Yardwork maintenance checklist

Packed soil shuts out water and air from the roots.

Lose the joint sand and the pavers start to shift.

A thick wet layer left over winter smothers the grass dead.

Diseased debris overwinters in the beds and comes back in spring.

Caked grease flares up and blocked burners hide leaks.

Thick thatch blocks water and air from the roots.

Water left in freezes and splits the hose and the pipe.

Grass creeps the border and mulch spills the gap.

Thin mulch lets weeds in and dries the soil out.

Skip it and bare patches just hand the ground to weeds.

Miss the spring window and crabgrass owns the summer.

Old oil and a fouled plug make it a pig to start.

Stale fuel gums the carburetor and won't start come spring.

Damp, dirty tools rust over winter and the rot is permanent.

A dull blade tears the grass and leaves it ragged.

Left out, winter cracks frames and rots cushions.

Bare timber grays, warps, and rots years early.

Grubs eat the roots, then the lawn peels up like a rug.

Left alone they go leggy and bare at the bottom.

Grime and algae rot the boards and turn the deck into a slide.

Stale fuel gums the carburetor over a cold winter.