The weather is beginning to warm enough to comfortably get out in the yard. So what should be first on your to-do list? Well, I’ll share what I am planning to do this week in my yard.

1. Apply Soil Activator to the lawn. This is the first step in my lawn program each year . It gets my lawn off to a great start. Natural Guard Soil Activator is loaded with humic acid. This natural product speeds up the decomposition of thatch and dead grass and releases those nutrients to give my lawn a beautiful dark green color.

2. Prune my raspberries. I like to get this done in the fall, but often times I don’t and last year was one of those years. I remove any canes that have come up in unwanted places, like between the rows. Then I remove all the dead canes (those that bore last July). Then I cut them all back to about four feet. Here is what it will look like when I’m done. (This is a picture from a couple of years ago.

My Canby raspberry canes after final pruning.

When done pruning I scatter sulfur and granulated organic compost throughout the patch and rake it in as best I can. Then I apply Casoron on the surface to prevent weeds. (Boy does that work great!)

3. Prune back ornamental grasses. I like to leave my ornamental grasses through the winter- they add a lot of interest to the winter landscape. But now they have fallen down and I need to get them cut off before the new grass blades begin to emerge. It can be done with scissor type pruners or hedge clippers. If you have large clumps  an electric hedge trimmer saves a lot of time and effort. Shorter grasses like blue fescue don’t want to be cut back. But taller ones like Karl Foerester Feather Reed Grass definitely need to be given a hair cut.

courtesy northcoastgardening.com

4. Spray dormant oil spray on fruit trees. I love the fruit I harvest from my peach and apple trees, so I get really irritated when insects invade. One of the best things I’ve found to get off to a good start is to spray in early April with a dormant oil spray. This organic approved spray suffocates overwintering insects and eggs so you start with a clean slate.

Well, I think that’s about all I’ll have time for this week. Just hope the weather cooperates for me. Today looks nice. I think I’ll take the afternoon off and play in the yard!