Spring Gardening Tips & Tools from ShovelandHoe.com - Read about all of your spring gardening essentials here. Watch out gardening demonstration videos and learn how to maximize the spring gardening season.
Spring Gardening Tips: Lawns
Lawn
grasses start to grow early in spring so check your lawn early in
the season to assess health. If your lawn is neglected, a
little effort now will pay dividends in the long run.
- Thatch your lawn, if you didn't do it in the autumn, using
either a spring-tined rake or, better still, a purpose made thatcher to remove
all the thatch and other debris that has accumulated over the winter.
- If moss is a problem, apply a moss killer as soon as the grass
begins to grow, leave it to work for two weeks, and then thatch to remove it.
- Apply a high nitrogen feed in late spring to give your lawn a
good start to the season.
- Re seed any bare patches using a suitable grass mixture (for
more information see the information on lawn grasses)
- Use a half moon edger to redefine the lawn edge and give a neat
crisp finish - this is one of those jobs that will make an enormous difference
to the appearance of your garden.
- For the earliest cuts, mow the grass with your lawn mower blades
on the highest setting - mowing too closely this early in the season is counter
productive and will damage your lawn. More advice on mowing can be found at mowing a lawn.
Spring Gardening Tips: Borders
Spending time on your borders now will get them in great shape for the rest of
the season.
- Spring is a great time to find out more about your soil by
carrying out a soil pH test. Whether you are doing it for the first time, or
have been using lime or other soil conditioners to amend your soil, pH testing is
a very easy procedure and will enable you to garden more effectively.
- If, like us, you prefer to leave your perennials and grasses
standing throughout winter, you should now remove any dead growth before the new
shoots start growing.
- Apply a general fertilizer such as blood, fish and bone, or
pelleted chicken manure.
- Weeds are a fact of life in the garden so get on top of the
problem by digging out or hoeing any early weeds.
- Give your borders a thick mulch, at least 5cm (2in)
deep, while the soil is still moist. This will conserve moisture, keep down
weeds and generally smarten them up. There is a list of mulches and other soil
conditioners for different types of soil at improving or
amending your soil.
- Divide clumps of perennials now if you didn't do it in the
autumn. If you end up with more plants than you need, consider swapping with a
friend or neighbor - this is a great way to get plants for free. How to divide
perennials and the best time
to divide provide more information on this.
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