Even though the temperatures outside are still far from pleasant, the end is in sight. Spring is right around the corner, and with it, warmer temperatures, new growth in your garden, and longer days. Even though spring won’t be officially around for a few months, surprisingly, now is the time to prep your yard and garden for spring.
Apply pre-emergents and fertilizers
The best way to take care of weeds, is to get rid of them before they even show up. Most weeds begin germinating in February, which means that they’ll be thriving and overtaking your lawn and garden by the time you get around to planting and maintaining in a few months. So, take control now and apply a pre-emergent to both your lawn and your garden. You should also repeat this process in about a month, once spring is a little closer, to really let those weeds know you mean business and they aren’t wanted here.
We recommend applying a slow release fertilizer to your lawn and garden now. It will release about 50% of those active nutrients when you apply the fertilizer, and the rest will release slowly over the coming months as things warm up.
Prune your trees
Right before spring is the perfect time to prune back your trees, before they start to flower and blossom. It’s just an easier and smaller task to do it now rather than a few months from now. This gives the tree a fresh start for the spring season, and will encourage new growth.
Remove any plants damaged by the winter
Before new growth can happen, any part of your plants that have died, should be removed. It’s just a little bit of pre-spring cleaning. Depending on the type of plant, you may have to remove the entire top, or just small pieces, to ensure they will grow healthily in spring.
De-winterize your sprinkler system
After you’ve had the last freeze of the season, you’ll want to de-winterize your sprinkler and irrigation systems. They should be drained, brought back on line, and tested section by section, to ensure that there is no damage and to pinpoint any problems that may need to be repaired. Leaks are common over winter, due to swollen pipes and drastic temperature changes. Isolating these issues now gives you time to repair them before you actually need to take advantage of your sprinkler system.