It's now time to work in the garden
The snow is gone
By Chris Crocombe Schomberg Farm and Garden Supplies

This year, more than most, it would seem that everyone is anxiously awaiting spring.

A couple of warm days over the weekend brought everyone out of hibernation and into their backyards for some spring "clean up."

Most understand the importance of a good lawn raking in order to clean up thatch that settled on the lawn in fall, usually because we were planning on raking last year but the snow came too quickly and the job wasn't done. Raking up thatch is important to allow the grass room to grow and breath. This will also create a good environment for over-seeding, which can be done any time.

Lawn seed will lay dormant until the temperature is suitable for germination. Ideally a lawn aerator can be used to punch holes in your lawn to oxygenate the roots and create holes for seed to settle into, on smaller lawns putting seed down after raking allows the seed to settle into crevices and root once the time is right.

If you have been having trouble growing grass seed, a soil test kit can be purchased to determine the acidity of your lawn.

Often in areas where pine trees grow the soil can be too acidic. By simply adding some granular lime, you can neutralize acidity and create a better balanced soil for seed development.

As always, spring is also a good time to add some fertilizer. With the push for more environmental products, we are continuing to sell organic fertilizers. Corn Gluten is a corn-based weed suppressant and can be put down any time now (the earlier the better). This product also adds nitrogen to the soil, which is beneficial for lawn greening and upward growth. We are also offering a turkey manure granular fertilizer, which will prevent any concerns for pets and kids when it comes to fertilize.

Spring is also a good time to do some tree pruning and trim back some of your smaller shrubs and bushes, in order to promote new development. We offer a complete line of medium to high quality pruning shears, hedge trimmers and pole pruning saws.

Some trees, especially fruit bearing trees, can experience insect and disease problems through the spring and summer, which can be prevented by spraying a dormant oil and lime sulphur mix on them prior to budding. This product is natural and helps eliminate insects which have over wintered on the trees and will awaken soon to begin nibbling on your new spring buds.

We look forward to helping you with your lawn and garden needs and we hope that by taking a bit of time to do some spring maintenance you can enjoy a beautiful lawn and garden this season.

Please contact us at (905) 939-2911 with any frther questions.