The Hardware Man - A Spring-ish Week Ahead
- Editor
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Howdy Folks,
Weather is going to feel late spring-ish this week with temperatures expected to be in the mid 70’s at least. Who is ready to start mowing grass? Maybe once the mud dries.
This is a public service announcement that Spring does not officially start until March 20. The Spring Equinox is when the day and night are equally 12 hours and an egg can balance on its end at 10:46 AM. Why is that the only thing I remember from 8th grade science?
That’s not the only thing I learned in science that year, but it is one tidbit that stuck with me. As a lawn care professional, I use a lot of different aspects of biology and chemistry, as well as weather and physics. Add in this new role as a hardware store owner, and I need to brush up more on electrical, hydraulics and the metric system of measurement.
With the spring like temperatures, it’s sure to excite us to get out and get working in the lawn and garden. There are some tasks we can do now that will make our later work easier. Here’s a short chore list I have:
Garden and flower beds can be cleared. The garden may be too muddy to till, but if you haven’t cleared the dead perennial tops yet, they should pop off easily with a rake or a gentle hand grab. Hydrangeas can be cut now for blooms this summer. If you want to get a jump on mulch, we have bagged available to help freshen those flower beds. Hopefully they still aren’t frozen solid. A layer of 2 inches will help reduce weeds later. Leaf and stick clean-up is a regular task for us. That’s the downside to living surrounded by maple and oak trees.
Fruit tree pruning is best done before the leaves bud. A pruned tree ends up being more productive as it directs its nutrients to fruit production rather than new growth. If you have a young tree, try weighting or tying the branches down to create a horizontal growth pattern. This will open the tree up, rather than having a tangle of branches that stunt fruit development. We have a couple of young apple trees that we work with. I hope to get more fruit from them this season.
Lawns shouldn’t be fertilized quite yet. Your first fertilizing application should be crabgrass pre-emergent along with nitrogen. The pre-emergent creates a chemical barrier on the surface of the ground preventing germination of that ugly crabgrass that loves to take over and strangle a lawn in the heat of July. This is best applied when the ground temperature hits 59 degrees, or when you see the forsythia begin its yellow buds. Seeding could be done now, even though it will not start sprouting until it warms up. The frost we will have between now and germination will help push it underground for good rooting. If you are interested in improving your lawn this season, let us help with materials and professional experience.
March is always a month of transition, a whiplash of extremes in temperatures, rain, sun and snow. Perhaps that’s why we have Saint Paddy’s day in March. I am looking forward to a good Ruben sandwich from That Place Eatery before I go hunt for that elusive three-leaf clover.
Daniel Karns and his wife own Clintonville Hardware & Rental along with other businesses. Join the discussion by contacting him at info@clintonvillehardware.com.
