Chicago Home and Lifestyles – Spring Yard

The temperatures have slowly been coming up, and it is time to clean up the lawn and garden beds to get ready for the summer season. If the temperatures have been staying up for the most part overnight above 50 degrees, it will be safe to clean up. Butterflies and other pollinators overwinter in dead leaves and other garden debris, so it is best to wait until the temps are high enough to awaken our pollinator friends. 

Give the lawn a good stiff rake to get out any dead grass and weeds to give the lawn air. Aerating is also a good idea. There are machines you can rent, but it is easier to get an aerating tool and place holes every 6 inches or so. Do a first spring lawn fertilizer with a pre-emergent. This will prevent many spring weeds from growing. Do pay attention to rainfalls. Lawns need an inch a week. Even though spring is usually plentiful, some areas this year are particularly dry. Any young trees and shrubs will appreciate a good slow soak. 

Be sure to clean around shrubs and other garden beds. Rake out all old mulch and debris. This is an excellent time to add some topsoil to these areas. Soil can wash away during the year and get compacted. Loosen the compacted soil and mix in fresh topsoil. Cover with an inch or so of fresh mulch. Leave a few inches of space around trunks and shrub bottoms. Mulching too close to plants can cause disease. 

Give everything a dose of fertilizer. I personally use Miracle-Gro. It is an all-purpose mix great for everything from house plants to the garden. They also have a product called Miracid that is great for all acid-loving landscapes. Evergreens, shrubs, azaleas, and hydrangeas all benefit from a high acid fertilizer. Outdoor plants can be foliar fed, so I mix in a bucket and pour all over the plant and surrounding soil. 

Clean out the garden of any plant material from last season. It is best to dispose of this material, do not add it to the compost pile. Garden debris can contain plant diseases that will infect your entire compost pile. I add mushroom compost and topsoil. I do a layer of compost first, then topsoil to about 1-2 inches. Do not till it in. Tilling it in now will bring weed seeds to the surface that will germinate. Leaving the new soil and compost undisturbed till planting time will keep many of those weeds from popping up. 

Do check around the outside of your house while cleaning the beds. Keep dirt and mulch away from the foundation to prevent rainwater puddling and make sure water flows away from the house. See that gutters and downspouts are unclogged and free flowing. Check that all outside drains are clear for the rains that will come eventually.

Do you have any other suggestions for spring clean up in the yard and garden?

KATHLEEN WEAVER-ZECH AND DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO