Check all your gardening tools in preparation for the season. Sharpen the blades on pruners, loppers, and your lawn mower. Take your mower in for a tune-up if needed.
Do not walk on the lawn when the frost has gone out of the ground. The weather may be improving with some warm days, but be patient. Stay out of your garden and avoid raking or working on the lawn. Walking on the lawn in early spring will compact the soil, causing problems later in the season.
Crabgrass preventer should be applied when the soil temperature is between 52° and 55°F. Use a soil thermometer to find the proper time to apply. Remember, lawn areas close to sidewalks and curbs warm faster than the center of the lawn.
Be sure not to work the soil until it is ready. To test it, grab a handful of soil and shape it into a ball. If the ball holds it shape, but breaks apart into smaller pieces when you apply pressure with your thumb, it is ready to work.
To plant cold-loving crops, simply scatter the seeds on the surface to the ground. The seeds will sprout and grow by themselves. This method works best with radishes, lettuce, onions, and beets. In addition, it’s a good time to plant cool season crops such as lettuce, peas, broccoli, spinach, and carrots.
Perennials are warming up under the mulch you applied last fall. Be sure to remove the mulch as the temperatures starts to rise—the temperature should consistently stay near or just above freezing. Keep some extra mulch handy in case of an unexpected spring cold snap—you may need to reapply some mulch to your tender perennials.
Depending upon the weather, you can usually plant hardy annuals outdoors in mid-to-late April, such as pansies, violas and Dusty Miller. Talk to your local garden centers before planting; they can give you a more detailed list of the best times to plant various annuals.
What’s Happening?
Special advertising section
HBAGC hosts Tour of Homes and Remodel Chicagoland
Join the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago (HBAGC) in April and May for two tours that showcase Chicagoland’s best of new construction and remodeling. The Tour of Homes, HBAGC’s annual scattered site showcase of residences in Lake, McHenry, Cook, DuPage, Kendall, and Kane Counties, highlights award-winning homes built by HBAGC member builders. Tour dates are April 26-27, and May 3-4 and 10-11, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. During Remodel Chicagoland on the following weekend, enjoy walking through some of the finest examples of remodeling projects in the Chicago area, presented by the HBAGC’s Remodeler members. Remodel Chicagoland homes will be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 17; and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, May 18. As the dates for both tours draw near, visit
www.hbagc.com for more information on the Tour of Homes, and www.remodelchicagoland.com for more about the remodeling showcase.
New model homes open at the Sanctuary Club
Two newly furnished model homes will open for viewing starting April 5 and 6 at the Sanctuary Club, a Jacobs Homes luxury single-family home community in Kildeer. The Bergamot, a 3,350-square-foot, two-story residence, offers a gracious first-floor master suite, a second-floor family room, gourmet kitchen and a conservatory. The Delphinia, a 3,200-square-foot ranch home, is also brimming with luxurious appointments, including a steam shower in the master chamber, a private music room, and a two-story, double-sided fireplace. The Sanctuary Club is a private enclave of 62 homes set along the legendary Kemper Lakes Golf Course, priced from the mid-$600,000s to more than $1 million. 847-438-8158 • sanctuaryclub.jacobshomes.net
- Correction -
In the February/March 2008 issue of Midwest Home Chicago, the Chicago HomeBook included two incorrect phone numbers. The correct contact information is as follows: Dior Builders, Inc. • 847-934-1500
Midwest Window & Door • 630-966-1071