Long winter means tough yard work ahead

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STATEWIDE -- This year's winter brought a lot of snow. During a typical winter that snow would periodically melt, and give the grass a chance to air out. However, that didn't happen this year. Now, experts predict many lawns could suffer due to a disease called snow mold.

"The grass gets matted down and no air gets to it so it starts to rot, and when it starts to rot this mold develops, and it can spread through the yard and it's tough to get rid of," said Chuck Hafner, owner of Chuck Hafner's Farmers Market and Garden Center.

If you're a homeowner itching to dive back into yard work, the first thing you should do this year is rake your grass to air it out. If you notice any dead spots, experts suggest starting the seeding process as soon as possible.

"For grass seed to germinate there are some certain conditions, it has to be in contact with the soil, which you just make sure you rake the area up, you have to keep it moist, and it likes cooler weather, which usually around that 60 degrees to germinate," said Hafner.

If you reseed now, you'll be more successful than trying to do it in the summer when you'll need a sprinkler constantly running to keep the grass alive. This is also a good time to lay down crabgrass control, fertilizer, or mulch.

"It keeps the weeds down, if you go two to three inches it suffocates the weeds, won't allow the weeds to grow, it retains the moisture in the soil so if you have a dry summer then your shrubs will have more moisture and as it decomposes it releases nitrogen back into the ground, it's a good organic additive to the ground," said Hafner.

However, you'll want to avoid planting most kinds of flowers until at least the second week of May when any frosts should be over.

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Long winter means tough yard work ahead