Spring clean up chores. There are some chores we need to wait a little bit in doing them.

image from davislandscapeky.com 

Spring Cleanup chores.  There are some chores we need to wait a little bit in doing them.  

​Good morning.  It is 40F(4C) at 8:00 AM.  I just came back from checking greenhouse, and it is warmer out, but that south wind isn’t very nice. It is a little chilly and there is lots of wind.  High today in the 60’s so with the little heat, and the wind the soil will dry out.  NOW it is getting closer to the 15th of April when will the farmers start planting?  It looks like more rain in the forecast, so April showers bring May flowers. Keep your hat on and stay safe.
 
Australia family and friends for their Thursday April 9th will have 80F(26C0 and 70% chance of rain.  Wonder if it will be humid also?  Stay cool, stay safe.
 
Article about cleaning up your yard and flower beds.  Interesting some of the information and things to think about doing the work too early.  Here is what I learned something new.  Always learn something new, this is my new thing from this article.
Rake Away Thatch—Not Until Dry
Spring Yard Cleanup Checklist: Written By:  Catherine Boeckmann
No matter your weather, spring is peak time for yard cleanup! From pruning trees to crabgrass prevention, here are 10 tips to cover all you need to know now. There’s a right way to care for your yard, lawn, and garden beds in the spring months. Lawn and yard care is all about being proactive. We put a lot into our home and property, so it’s worth refreshing our memory about what’s next.
1. Prune in Late Winter and Early Spring
If you haven’t already done so, cut off any broken or badly disfigured branches caused by winter storms. Unwanted lower branches on all evergreen shrubs and trees should also be removed in late winter.
Most shrubs and trees are best pruned in late winter or early spring, but not all. Got flowering shrubs? When to prune a shrub depends mostly on when it blooms and whether it flowers on growth produced in the same or previous years.
Prune summer-flowering shrubs hard at the end of winter or very early spring BEFORE any new growth starts! They form their flower buds on “new” wood (i.e., wood that will grow this spring). Examples include butterfly bushes, smooth hydrangeas, panicle hydrangeas, and roses.
Prune spring-flowering shrubs after spring flowers fade. Since they bloom on the growth of the previous season (“old” wood), you will be cutting off their buds and flowers if you prune too early. Examples are azaleas, forsythias, mophead hydrangeas, lilacs, and wisterias.
2. Clean Up Leaves—Go Easy
Even if you cleaned up some leaves in the fall, there are many trees (such as oaks) that shed leaves (and broken or fallen branches) over the winter and well into spring. Now, let’s not go too crazy—it’s not like we have to pick up every single leaf from our lawn as though we are competing in a neighborhood beauty pageant. A little leaf litter actually helps our pollinators and wildlife survive the winter.
Remove any debris or heavy piles or layers of leaves. These invite mold, disease, and decay. However, avoid raking wet ground. It’s best to wait until temperatures are reaching the high 40s or 50s (°F). If you have a compost pile (or want to start one!), add those leaves to the pile. Otherwise, just mow any thin layers of leaves in with the season’s first cut, and they’ll also break down and add organic matter and nutrition to the soil.
If you have perennial beds, wait to cut down those spent perennial stems until the weather has definitely warmed and it feels like spring is here to stay. So many beneficial insects (ladybugs, native bees) and predators (lacewings, parasitic wasps)  “hibernate” in leaf litter or hollow plant stems. They will “wake up” as the weather warms and daylight increases. If you just can’t stand to wait, cut those spent plant stems and simply set them at the edge of your property or the woods. The native bees will thank you!
3. Address Aggressive Weeds—Early!
Deal with weeds in early spring. Invasive or aggressive weeds will only get worse as daylight hours increase during summer. As they grow, their roots will strengthen, and they will be very difficult to pull out.The best way to minimize weeds in your lawn is through good cultivation practices:
Do not mow too short
Allow mowed clippings to return to the lawn
Skip spring fertilization
Do not over- or underwater
Devote some of your lawn to wildflowers
4. Seeding Bare Patches—Carefully
Winter can reveal damage to your yard from pets, snow plows, and traffic. You may wish to reseed some spots.
Give seeds enough time to germinate and establish themselves. If this is not possible, don’t skip the pre-emergent weed control. It is better to take care of the bulk of your yard and wait until fall to perform any turf repairs.
5. Rake Away Thatch—Not Until Dry
Although it seems too early to talk about thatch, we need to do it now because many folks address it way too early. When we say “thatch,” we’re talking about the matted areas that have died out; they can harbor snow mold. You don’t want more than a half-inch of thatch on the ground. A good raking will promote airflow throughout the grass, prevent disease, and help germination. The ground and grass must be dry enough, however, or you will do more harm than good raking up grass seeds.
Rule of thumb: If footprints remain after walking, the grass is still too moist to de-thatch. That said, rake as soon as it’s dry and the grass is still brown; raking too late will harm healthy roots.
6. Do Not Fertilize Too Early
The best time for fertilizing is autumn; this helps build turf by giving grass plants the food they need to build up their root systems. However, many people also fertilize in the spring. Do not fertilize too early in the spring. This will divert the plant’s energy into leaf development too soon. Instead, the grass needs phosphorus for root development.  The best time for the first spring application in most regions is late spring (around May), just as the grass is beginning to grow green and you want to promote a lush, green lawn
7. Loosen the Soil—If It’s Compacted
Do you have flower beds? After the winter, the soil in your garden beds may be completely compact. Remove thick layers of leaves that cover evergreen groundcover beds. Thin layers of leaves in your beds can be left alone and simply mulched over later. They’ll break down and add organic matter to your soil. Then, loosen the soil to help oxygen reach the plants’ roots. You can use hand tools for small areas, but larger areas may benefit from tilling.
8. Redraw Beds—With a Garden Hose!
You may wish to redraw the boundary between your garden beds and grass in springtime. Wider beds mean less lawn care, too. Here’s a simple way to do it yourself: Use a garden hose to mark out a nice line for your garden beds. Then, along this bed line, take a sharp metal edger and drive it into the ground as deep as it will go. Dig all along the hose line and then remove the grass that’s there, creating a nice bed.
9. Mow Grass—But Not Too Soon
Mow the lawn when the grass level reaches 2 to 3 inches tall. The lawn needs time to recover after winter. However, one advantage of letting the grass grow too long is that it shades the roots, which allows fewer weed seeds to sprout.
10. Mulch—Carefully
As with leaf removal, don’t mulch too early. Be patient. There are also many beneficial insects and pollinators (e.g., soldier beetles, native bees, and hummingbird clearwing moths) who overwinter in your garden, and smothering your ground with mulch is not helpful. Just hold off on mulching chores until the soil dries out a little and the weather warms.
Taken from https://www.almanac.com/content/10-tips-maintaining-beautiful-yard
Till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa [email protected]  641-794-3337  cell 641-903-9365  Beckysgreenhouse.com  Facebook Becky Kerndt Litterer or Becky’s Greenhouse