Getting Your Lawn Ready This Spring - WCAX

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - You wouldn’t know it by looking at the temperature Monday morning, but it is in fact spring, and that means it’s almost time to get your lawn and gardens ready for planting.

“People are looking for a little bit of soil to fill those holes in and a good seed,” said Will Guy with Guy’s Farm & Yard.

Guy says it’s too early to start thinking about planting or throwing seed, but there is prep you can start now.

“Definitely get lots of people coming in patching plow damage and lawn spots,” said Guy.

Guy says if the plow nicked the lawn, filling in the hole this time of year is fine, but give it a bit more time before you drop the grass seed in.

“You want your soil temperature to be above 40 degrees before grass seed can germinate,” said Guy.

Guy says the lake temperature can play a rough gauge for ground temperature. So when the lake is around 45-50 degrees, it’s OK to start throwing down seeds. Currently, the lake is sitting at 33 degrees.

“It’s kind of wasteful if you plant right now because you run the risk of it getting wet and rotting. It won’t germinate, it’s still too cold,” said Guy.

But Guy says it’s OK to rake your lawns now.

“Now I guess you run the risk of one more late snowstorm, but you are pretty safe to get that stuff cleaned up,” said Guy.

When the ground temperature does come up and it is time to throw some seed down, Guy reminds folks to be conscious of lawn fertilizers with kids and pets.

“The seed is pretty harmless, but if you’re fertilizing, then you want to think about keeping your dogs and kids away,” said Guy.

He also says he’s had increased interest in chick sales. That’s because more customers are thinking about where their food comes from or are looking to do something in their yard.

Guy expects a lot of orders this year.

They preorder the specific amount of chickens they need and families can come to pick them up. However, wildlife experts warn about bird flu, so if you are thinking of getting chickens this year, make sure to do some research on keeping a flock healthy and safe.

Guy says it’s just about that time when the orders will flow in.

“We definitely saw a big resurgence last year, or I guess the past two years, about people were home and they were conscious about their food again and got chicks, so that is real popular this time of year. People have been real antsy to get those,” said Guy.

Guy says another benefit to chickens is that they eat ticks. He says he has already heard some people come in mentioning ticks. Chickens will take care of some in your yard if they are roaming.

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