Yard cleanup is the process of repairing, restoring, and maintaining your property’s lawn. It involves removing debris, weeds, and fallen leaves.
An unkempt yard attracts pests like snakes and spiders that can bite people or pets. A regularly scheduled, well-done yard can keep these creatures away. Click on https://www.perthrubbishremoval.com.au/ to learn how to increase the curb appeal of your home.
Remove Debris
Your yard is more than just a place where grass, flowers, trees, and shrubs grow; it’s an extension of your home and a canvas on which you can express your creativity. It’s also an investment in the health of your property and the environment, as a well-maintained yard supports local wildlife and helps preserve soil. As such, regular yard cleanup is vital to ensuring that your property is in prime (and enviable) condition.
Yard cleanup can be a messy job, so it’s important to come up with a clear cleaning strategy before you begin. This will help you prevent getting overwhelmed and will ensure that all the tasks on your checklist get done. Start by removing all visible debris like sticks, leaves, and twigs from your property. You’ll also want to trim any dead or overgrown tree branches before winter arrives.
As you remove debris from your property, make sure that you bag it up for trash collection. If you’re unsure how to dispose of certain types of waste, contact your local recycling center for guidance. Many waste disposal centers separate debris into different categories based on the type of material it’s made of, so it’s important to know what does and doesn’t count as yard debris before you throw it away.
If you have a lot of yard waste, consider starting a compost pile. This is a great way to reduce your waste and create nutrient-rich soil for your garden next year.
When you’re ready to get rid of the rest of your yard waste, you can haul it away with a junk removal service. These services are ideal for large pieces of debris like tree branches and stumps, as well as a variety of other items like plastic pans, old boxes, paper, and more. Most companies charge a flat fee based on the size of your property and the number of bags of debris that are hauled away.
As you complete your yard cleanup, remember to remove all of your gardening tools and store them away in a safe location. This will help you avoid injuries and ensure that your tools are ready to use when you need them again next spring.
Remove Silt
During flood events, silt (fine, muddy sediment) can build up in lawns and restrict grass roots’ access to air, sunlight, and nutrients. Once floodwaters recede, use a broom or rake to remove the silt. Then wash the area with a hose-end sprayer to be sure you get all of it. This prevents the silt from clogging up your gutter system or sitting on top of your roof, where it may cause a leak.
Afterward, rinse off your plants and garden beds with a hose. Doing so prevents the onset of mold and disease in damp, overwintering soil. It’s also a good time to hose off hardscape features like sidewalks, patios, and decks. A landscape contractor recommends hosing off retaining walls and fences, too, especially if they have been in contact with standing water for a long period.
While you’re cleaning up, take the opportunity to look for dead limbs or branches on your trees. These drooping limbs could fall on your home in a storm or become tripping hazards when someone walks through your yard.
If you’re planning on doing any spring gardening, make sure the weather is warm enough. Many types of bees hibernate in plant stems and leaves over the winter and won’t emerge until the weather warms up. In addition, it’s a good idea to wait until the ground dries up a bit before starting any intense spring yard work.
This prevents your flowers, vegetable gardens, and shrubbery from getting overgrown before the growing season arrives. And when the warmer months come around, you’ll be ready to tackle aeration, seeding and fertilizing, and of course, mowing the lawn! With some preventative yard cleanup, you can transform your outdoor space from a mess into a lush oasis. It just takes a little planning and effort to revive your yard, trees, bushes, and garden space. And with these 10 simple yard clean-up tips, you’ll be well on your way!
Remove Weeds
Weeds take up valuable space in your garden and lawn, crowding out desirable plants. They also steal moisture and sunlight from your grass, which is why removing them as soon as they appear is critical.
Pulling weeds by hand is the best way to get rid of them because it eliminates the entire plant (roots and seeds included) and prevents it from growing back. Try setting aside an hour or two each week to weed your yard or vegetable garden.
If you’re struggling with a particularly difficult weed, use tools such as garden claws, a dandelion digger, or a hand weeder—a long, slender tool that looks like a screwdriver with a forked tip. If you’re having trouble getting to the root of the weed, try loosening the soil around it with a rake or hoe before pulling. A weeding mat is another handy tool that’s ideal for large areas of the garden, as it allows you to pull out weeds without damaging the soil underneath.
You can also kill weeds using a spray, which is a safer option than chemical herbicides. However, you should be sure to choose a product that’s appropriate for your weed type. For example, broadleaf weeds like quack grass require a different treatment than annual weeds.
Before you start spraying, wait until temperatures have risen above 50 degrees Fahrenheit for seven days. Many types of bees and other pollinators hibernate in weed stems and leaves over winter and won’t come out until the weather is warmer.
In addition to weeds, keep an eye out for oxalis, which resembles clover with heart-shaped leaves and yellow flowers. This weed forms upright seed pods that explode when ripe and can quickly re-grow in lawns, planting beds, or gravel driveways. You can rid your yard of oxalis by fostering thick, healthy grass or using an organic weed killer.
In the future, prevent weeds from forming by laying down a 3-inch layer of mulch. Straw, bark chips, and wood-based mulches all block out sunlight that would otherwise encourage weed growth. Alternatively, you can purchase a landscape fabric that’s specifically designed to stop weeds from germinating.
Clean Up Your Vegetable Garden
Getting your vegetable garden ready for the season requires removing any overgrown weeds, preparing soil with organic matter, and making sure the beds are clean and free of debris. Ideally, this should be done before you plant anything in your garden. If you wait too long, you will find yourself dealing with more weeds and other invasive plants once the weather warms up.
Vegetable garden debris can harbor disease and fungus spores that will spread to new plantings and cause problems down the road. It can also smother seedlings and prevent them from growing as they should.
It is important to remove all rotting fruit, vegetables and leaves from your vegetable garden before starting to clean up for spring. It is a good idea to compost these materials rather than simply throwing them away, as this will help nurture your soil for next year’s vegetable garden.
While cleaning up your garden is a necessary task, it can be quite overwhelming. Before you begin, we recommend wearing a pair of work gloves and taking your time. You can also get the whole family involved in this chore to turn it into a fun, educational, and rewarding activity that will make your yard look better, as well as teach your children responsibility.
A Few Final Things To Remember When Completing Your Yard Cleanup:
Do not start removing leaf litter in your flower or vegetable garden until the temperatures have consistently been above 50 degrees Fahrenheit for seven straight days. Many types of bees and other pollinators hibernate in the leaves and stems over winter, and they will not emerge until it is warmer.
There is so much beauty in a winter garden—snow resting on the seed pods of spent sunflowers, berries clinging to bare branches, goldfinches flitting around tattered goldenrod fronds, and juncos hopping beneath fallen carrot tops. The last thing you want to do is mess up this winter scenery by tearing down skeletal plants. Instead, enjoy this season in your garden and watch it come alive again next spring.