As the snow melts, it leaves in its wake a lot of debris built up from last fall. Sticks, leaves, broken branches, dead plants and garbage all need to be cleaned up and disposed of properly as part of early spring lawn care. Your municipality may not allow lawn clippings to go out with the trash, so be sure to do your research before bagging them up and leaving them on the curb!
Something to Consider: Aerating Your Lawn
Sometimes overlooked when discussing spring lawn cleanup, aerating the lawn can help to rejuvenate your property’s soil and grass. It encourages new growth and helps to heal any areas damaged by compaction, heavy use or heavy machinery. Aeration means creating small holes in the sod and removing plugs of soil which allows nutrients, air and water to reach the roots. It can be done by hand or with a machine.
Prune, Edge and Cut: Grass, Shrubs and Trees
Next on our list of lawn care tips for spring is getting out those tools for clipping, pruning and edging. Your perennials and trees can all benefit from a good, healthy trimming. Focus on older growth and anything that looks damaged or diseased – this encourages the plant to put energy into new growth and helps to keep your plants from growing too large. By removing any unhealthy growth you’ll be reducing the potential for disease and keeping the flora healthier.
Edging means cutting back the sod that tends to grow over sidewalks, onto patios or into landscaped areas. Edging tools come in several different styles – some are operated by hand and some are electric.