Preparing your Landscape for Spring – Going Green, Naturally with Sustainable Organics

There is no reason to continue poisoning our landscapes, our water, ourselves and our children by the unnecessary use of lawn and tree care pesticides. This is true whether you are living in White Plains, Scarsdale, Bedford, Katonah or Rye. Now is the time to make a change for our health and the health of landscapes.

By joining us and applying the principals and practices of ’Landscapes for Better Living’ we can create and manage a beautiful, safe and healthy landscape.

Start by taking a long, slow walk around your property. In spring everything is new and fresh including our own perspective. The following are some tips for caring for your property in the most ecologically responsible way. Ecological landscape management is all about resource management. That includes water, air, plants, soil and $.

1) Pick up sticks and debris on your lawn and in garden beds

2) Lightly rake the lawn to invigorate the invigorate the turf grass plants without stressing the roots

3) Use a leaf blower only when necessary to remove large clumps of leaves stuck in shrubs. Save on gas as leaf blowing lawns and especially beds removes soil and damages and stresses plants unnecessarily.

4) If you didn’t prune your fruit trees or shrubs in late fall or winter when dormant ( horticulturally optimum), prune only dead wood, deer browse and winter damage.

5) Use enhanced gypsum to relieve salt damage from ice control and to relieve compaction. This should be done anywhere snow piles with sand and road salt might come in contact with plants. This is especially true along roadways and driveways.

6) Repairing snow plow damage to lawns, curbing and landscape beds should be done early before things grow.

7) If you need to add top soil make sure it’s a premium blend of compost/topsoil mix. If you need to seed use a combination/mix of annual rye grass ( for quick cover soil stabilization), and improved perennial ryegrass of fescues. See seeding details below.

8) Look up ! Check for dead and hanging branches, especially over driveways, walkways and the house. Remember we’ve had some pretty good wind storms recently. Now is a good time to inventory and evaluate the health of your trees and shrubs. Tag them with colored surveying tape. Blue is for prune, orange or yellow for removal.

9) Check catch basins, gutters and leaders to make sure everything functions, this should include crawl spaces for standing water, mold, mildew etc.. These are health issues you should be aware of.

10) Speaking of health issues…be aware standing water breeds mosquitos etc.. Best way to improve your landscapes overall health is by increasing biodiversity with a variety of native plants, trees and shrubs. The more beneficial organisms in your landscape (i.e. birds, bees, frogs, turtles and insects etc), the greater your balance of nature, health and harmony. Maybe now is a time to reimagine, redesign or add/subtract from your landscape.

11) Consider adding bird feeders, birdbaths, a water feature or garden art to bring your landscape alive !

12) Feed your plants with an high grade organic granular fertilizer (like you would feed yourself). Some evergreens (but not all !) require an acidic fertilizer while most deciduous plants require a neutral fertilizer ( but not all ! ex. blueberries, hydrangea, etc.).

13) Soil testing is always good before you start fertilizing. A little horticultural education is now where as good as a complete understanding of how plants grow.

14) If necessary ( determined by soil test) apply high calcium lime to raise ph of lawn or planting beds ( depending what plants are growing in them) or elemental sulfur to lower ph.

15) Aerate your lawn, especially in high traffic ares