1. Check Your Tools

You’ll need to start checking, maintaining and repairing your tools for a smooth spring and summer experience, plus you’ll save time and effort by getting them ready while the ground is waking up. Here are a few questions to get you started:

• Is your lawnmower in good repair?
• Are the blades sharp?
• Do you have a dethatching rake?
• How about weeding and pruning tools?
• Is your sprinkler system still working properly?
• Does your edger need string?

Purchase the things you’ll need now, including fertilizer, weed killer, and grass seed. You don’t want to finally reach a sunny Saturday and decide to get to work, only to realize you’re missing the things you need—then get have it start raining while you’re driving back from the store or find out they are out of what you need.

2. Kill Weeds Weeks Before Planting Grass

Many lawn pesticides work by preventing anything new from growing. This can be problematic if you wait until you want to plant new grass, because you will find yourself weeks behind as you wait for the pesticide to wear off. If you chose to go with this solution, start as soon as your lawn becomes bare of snow so that you can sew new seeds as soon as possible.

Regardless of whether or not you kill weeds chemically or by hand, take some time to go about weeding. Uproot any and all weeds you find on your lawn, whether they’re leftover stalks from last year or brand-new shoots. Plan to sew new grass in the empty spot left by the weeds removal.

3. Great Dirt Preparation Means Beautiful Lawns

Thatch is meant for cottage roofs, not lawns. Old roots and dead plants that form a layer over your grass may seem like a good, natural fertilizer, but it both looks ugly and can actually pose a threat to your grass, making it impossible for water to reach roots and blocking the fertilizers you intentionally put down from penetrating the soil. If you have a buildup of thatch, use a dethatching rake to pull it up.

Similar to thatch, hard dirt can make it difficult for your grass to get the essential nutrients and water it needs. If the earth on your lawn has become compacted over the winter months or gets a lot of foot traffic, use an aerator to pull out plugs and loosen the dirt.

Tips & Tricks

Finally, it can be a good idea to dress the lawn with peat moss. This is hugely beneficial to grass and can mean you’ll have less aerating, dethatching and weeding to do later on.

Taking advantage of these tips will give you a greener, healthier lawn than your neighbors who decided to wait for warmer days. It may mean some old-fashioned hard work, but you’ll be glad you took the time to do it.

As always, Greencare Landscape Management is here to help when a project gets ahead of you or the tasks at hand suddenly seem too overwhelming.  Don’t let your property value suffer from busy schedules or binding commitments. Please feel free to write to us at info@greencarelandscapes.net or call us at 207-699-4240 with any questions, concerns or ideas you have about your green space this spring season.

1. Before the first freeze, make sure to stake the boundaries of your yard to indicate where grass starts and pavement/gravel stops.
2. Select and area where excess snow can be piled. This keeps the method to your winter madness in check.
3. If you are having someone snowplow, if you ask them to raise the blade 1-2 inches, you will help to prevent any damage to the blades of grass that may not be completely frozen, however, by now depending on where you are in the country, that ground is frozen solid!
4. Never use your yard for additional parking as this damages the grass. Your lawn is tough, but it does have its limits.
5. The next big common question that is often asked is which ice melters are the best to use? Especially people that have animals. You do not want them getting it on their feet and you certainly don;t want it being tracked into your home.  Although cheaper, never use sodium based ice melters near plants or your lawn as it is extremely toxic, a better choice is calcium chloride or sand. Sand is always a great option!
6. Mid-winter is a good time to walk around your yard and pick up any fallen branches, logs or other debris. Snow that falls on debris can smother the grass underneath it.
7. The last tip we have regards safety when it comes to walking around outside around your property during the winter. Remember, there could be ice under many spots, especially driveways, so we often recommend getting some type of grips that attach to the bottoms of your feet to give yourself extra stability. We personally love Stabilizers, another Maine based company.

Since these are rough times of the year for many, it may be a good idea to keep Greencare Landscaping and Lawncare in mind when it comes to those fall cleanups that we dread after the summer months . We also offer snow plowing and removal for those that do not want to do it themselves. That’s what we are here to do!

What is your most difficult challenge in the winter when it comes to maintaining your property? I think fighting the ice might be a common answer!

Flickr photo courtesy of sissidekroon

Greencare Landscape Management is committed to taking the difficulty out of coordinating the needs of the contemporary suburban landscape, and providing a single stop for your landscape needs. When you work with Greencare, you work with one contractor to manage every facet of your landscape.

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