Spring is right around the corner. It’s time to start thinking about your yard!

From Cornerstone Tree Care

1. Compost your leaves and other garden waste at home instead of bagging and carting them to the transfer station. All that material is food for your plants and trees. Why pay for compost from somebody else when you already have the ingredients to make your own? Don’t have the space? Get together with your neighbors to create a shared spot that you all can use.
2. Don’t clean out the woods. The forest ecosystem depends on leaf and tree litter for its food source. Extending your fall cleanup into the forest edge will rob trees of the food source they need for healthy growth and resiliency against winter cold, drought, wind and other stressors.
3. Plant a tree. This might seem counterintuitive, but early spring — with its rain and cooler temperatures — is a much better time to plant trees than the hot summer months, and the trees will have a much better chance of surviving.
4. Remove grass from underneath your landscape trees. There is no competition with grass in the forest, so why stress your trees with it in the landscape? Believe it or not, grass competes significantly for food and water. Removing grass under your trees also opens up a space for you to amend with compost and aged tree mulch.
5. Have your trees pruned and cared for before the storms. If the last few falls and winters are any indication, we’re likely to get some strong storms over the next few months. Make sure your trees are properly maintained before the next big one hits.

Learn more about Cornerstone Tree Care at www.cornerstonetree.com.

These Green Tips submitted by Green Alliance, Portsmouth, NH www.greenalliance.com