How To Prepare Your Yard For Spring

5 Easy Steps for Spring Yard Care

Spring is officially here! With the warmer temperatures and longer days, comes Spring yard work. If you’re like me, your yard was buried under several feet of snow this Winter. As it’s melted away, what’s left behind is yellowed grass, rotting leaves, and obscured yardscapes. The question is how to prepare your yard for spring.

HowStuffWorks.com stressed the importance of spring yard cleanup saying, “Winter can alter soil pH, compact the soil, and create conditions friendly to weeds and disease, so it's crucial that you properly clean, fertilize, and mow your yard early in the season.”

While we know it’s important, spring yard work can be overwhelming. Many times it’s challenging to know where to even begin with so many things that need attention. To make the process a little easier, we’ve created 5 easy steps for a healthy, beautiful yard.

Clear Residue

The first step for a healthy yard is to clear out debris from fall and winter. Remove leaves, branches, winter mulch, trash, or anything aiding in the regrowth process. Clear pathways, and redefine separations in yardscapes. Remove debris from gutters and ensure clear paths for water drainage.

(Image via harvestpower.com)

Aerate Your Lawn

One issue that prevents lush, green lawns is soil compaction. Frequent foot, vehicle traffic, or heavy snow from winter, can cause soils to compress making it difficult for grass to take root. This can also create an environment for hardier weeds to move in. To prevent this, make sure to aerate your lawn in early Spring.

(Image via denverlawnaeration.com)

Prune Plants, Tress, and Shrubs

Pruning, can be intimidating, but don’t worry, it’s the rare plant that is killed by it. In fact, most plants benefit from regular pruning and maintenance, especially in the Spring before regrowth. This encourages new growth and strong/healthy shoots for optimal blooming and production. A trim also gives the plants a more open habit, which helps them resist diseases such as black spot.

(Image via gardening.com)

Start Planting

Have a patch of dead grass? Want to start a vegetable garden? How about some nice blooms by a window sill? Now is the time to plant cool seasonal plants. Many plants do well under cooler Spring temperature and can be planted now for a thick, lush, growth as temperatures reach higher in late Spring. {For a list of ideal plants for Spring visit: Motherearthnews.com}

(Image via csmonitor.com)

Prevent Weeds and Spread Mulch

Stopping weeds while they’re small may not sound like the most fun task on this list, but, arguably, it’s the most beneficial. Weeding is typically voted gardner’s most arduous task, and as such, it’s often put off. However disliked weeding is, it’s a fact that small root systems are less work to pull, and if you get them before they go to seed, you'll have fewer weeds in the future. And, to prevent weeds in the summer months, spread a 2-inch-deep layer of mulch over the soil surface. This will prevent weeds from popping up through the surfaces and pushing out flowers, plants and vegetables.

(Image via www.unce.unr.edu)