by Meg Dehn

According to the calendar, it’s been spring for almost a month now!  It hardly seems possible when you live in Minnesota and April seems to be that month that starts to drive us all MAD! 

Most of us enjoy winter until about the end of January.  February is a short month so we get through.  March brings Spring Break; at times leading us some where warm & sunny.  But April…  we are more than ready for sunshine and the color GREEN, not BROWN! 

So like our parents used to say, “Buck up – Spring will come!”  I guess we can endure again this year. 

Since we’re all dying to get outside, I asked our job superintendent, Jason Coonradt to give us some hints on preparing our yards for this long awaited season.

Spring is the time to “dig” into your yard again.  Walk around and look at your grass for mouse damage.  Mice run wild under the snow making tunnels and eating your yard.  If you find damage, gently rake up the dead grass and over seed the area with a quality lawn seed.  Keep it moist and soon you’ll have new grass growing.
            Now is a great time to clean up your planting beds, clean out leaves and debris.  Pull any vegetation that doesn’t belong, this will keep other weeds from germinating.  Prune shrubs and freshen up wood mulch.
            After Mother’s Day, you can start to divide and separate your perennials; hostas, grasses, etc.  I like to wait until my plants are growing above the mulch line for two reasons.  One, so I can see where all plants have been planted, which makes placing new items easier & eliminates overcrowding.  And two, I will know the plant is healthy which means it will have an easier time transitioning.  Be sure to separate the plant in half or thirds and get plenty of roots with each clump.  Gently pack in new top soil and keep moist for a couple weeks.  Enjoy your savings; this is such an economical way to freshen up your yard!
            Spring is also the time to dust off the lawn equipment.  Don’t wait until your grass needs mowing to get your mower ready and find it won’t start.  Here is a list of things to prepare your lawn equipment: 

1. Change your oil 
2. Add fresh gas
3. Change your spark plug
4. Clean your air filter
5. Sharpen your mower blade
6. Also make sure the weed whip and blower are running up to par

If you are in need of assistance getting your equipment running properly, call Jason at Mega Homes to schedule service.  Jason can work on most brands of mower, blowers, and weed whips at a reasonable rate.

Visit this link for more landscape tips from the MN Dept of Agriculture:

http://www.mda.state.mn.us/protecting/waterprotection/lawnspringtips.htm