Get yourself and your yard
In Shape for Spring

Many of us become “couch potatoes” in the winter. Even if we spent the summer swimming and playing tennis and the autumn hiking and playing golf, we tend to be indoors in the winter, not getting much exercise. So it’s not surprising that when spring arrives, we get sore at the first exertion because we’re so out of shape.

You can ease into fitness again and get yourself and your yard ready for spring by doing some garden chores. Those outdoor chores are really an opportunity to tone your muscles and your mind while multi-tasking -- doing yard work and getting a good workout at the same time. It’s a natural way to stay in shape.

Trim your waistline and your weeds at the same time. The rotational movement used engages your core muscles to strengthen and tone your midsection, and you’ll burn 182 calories every half hour. You can burn 162 calories in 30 minutes by raking and bagging leaves. For more of a workout, burn up 202 calories with 30 minutes of digging, spading and tilling.

Not sure which chores should be done in the spring? Here’s a list to get you started:

• Clean, sharpen, and oil all gardening tools so they’ll be read to use when you need them.

• When the weather warms up sufficiently, gradually pull back the mulch and remove debris from your beds.

• Turn the compost pile. Sift thoroughly decomposed material through a screen or hardware cloth. Sprinkle finished compost over your flowerbeds or store it in bins or old garbage cans for later use.

• Prune back perennials that didn’t get cut back in the fall before new growth starts. As soon as new grown appears, you can divide and transplant summer blooming perennials.

• You can use pre-emergent herbicides to control weeds that have not yet germinated, including dandelions, crabgrass, henbit and chickweed.

• Trim ivy away from the wood or brick surfaces of your house.

• Fertilize shrubs and trees. Use an acid type rhododendron fertilizer to feed evergreens, conifers, broad leaf evergreens, rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. Use an all-purpose fertilizer to feed roses and other deciduous trees and shrubs. If you use granular type fertilizers, be sure to water it in thoroughly.

• Repair any fencing, arbors or trellis work that is weak or has broken over the winter.

• Reseed your lawn if it is thinning. Thick growth will help keep weeds from getting a foothold. Fertilize to get the lawn off to a good start. If you are not reseeding, you may want to apply a pre-emergent and lawn fertilizer all-in-one product. A strong lawn now will help prevent it from becoming a weed-patch come summer.

• Anticipate the pest and disease problems you will encounter in your garden, and decide your course of action. Purchase basic control products now, so they will be handy when you need them.