“In Spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt…"
Margaret Atwood says that “in Spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt” and we at Belleview Landscapes believe that this rings true. We love spring and all it brings, including the smell of dirt. It’s the time to shake off the cobwebs of winter dormancy and start fresh – clean out the clutter, tidy up the yard, and get the gardens ready for the season. With this warm weather streak many of us feel compelled to get a jump on it. We thought we’d share some of our professional insight into spring lawn and garden care.
“At this time of year, it is better to be patient”
Lawn Care
So, the sun is shining, and the temperatures are above zero. Your neighbours might be out fussing in the yard already and your instinct might be telling you that you should be as well – raking the lawn thoroughly, putting down fertilizer, and getting things going. We’re here to tell you to pump the breaks a bit. At this time of year, it is better to be patient. Here are a few points on turf care needs for the spring…
Your lawn is still dormant. It hasn’t woken up yet so walking all over it and running a rake through it could be detrimental to its early success. I like when my dog tries to wake me up by climbing on the bed in the morning. But I could use the extra rest sometimes, ya know? Don’t be jumping and climbing on me when I’m resting.
If you put down a late fall, or early winter fertilizer application then there is no need to put one down now. We would typically apply a later application of a fertilizer that is high in Phosphorous and Potassium. Those soluble nutrients will stay in the soil until the roots of the grass wake up. Putting down fertilizer now would feed the weeds first. A good practice is to wait to apply your spring application until you start to see the lawn green up.
Corn Gluten is one of the first things you might consider applying to your lawn. You can do this in early April. This granular, corn biproduct is used as an organic alternative to synthetic or chemical herbicides. It stunts the germination of unwanted seeds, specifically crab grass.
Once the grass is greening up and growing, we want to wait until it is long enough before we make our first cut. Once you’re ready, keep it high at 3 to 3.5 inches. It’s a bit shaggy, sure …but trust us. Your grass will benefit from it. You can begin to shorten it up as the season progresses.
Overseeding and topdressing are practices we see starting too early also. At Belleview Landscapes, we are looking for overnight temperatures to be consistently 10 degrees. This is our cue that the soil is warm enough and the seed we put down will successfully germinate.
When it comes to topdressing, it isn’t necessary to spread heaps of soil all over the lawn. This is often the cause of lumpy, uneven yards. We recommend giving the bare patches a hard rake to remove thatch and dead grass. This also scarifies the soil for good seed-to-soil contact. If you are going to spread soil, select a soil that is high in organic material. Ask your local supplier what makes up the soil. We want to see a good amount of composted material in there. Keep the soil spread evenly to a depth of about 1/8” or ¼”. Too thick and it will smother the base of the healthy grass.
Pro Tip from Belleview Landscapes: we spread our grass seed, topdressing, and fertilizer all at the same time. Or, at least in the same days application. For topdressing, we use a dehydrated, granular compost. It expands when saturated with water and then breaks down as the grass seeds germinate. Keep that to yourself.
Lastly, but not leastly, your lawn is a system that needs a lot of care. This includes cutting at a proper height, regular watering, multiple fertilizer applications, diligent weed control and a lot of patience and consistency.
“I clearly don’t work in an office”
Gardens
If you’re like me then you are itching to get out into your garden. There are already signs of spring poking up from the soil and budding on the trees and shrubs. Glorious! At Belleview Landscapes, we want for nothing else than to start getting our hands dirty. It is, however, still too early. For the same reasons that you want to avoid thumping through the lawn, you want to also avoid bulldozing into the gardens.
Pockets of leaves and debris, left over from the fall clean up, are likely sheltering beneficial bugs and critters. When things warm up more (and they will) they will wake comfortably and begin to support the little environments that you have created. I wish I was an entomologist so I could share with you what every larvae or pupae was. So just trust that they are important. And if they are not, they will get eaten by the ones that are. In my head I’m singing the intro to The Lion King.
On that note, other parts of the garden are great for wildlife and insect habitat as well. We often leave some ornamental grasses for a few weeks yet. The broken strands make useful building materials for the birds who may be constructing spring shacks. Nearly 30% of our native bees will nest above ground. Old stocks from last season’s perennials make ideal homes for mason and carpenter bees. When you decide do cut them back, leave some of the stock behind and allow the new growth to hide them.
Cultivating is a common practice at this time of year. We have become accustom to liking the way fluffed dirt looks. At Belleview Landscapes, however, we avoid cultivating at all costs. It causes too much of a disturbance by mixing up the microbiology and communication networks of the plants and soil. Believe it or not, under the soil, bacteria and fungi work together to help plants take up nutrients and warn each other of issues underground. I couldn’t imagine working in the mail room when suddenly, and without warning, having the whole of my workspace turned upside down. How is Janine ever going to get the memo about the updated software rollout so she can direct her team on what KPIs are needed for successful Q2 growth. I clearly don’t work in an office, but it sounds about the same to me.
What springtime is good for is pruning! Now is a good time to do some shrub rejuvenation or even light pruning. You can remove old or dead wood and cut back limbs to reduce the height. With the trees and shrubs still dormant, they will not be impacted by a haircut. Any of their stored energy from the fall will be used to generate healthy new growth. We would caution to not get too carried away thought. Some shrubs should not be pruned at this time. Hydrangeas are a shrub that comes to mind which people often prune incorrectly, resulting in little or no blooms. We’re happy to show you the difference.
We celebrate the arrival of spring because it is a chance for us to get back to doing what we do best – Imagining, designing, creating and maintaining the places in which we live work and play, here in our region; Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph and beyond. We are excited for the opportunities that spring offers. We hope that this advice helps to inspire your spring projects. After all, in spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.
Written by
Adam C.E. Braun CLT, FLP
Founder, Owner, Explorer
Belleview Landscapes
Have questions or want to chat about your lawn and garden? Give us a call at 226-789-4295