Enter your name hereYard and Garden Management Plan
Enter Year of Plan here – your plan may change from year to year
List the goals you have for your yard here – note front, back, areas, etc.
Click here to enter text.
Click here to enter text.
You can add or delete goal lines as needed!
 Attach a copy of your home site map with the date it was created
HOMESITE
 Update your home site map at least annually with any changes and additions
MAP
Plant grass type for site conditions (heat, cold, drought, shade, wear tolerances;
LAWN
fertilization needs; irrigation needs; and mowing height)
 If different areas have different grass species, note those areas here
 If grass species (one or more) is known please enter here
Manage according to nutrient recommendations for lawn from soil test
Fertilizer
 List date of soil test here and attach results to plan for reference
The number, types and timing of fertilizer, weed control and/or insect control
Weed
applications:
Control
 Enter detailed application info here and below – include rates & dates!
 Include crab grass pre-emergent, weed control, insect control, etc.
Insect
 1 spring application after first mowing – est. date
Control
 1 fall application – usually close to Labor Day
• Sharpen mower blades before first mowing and throughout the summer
Mowing
• Set mower height at no less than 3 inches
• Leave grass clippings on lawn
• Remove no more than one-third of the length of grass blades at each cutting
(mow approximately once per week
 Note any additional mowing instructions here
 Note any additional mowing instructions here
List
what type of irrigation will be used, timing and measurements
Irrigation
 Will neither waste water nor allow landscape plants to decline or wilt
 Spot irrigation with hose and sprinkler as needed
 Will determine watering needs by regularly checking soil moisture
 Will allow cold season grasses to go dormant during dry summer
 Maintain watering regiment for vegetable gardens and flower beds
GOALS
SCOUTING
1.
2.
3.
4.
 List all scouting activities that will be maintained throughout the year
 Look for turf wear from games when mowing; move game area if usage showing
wear or damage to lawn
 Scout for pests and disease problems (once per week)
 Irrigation as needed according to moisture meter in soil
GARDENS
• Test soil (every 3 years)
 Your lawn needs its own soil test, but vegetable gardens, perennial beds, annual
beds, etc. may need separate soil tests as their nutrient needs are all different –
list the different garden areas of your yard here and the year soil tested. You may
have several or none other than your lawn!
• Fertilize according to nutrient recommendations:
 Enter nutrient recommendations for vegetables here
 Enter nutrient recommendations for perennial flowers or shrubs here
 Enter nutrient recommendations for annual flowers here
• Add compost when working up beds before planting
 What type and source of compost you will be using
 List which beds you will add compost to this year
• Select native and pest/disease-resistant, low-maintenance, adapted, hardy perennial
plants – include plants that provide year-round visual enjoyment as well as plants
that provide bird habitat and food. Inspect plants for pests/diseases prior to planting.
 You may or may not add new plants to your landscape each year
 It is a great idea to maintain a list of what plants you added and when
 It is also a great idea to keep a record of how well these new plants did – maybe
the soil was too wet or too dry or they did not receive enough sun?
• Select and site plants so that pruning is not an annual need or is minimized
 May or may not apply, but a pruning schedule is helpful for each plant that will
need to be pruned; lilacs after flowering, etc.
• Develop Integrated Pest Management or IPM Plan
 Scouting is a part of a good IPM plan – learn how to create an IPM plan in the
upcoming course
 Recording keeping – what you used, when and the level of success
 Timing – not only when you reach the infestation level for treatment, but make
record of when the pests show up each year, etc.
• Mulch beds to prevent moisture loss and discourage weeds; keep mulch away from
stems and trunks of woody plants and add mulch as needed over the years
 May wish to list type of mulch used and how much each year
 May wish to list where mulch is to be applied to maintain a schedule
• Watering will be done according to a moisture meter in the soil
 Read soil moisture meter regularly – dependent upon weather conditions may
need to do more than once per week