor touch ups in that intermittent time frame.
A fresh paint job can completely change your home’s feel and is a great way to
increase buyer interest and curb appeal. Another great thing to do in the
spring is power wash your home’s siding and windows. Whether you rent a power
washer or hire a professional is up to you. A must-do after a long winter of
blowing winds and ice is to do gutter maintenance. You need to make sure the
gutter is still attached to the house, clear of debris and there are no broken
or bent parts as these can all lead to a much bigger (and more expensive
problem) in the future.
This is also an excellent time to
clean and repair your lawn and patio furniture. When storing your winter tools
and machines (shovels, picks, snow blower) make sure to store them in an out of
the way, safe area. Having your snow blower serviced before storage can avoid a
lot of problems when you go to pull it out next fall. Having your summer
equipment tuned up now is also a good tip to avoid issues. Don’t forget to have
your shears and hoes sharpened. Conditioning wood handles on your rakes and
other tools can keep you from getting possible splinters.
Moving
on to the lawn and how to get the best from yours this year. As WNY goes
through its slow and uneven melting process, keep an eye on your snow. If there
are piles of snow, this can create problems. If the soil underneath the snow
thaws, but there is still snow on top, this can make your lawn vulnerable to
snow mold. Try to spread the snow out so it melts more evenly. If you recall,
in the fall we did a similar post about
how to prepare your lawn for the winter. In case you missed it or didn’t
follow it, there are a lot of very similar things that need to happen. First,
you must evaluate your lawn. See if there are any bare or thin spots in your
yard, is it level, does it need to be re-seeded or do you need to start all
over? Have you checked the pH level of your soil?
Next, you need to clean up any
debris in your yard left over from winter. This can include sticks, rocks,
leaves, lost packs of gum and newspapers. If your lawn has thatch (thatch is a tightly intermingled layer of
living and dead stems, leaves and roots which accumulates between the layer of
actively-growing grass and the soil underneath), you will need to break this up
and remove the dead clippings. Use a rake or two to break things up. The video
below demonstrates great technique.
Next, you will need to cut your lawn as short as possible and
again clean up the clippings from this. Next, you need to aerate your lawn.
This means putting holes in your lawn about 1 ½” apart to allow air and water
to get into the soil. You can rent one or attach one to your lawn mower. If
there are bare spots, you will need to till the soil about two inches in order
to allow seeds to take root. Then you can start re-seeding, either through
filling in bare or thin spots, or overseeding (seeding your entire lawn over
already growing grass). Many recommend doing this after applying herbicide to
kill weeds but if you are not comfortable using chemicals in your yard it is
not necessary. If you see unlevel parts of your yard, add some top soil and
smooth to even out, then use seed. You can fertilize at the same time if you
wish. If you see insect infestations beginning with the new warm weather, try
to take care of them quickly before they spread and become a bigger problem.
Next week, we will go over
gardening practices. This will include pruning tips, planting tips, and more!
If these topics interest you, keep an eye out for our April posts! And let us
know how we’re doing! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, and website!
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