Tips for spring yard cleanup and starting the growing season

March 27, 2017 5:40 AM

Spring is kinda sorta here in our corner of zone 6a/b. If you're a seasoned (har) gardener, how do you kick off the spring to get your garden and lawn in the best shape?

Three years in to our homeownership, and I'm still getting the feel for caring for our garden and lawn. I'd like this year to be the one in which I get more thoughtful about it.

There's still a fair amount of snow on the ground and branches and some lingering leaves, which will all go, of course, and I'll have to reseed some bare areas of lawn. But that's all I really know how to do.

What else should I be doing? In the past, the only additional thing I've done is use Scott's combined weed preventer/fertilizer, but I'm told I'll get better results using a standalone fertilizer and separate weed preventer. I know I can't fertilize newly seeded areas.

Gardeners and lawn aficionados, what are your secrets for starting the year right?

posted by Admiral Haddock to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

For me, it's cleanup, cleanup, cleanup. the late winter gives you an opportunity to really see the bones of your garden. I always take up all the leftover leaves, cut back the monkey grass to the ground, re-edge the beds, mulch, complete any hard scrape projects, sharpen your tools, prune to shape, and just get everything tidied up. While doing all that, I make my plans for spring planting and start my list of what I'm buying to go where. My yard is like a painting, my main creative outlet, and late winter is when I lay down the base for all the color I add later.

If you haven't already, I would also start a notebook with all the details, including a rough drawing of what's planted where. One with a pocket works great, you can add all the tags from what you buy. I do that because not everything survives, and I might need to replace one of something that I bought three of.

I live in the southern USA, and Southern Living magazine has a month-to-month checklist of what needs to be done. I'm sure you can find something like that specific to your area. For me, I do ALL the hard work when it's cold outside because I need to avoid the heat in the summer. If you do it all early in the spring, there's not really that much work to be done in the heat of the summer.

Good luck!
posted by raisingsand at 6:26 AM on March 27, 2017

Now is when I sow cold-hardy vegetables and start others indoors from seed. And clean up the raised beds. But I'm also 3 years into homeownership, so making it up just like you.
posted by deludingmyself at 6:43 AM on March 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

If you have herbaceous perennials, this is the time to cut back the growth to the ground to make room for this season's foliage. For shrubs, prune anything that got winter damage and anything you want to keep small. Cut out dead wood and shape the shrubs if you wish (but I beg you, no meatballs up against your house). Order some leaf mulch to spread over the beds, it'll ameliorate the soil and keep the weeds down. Many places with deliver and it's cheaper, nicer, and better for your garden than buying bags of bark mulch at the store.

You're in MA, right? I'd let things dry up a little before doing anything to the lawn. All the rain we're getting the next couple of days is going to make the ground very soggy and you don't want to make any divots walking around in mud.

If you have a vegetable garden, you can start seeds inside now. However, if you're pressed for time or don't have the space, just go buy plants at your most convenient garden center in early May when it's time to plant them outside. It's a bit early to direct seed anything in the ground, especially this year with the miserable weather we've been having.
posted by lydhre at 7:59 AM on March 27, 2017 [1 favorite]

Ah, spring! A time when a gardener's fancy turns toward - work, work and more work?

* Clean winter debris. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
* With said debris, start your yard waste compost pile! Can be as simple or fancy as you wish, but either way darn useful for next year's planting.
* Generally, cold weather lawns should be fertilized in fall. The safest (for you and the environment) and best spring/summer lawn care advice is keep it ~3" in height and cut weekly with a mulching mower. Tall lawns naturally inhibit weeds, weekly cutting can kill/control established weeds and a mulching mower feeds as you mow. If you have any really bad areas, spot treat with an iron herbicide.
* Plant perennials! Unlike annuals, you can get them in the ground as soon as the soil is workable. They actually thrive better when planted in wet, mild early spring (though technically fall is best) than the the heat of summer. Plus, less watering necessary to get them established.
* Likewise, direct sow cold tolerant veggies - peas, leafy greens, root veggies, broccoli and cabbage. Start any more delicate seedlings - peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, melons - indoors. Anything else is direct sown after your frost free date.
* Mulch established beds with 2" of compost/leaf mulch/pine straw for weed control. Wood mulches are generally bad news.
* Check drainage. If you've got any wet spots/laying water after spring showers, consider planning a storm/rain garden. Your whole yard will thank you.

That should get off to the right start! <3
posted by givennamesurname at 8:42 AM on March 27, 2017 [2 favorites]