March News

It's the March newsletter!

Spring has sprung, sort of, and it's time to enjoy all that this season has to offer: more outdoor time, more daylight, fresh flowers, fresh air! This month's newsletter covers your game plan for a healthy lawn this summer, spring cleaning inside and out, plus caring for your roof. The winter may have beat up on your roof, schedule an inspection and if you notice damage talk to your insurance company!

Early Spring Lawn Care

A beautiful lawn can make your home look richer, more inviting, and nicer overall. Now is the time to lay the “ground work” for a thick healthy lawn this summer. Michigan State University has a wealth of information on their MSU Extension website loaded with lawn care tips and treasures.

Here are some pointers from their article “When should I fertilize my lawn during spring?” from March 20, 2015

Be patient! Never fertilize frozen ground. Wait until the ground has completely thawed.  Fertilizer applied to frozen ground can wash away into storm drains poisoning lakes, streams, and rivers.

More patience! Even after the ground thaws wait for turf root systems to break their winter dormancy and begin to grow. Allowing time for the roots to grow down into the earth further will help the health of your lawn during hot and dry periods over the summer. Fertilizing during this early root development stage can encourage top growth while deterring root growth.

Wait until May to fertilize.

“But the TV commercials say I have to fertilize and kill crabgrass now!”

Yes, waiting until May to control crabgrass is too late. Crabgrass germinates before May and will already be growing in May. If you have a crabgrass problem, MSU recommends purchasing a separate product specifically for crabgrass control. Apply it at the same time that the forsythia start to bloom (forsythia are the the big bushes with bright yellow flowers!). It is also recommended that you apply the herbicide (weed killer) only where needed and avoid blanket applications of all herbicides and pesticides.

NOTE! A thick, healthy lawn reduces light penetration to the soil, shading crabgrass seeds and preventing their germination.

Rake. Especially areas where snow was piled up for much of the winter. That white, fiber, dusty looking stuff is known as snow mold fungi. It grows on the wet, matted-down grass that was under the snow banks. Lightly raking these areas improves air circulation and kills the mold, reducing any damage it may cause to your lawn.

A healthy lawn requires patience in the spring. Give it time to wake up and go easy with the chemicals. Enjoy your spring!

Spring Cleaning

It’s no joke. After being holed up all winter, it’s natural to feel like you want to shake out the dust and dirt. Spring cleaning can feel overwhelming. We’ve broken down the To Do lists to help you organize and get it done!

INSIDE JOBS

Closets - Each member of the household should clean out old winter clothes, donate winter clothes not worn, and store away clothes that are not worn in the summer to make room for summer clothes. Summer clothes should come out of storage and move in!
 

Declutter - go through drawers, bins, corners, closet floors anywhere that clutter collects. Toss or donate unnecessary items.  

Windows - wash windows inside and out, vacuum or wash window treatments/blinds, or remove and take curtains to the cleaners.

Air filter - replace the filter in your furnace (monthly or every 3 months)

HVAC - get the heating and air conditioning guys out for regular maintenance to make sure everything is in clean/working order.

Family Wash Day - enlist the entire family and clean the house top to bottom; dust table tops and shelves; dust walls; wipe down cupboards, appliances and doors; remove cob webs; wash tubs, sinks and toilets; vacuum floors and steps; move and vacuum under furniture and under furniture cushions; and finally wash the floors. Treat the family to dinner out!

OUTSIDE JOBS
Garage - schedule a garage clean-out. Dispose of broken, unusable items. Properly store away winter items. Clean the floor of the garage of the salt/sand/dirt that has accumulated from your vehicles over the winter.

Organize and stock spring and summer items. Get the bikes down. Then go for a bike ride!

Patio Furniture - clean and repair, replace cushions where needed.

Yard - clear away dead stalks and weeds, pick up and remove fallen branches. Pick up trash from under the snow, and any toys that have surfaced!

Inspect the roof for damage, leaks, missing shingles - See Roofing Basics 101

Inspect and touchup exterior paint and trim, schedule a painter or a powerwash for the exterior of the home.

Make a list of landscaping projects for the summer. These may be costly and may take time so list what you want to have done and get a contractor out to provide cost and time estimates.
 

Basic Roofing 101

A roof is easy to forget about. It's up there, it keeps us dry and protected. Waiting until something goes wrong can be much more costly than regular roof maintenance. Keeping your roof in good repair can extend the life of your roof, too.  A basic roof inspection should be done in the fall and in the spring. Any issues or abnormalities should be addressed immediately before they become a problem!

Inspecting the Roof

• Check the roof for debris
• Check the surface of the roof for inconsistencies or flaws
• Check the drainage system for standing water
• Check the creases/changes in plane for scrapes or tears in roofing material
• Check flashing at changes in planes
• Check around chimneys, pipes, and other equipment installed on the roof

Basic maintenance

• Always keep the roof clean from excess debris, equipment, toys
• Always clear drainage backups immediately: keep your gutters clear from obstructions and flowing freely, remove anything that prevents water from flowing freely off the roof.
• Keep traffic on your roof to a minimum; don't make a habit of walking, sitting or otherwise using your roof as a floor
• Check for and repair curling, broken or missing shingles by either re-nailing or replacing
• Trim surrounding trees and bushes to keep branches and foliage from touching the roof and to prevent branches falling onto the roof
• If your roof leaks call a professional immediately.

It Happened in March

March 1 - 1961 the Peace Corps is established
March 4 - 1888 Knute Rockne of the Notre Dame Football team is born
March 5 - 1956 King Kong debuted on television
March 6 - 1475 Michelangelo is born in Caprese, Italy
March 10 - 1876 the first telephone call was made by Alexander Graham Bell
March 12 - 1959 Hawaii becomes a US state
March 12 - 1888 the Great Blizzard of '88 hits northeastern US lasting 36 hours and dropping over 40" of snow in New York City (see it's not so bad here)
March 14 - 1879 Albert Einstein is born in Ulm, Germany
March 25 - 1954 the first color television was made
March 30 - 1932 Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic