It’s Time To Do A Fall Clean Up

With it being the end of the season; it is the perfect time to do a fall clean up so your property will look manicured doing the winter months. Plus, excessive leaves on your grass can smother your grass leaving bald spots in the spring and leaves piled behind bushes and in window wells can cause homes for unwanted pests. This task can be done with a simple leaf rake and some 30 gallon lawn and refuse bags that are found at any big box store. If you have a lot of leaves or a big lawn; a hand held blower would be a great investment to speed up the clean up process.

Here is our check list for a fall clean up

• Clean out gutters
• Disconnect garden hoses
• Trim bushes
• After the first frost; you can heavy prune any bushes that have gotten out of control
• Cut back perennial flowers (Russian sage, cat mint, cone flowers,..) to half their size. (This will leave enough stems to catch leaves later on to help insulate them during the winter; then in the spring; they can be cut down all the way if needed)
• Pull annuals
• Pull weeds
• Pick up sticks and large debris out of the lawn and landscape
• Start the furthest away so you are not tracking across already cleaned areas. Use the wind and gravity (raking down hill) to your advantage
• Rake out leaves and debris from landscape. Blow the little debris out. Be careful to not rake or blow mulch out of beds
• Be sure to blow leaves out of bushes and get them from under bushes. Blow at different angles and shake bush if needed
• After the landscape is completed; be sure to pick the excess mulch out of the grass
• Remove suckers from trees
• Blow off decks, porches, and patios
• Blow along curb, fences, and sidewalks to get the leaves out of the cracks and crevices
• Blow or rake the settled leaves matted in the grass
• Blow or rake leaves into wind rows or piles. Load leaves on tarp to haul off or fill lawn and refuse bags
• By the time that you are done: all fruit, nuts, sticks, leaves, grass clippings, bush trimmings and debris should be removed from landscapes, lawn, curbs, walkways, drive ways, porches, window wells and decks
• Mow the lawn and use your bagger to catch any stray leaves and excess lawn clippings
• Before a final blow; this is a good time to install your fall fertilizer
• Final blow
• Haul off debris or set bags at the road for pickup
• Winterize your lawn equipment for the winter
• Make some hot chocolate and sit back and enjoy your yard