So now we are into late March, it’s officially spring, so what. Well not much yet, you can’t do much outside even though the snow and ice is gone. The frost is already out of the ground, the sap has run and buds are starting to swell and the perennials around my house are up one to two inches already. The ground is starting to dry which is why the statewide burn ban is in effect until May 15th. All the dead grass and leaves can catch fire quickly and with one gust of wind a small backyard burn pile can turn into a major forest fire. The worms are active as well as the soil is warming and the robins are out in full force after those worms. The grass is still brown and doesn’t need to be mowed yet, so what can you do? 

Now is the time to service your equipment. Don’t wait until May when you want to get outside only to find your equipment not working. Case in point, the first time I took my mower out of the garbage two weeks ago to put lime down on my lawn, it ran for an hour and then the drive belt broke. Luckily I was home with it at the time and after finding a replacement belt got it running again. I made that sound easier than it was. To replace the drive belt, I had to drop a clutch unit that worked the mower deck belt. There was only one bolt, but it was put on at the factory and my impact wrench would not budge it. I ended up having to take my mower to the shop just to have them use a large impact wrench on it to get it off. After that, I was able to complete my repair. 

For all your motorized equipment, change the fuel and oil to make sure it is fresh. If you haven’t done it in a year or two change the spark plug. If the old one is still good, keep it as a spare in a pinch. Sharpen or change your mower blades if they are worn. Change worn belts on your garden tractor and rototiller, before they break. 

Even non-motorized gardening equipment need servicing. Oil your pruning shears so that they work freely. If you don’t have WD-40 or Household 3 in 1 oil in your toolbox, don’t worry, you can use vegetable or even olive oil. You probably have some of that in the kitchen cabinet. 

Check to see if you still have good gardening gloves or did they harden up like a rock over the winter or have a mouse chew them up for bedding material. 

Do you have good kneepads or a kneeling mat? I can’t do any gardening on my hands and knees without them anymore. 

Make sure your long handle tools like shovels and rakes don’t have broken handles. Chances are if they were in bad shape last fall, you just limped through and said I’ll deal with it in the spring. Well it’s spring and time to pay the piper. 

There is nothing worse than finally getting around to doing a project only to get halfway done before something breaks down, and it is Murphy’s Law that something will break down at the least appropriate time. 

If you can’t service your equipment yourself, taking it to the shop is easy this time of year. Most are not super busy yet and you will have your equipment back long before you will need it. If you wait until May to bring in your broken mower, expect to see it back in June or July as you will be in line with all the other equipment that no one bothered to get fixed until the season started. So do yourself a favor and get it done now.